Cubis Systems are manufacturers of underground systems for infrastructure, the organisation currently employs over 650 staff at several sites globally with their headquarters based in Lurgan.
Cubis are currently bronze accredited and striving towards silver accreditation with Diversity Mark in a bid to transform attitudes and culture within their organisation for the better.
Conleth Gilvary, Talent Acquisition & Development Manager, explains why this journey is important to Cubis;
“In the long term, we believe that if we attract and retain a more diverse workforce, we will have a wider range of experiences which will provide better solutions to our customers and in turn gain a greater advantage over our competitors.
“By creating an inclusive culture within our business, providing training and development opportunities to all, particularly under-represented groups, across our business we will improve employee engagement and therefore create a more balanced and higher performing organisation. It is a win for employees and a win for the bottom line.
“In making the decision to do this and to fully commit to a better workplace for all we wanted to embrace the concept and be totally accountable for our actions and initiatives, Diversity Mark have provided us with that capability, working with us along the way to help create a framework of progress and helping us to navigate the diversity and inclusion landscape.
“In real terms, our HR teams and hiring managers have already seen the benefit with an increase in female applications & employees since being accredited the Bronze Diversity Mark. In fact, when we submitted our application to Diversity Mark, 18% of our workforce were female, since our Bronze accreditation we now have a workforce consisting of 24% females.
“By focusing the mind and examining every message we put out, this led us to a change in our job adverts, which are now more inclusive, we have also made a change to the flexible working options that we make available to our employees, for example, we now offer staff the opportunity to work more flexible hours and to apply for part-time positions across all areas of the business.
“I’m delighted to say that we have also Implemented our first ever Diversity and Inclusion committee – we have 13 nominees who are driving the D&I strategy, this is keeping us on track and ensuring that positive change is a constant – this is something I am very proud of and I know the committee members are passionate about our commitment to change and in meeting each milestone in our journey.
“I fully believe that all the actions we have taken to date have made an enormous impact on our reputation as good employers.”
Diversity Mark offers organisations across the UK and Ireland the accreditation, expert support, guidance, insights, events and webinars to support organisations on their Equality, Diversity and Inclusion journey.
Nuala Murphy, Director of Diversity Mark says; “Making the choice to be a more inclusive employer will reap you, your business, and your employees both measurable and emotional rewards, at Diversity Mark we are with you every step of the way, providing counsel, information, resources and much more.
“Our role is to support each organisation in their commitment to progress and we fully understand the sensitivities involved and the barriers faced by organisations during this time of change.
Nuala goes on to say; “Transforming the workplace has a huge impact on our society as a whole, making our communities more accepting and allowing the world in which we live in to be a more welcoming place for all, that is something I feel very passionate about and I am delighted to be able to help organisations achieve their goals.
Conleth goes on to explain that this is not a short-term initiative; “In the next 5 – 10 years we will see a much higher number of female employees across a range of business areas. By 2030 our business aims to have 40%+ of females at board level and senior leadership positions. That is a figure that I believe is fully achievable and that will see Cubis success cemented for the future. In the short term, our goal is to achieve Silver accreditation from Diversity Mark, then we will absolutely be aiming for Gold accreditation.”
To find out more about Diversity Mark please contact info@diversity-mark-ni.co.uk.