An Update on The HudsonBec Group’s Commitments to Change

Whilst Diversity, Equity & Inclusion has always been a focus in our business, when the tragic killing of George Floyd hit our news channels, against a backdrop of so many other unjust deaths, we knew that we as a company had not yet done enough to help change systems of oppression that exist across the board.

Following the news, The HudsonBec Group made a public statement committing to change.

Since then, our entire workforce has displayed a real passion and dedication to improving diversity within the group and more widely across the creative industry, which, as founders of the group, we are incredibly proud to see.

We have had many group-wide discussions on the subject, resulting in changes to our internal systems, training, dedicated DEI teams and target-setting across all of our businesses.

You can see our progress below, and we will of course continue to report on this publicly on a quarterly basis, with the next update due at the end of December.

1. We commit to a complete reassessment of our current DEI strategy, initiatives, and ensuring our environment is inclusive.

• We have invested in expert DEI consultants to help train and consult every business in the HudsonBec Group.
• We have run and analysed data from internal diversity & inclusion surveys.
• Many other changes have been made and outlined in the following ten points.

2. We commit to reassessing the structure of our current DEI focussed internal team to make sure everyone is responsible. This has been in place for the last two years, but has not had the desired impact on our workforce.

• Our internal DEI team has increased from 4 to 20 people. We have divided the teams up to focus on different areas (Internal, External & Educate) and they include a range of levels of seniority across all of our businesses. This means we can get a lot more done with more varied experience, opinions and perspectives.

3. We commit to a complete re-appraisal and design of our recruitment processes; which were relaunched 18 months ago to remove any bias from our process, and encourage more applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates, but have not had enough impact on the internal make-up of our full-time teams. They must be better.

• We have updated our recruitment processes for both permanent and freelance hires and have set targets to include:
• Advertising job opportunities across a wider range of platforms, reaching more diverse audiences
• A minimum of 60% Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic candidates at interview stage
• Freelance and collaborator targets across all our businesses (see below for individual business targets)
• Staggered goals for the group’s internal teams over the next 3 years (we are currently at 14% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic):
• 20% Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic by September 2021
• 25% Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic by September 2022
• 30% Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic by September 2023

It is worth stating that these targets are an absolute minimum and of course if we can surpass them, we will. The future of hiring full-time is uncertain for the group right now and we will likely review these goals when we have more clarity on the future post-COVID.

4. We commit to reviewing our current placement scheme for under-represented groups, to make it more specific and impactful, as well as look for ways to make sure it has more impact in the wider industry and leads to more concrete opportunities.

• We are in the process of applying for the the Government Kickstart scheme, we are planning to have at least four 6-month placements throughout the next year (up from two 6-week placements last year)

5. We commit to delivering mandatory unconscious bias training for every employee in the group.

• The company has attended a group-wide training session on Unconscious Bias
• The leadership team has attended a session on anti-racism, biases and allyship
• Learning and improving is of course ongoing, and we will continue training sessions with a focus on diversity and inclusion regularly, ensuring any new employees take part

6. We commit to educating ourselves, and staying educated — each and every one of us. We will ring-fence mandatory time booked for every employee to educate themselves on racism, and make budget available for resources.

As well as the above training we have:

• A new anti-racism book club which is available for all employees to join. All books have been purchased from shops with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic owners
• Dedicated company-wide group sessions focussed on DEI every 8 weeks

7. We commit to reviewing our editorial criteria and set guidelines for commissioning talent across all businesses; It’s Nice That, Anyways Creative, Lecture in Progress and If You Could Jobs.

It’s Nice That:

• 50% of all creatives and writers commissioned and speakers programmed in 2020/21 must be Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic talent

Lecture in Progress:

• Continue to ensure a minimum of 50% of featured creatives are from underrepresented backgrounds, including a balanced representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic talent. Increased coverage of creatives based in underrepresented parts of the UK, creatives of all genders and creatives with disabilities.

Anyways:

• Increase focus on ensuring projects and project teams include further representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic talent. Specifically:
• Talent as collaborators on projects at a minimum of 30% Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic by September 2021. This target will be reviewed following September 2021
• Freelance talent on internal project teams at a minimum 20% Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic by September 2021. This target will be reviewed following September 2021

If You Could Jobs:

• 40% of all creatives contributing to editorial content must be Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic talent. This target will be reviewed following September 2021

8. We commit to continuing our current 3-year commitment and investment in Lecture in Progress, to do more to help diversify the pipeline of talent coming into the industry by making free-to-access information and opportunities available to anyone.

• This includes highlighting best practice to industry; connecting young creatives with companies and experienced creatives for insight, advice and opportunities; and ensuring that opportunities are made available and visible to underrepresented emerging creatives

9. We commit to continuing our partnerships with organisations creating greater access for underrepresented young creatives (including Create Jobs and Inspire the Future) but review these to see how they can become more impactful and core to our business.

• We continue to work with Create Jobs and Inspire the Future. Our ‘Educate’ DEI team are currently working on an exciting new initiative that will be launched by the next update, and we will share more on this then
• Our internal DEI teams are reviewing new potential partnerships on a monthly basis

10. We commit to donating online advertising space on our biggest platform, It’s Nice That to organisations working to make the creative industries more diverse.

• Since July we’ve delivered 1.4 million impressions across our online advertising units on It’s Nice That for organisations that are working to make the creative industries more diverse
• We are also now offering free tickets for our monthly event Nicer Tuesdays to various organisations working to diversify the industry, including Creative Mentor Network

11. We commit to finding ways that we as a group of individuals can engage, educate and help the wider community. We must find ways that we can all get involved in more mentor schemes, portfolio reviews, advice sessions and more and will make sure we update on our progress.

• Our workforce continues to partner up as individuals to volunteer their time with organisations such as; Mentor Black Business, Create Jobs and Design for Black Lives
• Our dedicated internal DEI ‘Educate’ team are in the process of launching a new mentoring and shadowing programme. More on this in December.
• Lecture in Progress will be hosting regular events, including portfolio reviews, that directly connect emerging creatives with industry figures

So, lots of progress made in the last three months — and clearly so much more to do.

Any questions, comments and feedback are always welcome — alex@thehudsonbecgroup.com

Thank you for reading,

Alex and Will