As part of the council's commitment to improve employee engagement and feedback from staff we have established a range of employee groups that give staff a voice to:
- consider and challenge new ideas and initiatives
- promote equality and fairness throughout the organisation
- discuss topics that are important to you
The groups represent the diverse nature of our workforce and give staff the opportunity to have their say on issues affecting them.
Feedback from the groups has helped us to shape and design new approaches and review existing procedures to ensure that they meet the needs of our workforce.
We have the following staff networks:
- Race Equality Network
- Cumberland Rainbow Alliance
- Shine
- Menopause Network
- Carers Network
- Ageism Awareness (including 50+ agenda)
Here are some examples of the great work that has been achieved from the groups so far:
Race Equality Staff Network
The group have developed their own Terms of Reference:
“The RESN group exists to create an enabling and fair working environment and policy framework for ethnic minority colleagues while also encouraging all staff within the Council to understand the needs of ethnic minority individuals within the community.”
Cumberland Rainbow Alliance
This group have helped to develop a new Trans Inclusion policy for staff as well as Trans Awareness e-learning which can be found on the My Learning Pages. These aim to enhance awareness and understanding of trans identities and the challenges that trans people can face.
Contact: RainbowAlliance@cumberland.gov.uk
Shine Community
Did you know about the Council's Neurodiversity guidance? A member of the group, explains why it's important that the council has this guidance.
"Neurodiversity is a relatively new term that many people may not know much about yet. It's important to have guidance in place which helps staff to understand more about it, and how to support neurodiverse people on a day to day basis. It is also important because the more people become aware of neurodiversity and then go on to understand it, then the easier it becomes to take steps to better support neurodiverse colleagues in the workplace as well as service users in the wider community"
Contact: Shine@cumbria.gov.uk
The group sessions are held either in person or on Microsoft Teams.
We are always looking for people who are open to new ideas, willing to explore practical solutions and who identify with or have an interest in the above groups.
Ageism - including 50+ agenda
Ageism is the prejudice that’s hidden in plain sight. It’s embedded in our society and even accepted as normal by those of us who are older. We see and hear casual ageism every day in the media, on TV, at work, in pubs, on social media, in family conversations. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The Age Without Limits campaign aims to change the way we all think about ageing and support a growing movement of people and organisations working to make society more age-inclusive.
We are keen to hear your ideas and share our resources to discuss how we at Cumberland Council can support our workforce.
Visit our page by selecting the link opposite and find out how you can get involved and help shape our organisation: Age Friendly Employer.
Get involved
To learn more, or if you would like to get involved, please contact EmployeeNetworkGroups@cumberland.gov.uk or use the individual group emails.