Lord Bilimoria

Back in February 2021 we announced that US2U Consulting was one of 75 UK businesses to sign up to the Change the Race Ratio initiative. The idea of Lord Bilimoria, pictured with Rachel Blackburn, was to grasp the moment to create real and lasting change to improve the racial and ethnic diversity across company boards and senior leadership positions in UK businesses.

There are currently 100 signatories for the initiative and all were invited to a Reception on the Thames at Tower Bridge Quay, London, hosted by the British Television Presenter June Sarpong OBE. Key points from the various speakers who presented during the evening included:

• Only 20% of FTSE 100 companies have signed up to the Change the Race Ratio

• There are still no FTSE 100 companies with a black Chairperson, Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer

• When recruiting, to make a statement along the lines of "We embrace diversity but won't compromise on merit" can be seen as patronising and an inappropriate comment - as it's assumed that the best candidate will not be from an ethnic minority

• Black people who are capable to do key roles may feel like an "imposter" and may benefit from a mentor or sponsor to help them navigate the career ladder

Lord Bilimoria said "It's a dream come true to have this evening; it's proven that to have more diverse senior leadership makes good business sense as more diversity leads to more innovation."

To find out how we can help your organisation develop its Diversity and Inclusion strategies, please contact Rachel Blackburn at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for an exploratory conversation.

As an elected member of the East of England Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Rachel Blackburn attended the quarterly regional meeting followed by the annual dinner at The Graduate Hotel in Cambridge. Lord Bilimoria, pictured with Rachel, attended the dinner and made the keynote speech. Karan Faridoon Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria, CBE, DL, FCA is a British Indian entrepreneur, life peer in the UK House of Lords, and a university chancellor.

He founded the global beer brand Cobra Beer and currently operates as the company's chairman. In addition to his business activity, Bilimoria is a politically active crossbench member of the House of Lords, currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Birmingham and is President of the Confederation of British Industry.

One of the themes for the meeting was the fact that CBI research shows that only one in five businesses currently invests in developing their leaders and managers to support their business goals. We support the CBI's recommendations to boost labour productivity in these challenging times when all sectors appear to be facing recruitment and retention issues. These include:

• Adopting leadership, management and people practices that retain, engage and develop all staff, unlocking a healthier, more motivated and productive workforce by:

• Establishing and communicating a strong company purpose that encourages motivation

• Embedding effective performance management that keeps staff engaged and accountable in goals that are important and contribute to organisational success, while not being onerous

• Setting people management objectives for leaders and managers and put them on a par with commercial targets

• Ensuring leaders and managers regularly communicate clear expectations around organisational priorities, while also asking staff about their workload and wellbeing

• Regularly recognising and rewarding staff to appreciate what the team does

• Keeping track of employees' engagement levels and establishing ways staff can provide feedback and ask questions which are acted upon

Please get in touch with US2U Consulting to explore how we can help you manage these challenges.