Colt Technology Services has great employee support groups

Colt is an inclusive employer that champions diversity in the workplace.

"For a business to thrive, its people need to be able to flourish. An inclusive culture is the foundation for that. While we know there's a business case for Inclusion and Diversity; at Colt, it's more than that. Creating an inclusive workplace is woven into our DNA. One where people feel a sense of belonging, where we're all able to contribute and work together to achieve our strategy," attests Colt Technology Services, Keri Gilder.

Colt supports a number of Employee Resource Groups

Colt sees truly global networks with opportunities to get involved wherever people work in Colt with many ongoing, virtual events supported.

Women+@Colt

The vision of Women+@Colt is to promote diversity and gender balance at Colt and engage with all employees to enable Colt’s women to thrive.

"To achieve our vision, we need everyone’s support – we all benefit as diverse companies are more innovative, more collaborative and more successful. To continue the work we do at Colt, we are partnering with other great women’s networks to promote gender balance in our industrys," says Jenni Sach, Chair of Women⁺@Colt and Director of Business Partner Marketing.

The journey so far has seen:

Group mentoring - In need of a new way to connect with each other in the virtual world, Colt's committee set up small group mentoring sessions via video call. With topics such as resilience, bravery, networking and cross-functional career moves, they provide not only a vital space to talk about personal development, but also a place to network with members and allies from all levels of the business across the globe.
The Girls' Network - Building a connection with communities around the world and contributing positively to those we live and work in is important to Colt. The Girls’ Network is one of Colt's UK partners, and Colt is are proud to mentor students in London to help inspire their career aspirations.
Events - Colt hosts internal and external events both online and in person to raise awareness and discuss issues related to women. For example, Colt invited four fathers at Colt to share their experiences as working dads with daughters.

DAN (Disability Network)

DAN aims to raise awareness of visible and invisible disabilities and health conditions, embrace people’s differences and champion inclusion across Colt.

Raising awareness - DAN arranges events with both internal and external speakers to discuss a range of issues impacting Colties in the workplace and their day-to-day lives. To promote positive role models, DAN members have featured in Humans of Colt and The Full Picture podcast to explore what it means to have a disability and how we can all change our perceptions.
Accessibility matters - Accessibility means that regardless of disability or long-term health conditions, all of Colt's employees can contribute, thrive and have a fair chance to develop and progress. To help with this, Colt created an accessibility toolkit including a selection of tools and recommendations on Microsoft Office 365.
Creating partnerships - Collaboration within Colt and with external networks, such as the Business Disability Forum and disability charity, Leonard Cheshire, is a key focus for Colt. Colt is constantly reviewing and exploring other partnerships that support its aims and help to increase disability confidence.

PrideMatters

LGBTQ+ Network is a safe space for members of the community and allies, raising awareness of issues impacting LGBTQ+ employees.

Inclusive family leave - Since launch, the network has helped with policy changes across Colt's business, including the Global Parental Leave policy. By replacing previous traditional maternity and paternity leave with primary and secondary caregiver leave, it recognises same sex parents and families.
Transition at work - Colt has also launched a transition at work policy to support employees who identify as trans to take the time out of work they need, and to support them on their journey as an employee of Colt.
Ally training - In 2020, the Pride Matters network launched LGBT+ ally training and have trained over 200 employees globally so far. The sessions help raise awareness of the LGBT+ community and the issues they face and demonstrate how to be an ally in and out of the workplace.

YOUnited

YOUnited promotes cross-cultural understanding and create a supportive environment where anyone can flourish regardless of their race, ethnicity, faith or cultural background with an aim of:

focusing on educating and celebrating one another through events and initiatives
collaborating with and support colleagues, fellow employees and local communities to make a positive change
supporting career development in the community

Each year, Colt celebrates key events or celebrations in the calendar that matter to its people. From religious festivals to awareness days and months that celebrate a particular community, such as Lunar New Year, Eid, Black History Month, its passionate team ensure that Colt highlights the wonderful diversity of its Colties and what’s important to them in a way that promotes inclusion and belonging.

Next@Colt

Next@Colt brings together young people globally to build connections, develop young talent and give back to the community, to improve young employees’ experiences at work.

The network’s focus has three pillars: Community & Connection; Learning & Development; CSR.

Flexible First

Furthermore, Colt is committed to creating an amazing working environment that includes offering flexible ways of working.

Launched in November 2022, Flexible First, was designed with help of colleagues (or ‘Colties’ as they're called) through an extensive six-month Hybrid Pilot.

COLT continues to explore how its approach will evolve with the ambition of offering even greater flexibility in the future. There are no set minimum days in the office, except where these are linked to local country arrangements, allowances, etc and people can work from any Colt country for up to 30 days per calendar year, subject to remote working abroad guidelines.

Colt is also recognised for inclusion and is Disability Confident Committed and a member of the Valuable 500. With Platinum rating in Ecovadis, COLT is also in the top 1 per cent of companies for Environment, Social, Governance, of which Inclusion & Diversity is a key component.