DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ‘‘
In 2023, the Working Group is looking at the progress that has been made in promoting inclusion and diversity in the NHS (and comparable sectors), and the estates, facilities management, and estates management area in particular
which she was quick to address to ensure that the message was more about people, how they could contribute, and could recognise and identify with people like them. This was supported by also providing stories about individuals and their career paths in the nuclear industry to encourage potential applicants to think ‘I can do this’. She was keen to ensure that teams felt psychologically safe to be able to express their uncertainty about how to deal with diversity issues – being able to say ‘I am not sure how to say the right words’, or how to be helpful and supportive without knowing how to approach this.
Visible leadership ‘as an ally’ The key thing for Adrienne was inclusion – to provide an environment where people could feel physiologically safe, and to have difficult discussions about safety, which is key in such an industry. She felt that visible leadership as an ally was extremely important in shifting the culture towards a mentoring and coaching culture which encouraged people to develop, rather than a more conventional directive leadership approach. It was important, she felt, to foster a culture of being able to ask questions to understand others, which can often lead to seeing that both are ‘right’ when those views are brought together, or both ‘wrong’, with more work needing to be done jointly to arrive at something that meets the overall need. This approach was also important in helping individuals in minority groups to develop as role models for others in their own right. This culture was also designed to demonstrate that strength as a colleague, ally, or leader, isn’t necessarily power or knowledge, but more about authenticity and vulnerability. Equally, she noted that leaders take the time to genuinely listen and thank people for their contributions with grace and
Panel discussion
IHEEM’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group will be exploring this theme further in future articles, and during a panel discussion titled ‘The Inclusive Ceiling’, taking place as part of the Operational Delivery of the Healthcare Estates conference stream at Healthcare Estates 2023 at 11.25 a.m. on 10 October.
sincerity. As she put it: “This…appeals to my humanity; we all deserve encouragement and a chance to be our very best selves.”
Kacyan Bartley Trainee Electrical Engineer at Eta Projects
Kacyan Bartley is a Trainee Electrical Engineer at Eta Projects, an independent firm of consulting engineers that provides mechanical and electrical services to the NHS and other sectors. Kacyan started her career as a front-of-house receptionist in the Premier Inn group, and progressed to a host/floor team leader. She was approached by Kim Shelley
at Eta Projects, who identified her exceptional people skills, and asked her if she would be interested in a career move. Kacyan joined Eta Projects in 2016 as an Administrator, and very quickly showed she was willing to learn and develop herself. She was promoted to a role as Authorising Engineer Project Support Officer. It was during this time that Kacyan expressed an interest in engineering. Eta Projects has built its business on supporting and investing in its employees, and funded Kacyan to complete a HNC in Building Services Engineering.
An enjoyable if tough challenge Kaycan told us she felt completing the HNC had been one of the biggest and challenging times of her career, but had ‘enjoyed every moment of it’. She felt the experience had been made so much easier by the opportunity to study building services at the same time as working in the environment, being surrounded by experienced engineers, who she said ‘have been an incredible help’. She would encourage people to consider the ‘earn and learn approach’, since – as she put it – ‘you cannot beat getting hands-on experience’. She never felt held back by anyone at Eta Projects, and has always been given the opportunity to learn and progress. During our interview with her, she cited a lady called Wozani at Premier Inn, who hired her for the role as receptionist. She was Kacyan’s Operational Manager at the time. It was during a room quality inspection that Wozani mentioned that her career at Premier Inn had started as a housekeeper. Wozani inspired Kacyan to exert herself and keep learning in order to progress in her career path.
She also told us that Eta’s Managing
Director, Eugene Conroy, ‘has been a big support’, and encouraged her to take the step in a complete career change; without this guidance and support she felt she would never have made the step into engineering. Kacyan also mentioned her mother,
who was always pushing her to achieve more academically, as she herself had not had the opportunity to finish school, and encouraged Kacyan to keep learning, ‘no matter what age you are in life’. Kacyan adds: “I would say be open- minded to someone’s potential, and give them the space to explore their options. Don’t hold someone back just because they are a good worker and you don’t want to lose them. Also, offer reassurance that if their role does not work out, or they change their mind, they can always go back, and it is not a failure, but a success, to acknowledge if something is not right for you.”
Duane Passman
Duane Passman FIHEEM, Director, Percipio Consulting, originally trained as an Astrophysicist, but has worked on major investment programmes and projects in the NHS for over 35 years, utilising public funding and PFI. He has worked on some of the largest projects in the NHS, being directly involved in well over £2 bn of investment to date, and has now established his own company providing advice, guidance, and support, across the capital investment lifecycle.
He is a Fellow of IHEEM, and a member of both the Institute’s Conference and Exhibition Committee and the Strategic Estates Management Advisory Group (and two working groups), and also Co-Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group. A graduate of the Cabinet Office’s Major Project Leadership Academy programme, he has been a Gateway Reviewer for High-Risk major programmes and projects since 2003. He is also an accredited Business Case Practitioner.
September 2023 Health Estate Journal 29
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