13 Dec 2011

The Corporate Responsibility and HR departments are pleased to announce that Lakehouse has been awarded the Diversity Works for London Procurement Standard for Equality and Diversity, which certifies a level of diversity proficiency to supply to the Greater London Authority (GLA) group, London councils and many registered providers.

We are the first of the London Fire Brigade’s suppliers, and one of the first GLA group’s suppliers, to achieve this accreditation.

Diversity Works for London is a Mayoral programme that encourages and supports businesses to realise the benefits of London’s diversity. It used an independent external auditor to assess various equality, diversity and inclusion aspects of our business, including:

• Equal opportunities policies and strategy
• Guidance and training for management and staff
• Monitoring within the business
• Advertising and recruitment
• Reasonable adjustment
• Staff engagement

The business benefits of achieving the Procurement Standard include increased procurement opportunities, risk mitigation, and the development of methods to increase the talent pool within our company.

Lakehouse HR Director Carol King said, “With our goal to be an employer of choice, we are extremely proud to have achieved this accreditation. It further demonstrates Lakehouse’s firm commitment to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion within our business ethos and day-to-day operations.”

In 2012, Lakehouse will work towards the DWL Gold Standard, which will enable us to have our diversity practices certified as exemplary.  To do so, we need to close-out actions identified in the audit, such as adapting our Equal Opportunities Policy to take into account the nine protected characteristics of diversity and the seven different types of discrimination; expanding our data capture for job applicants and existing employees; and adjusting the Lakehouse Application Form in line with research into health and disability questions.