Social Mobility – Building a Strategy

In my previous blog I introduced the challenge of growing class inequalities in the UK in 2022. I described how some public and private sector organisations are rising to this challenge prioritising exploring and developing new ways of recruiting, retaining and developing staff from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This should have left you a better understanding of the issue, recognising that there is work all of us can do to promote the agenda. Often the hardest thing to do is to initiate your next steps. This second blog looks to suggest a potential route for those who are interested in taking that next vital step for themselves and their organisation. You will have identified the problem, now how do I solve it!

For the purposes of this blog, I will be grandly labelling this approach as “a strategy” but for those that may (understandably) be exhausted with the overuse of this term stick with me. I will briefly explain each of the components required for the strategy and in subsequent blogs I want to reflect, explore and promote some of the tried and tested activities that are being undertaken by others in each of the areas.

This Social Mobility strategy is based on five pillars of activity that can be run concurrently and separately, but in doing so recognising that there may be crossovers in activities. They do not stand in isolation and you, and your organisation, can choose which you decided to tackle first. These pillars are formed of the following –

• Data
• Progression (or In reach)
• Hiring (or Outreach)
• Culture & Leadership
• Collaboration

Data

As with all other D&I protected characteristics it is imperative that organisations firstly identify the key performance indicators which will help them understand and baseline how they are currently performing in relation to class discrimination. This will be used as basis to track, report on and act on the data as it produced. Ensure that this process is transparent and open to challenge. Data (and its robust reporting) is the backbone of any successful strategy.

Progress

Track what is happening to those that are coming into the organisation and how they progress. Identify barriers (both perceived and actual) and build a toolkit which assists and promotes opportunity from those from a low socio-economic background. Creative and transformative initiatives in this area will enable organisations to promote its culture of supporting “talent over social background”.

Culture & Leadership

For organisations to be successful in this field it requires authentic leaders prepared to lead, challenge and drive the social mobility agenda within their organisations. This person does not necessarily have to come from a low socio-economic background as it must be recognised that the organisation may not be sufficiently mature to provide this. However, it must be recognised that for this agenda to be truly transformative, it must aspire to appoint one in the future as part of the success of the strategy.

Collaboration

Reach out to the wide range of organisations that are already doing work to improve social mobility within the communities you serve and work within. Anyone working in this area understand that the journey to success in overcoming what can be entrenched discrimination and denial of opportunity is not always quick to succeed. Reflect on your own and your organisation’s expectations, share your journey, there will be many within the social mobility community only too willing to provide help and advice, again both within the public and private sector.

I hope this has given you a flavour at the work that can be kicked off to start your journey to champion Social Mobility. My subsequent blogs in the following months’ will work through each of these pillars to identify and signpost activities to add, flesh to the bones of this strategy.

Paul Downer