People

Service provider for customers and communities 

Our strategic road network provides links to communities and businesses, and contributes to the UK’s national wellbeing and economic growth. We aim to ensure our services are fair and accessible to everyone.  

We try to achieve this by: 

• using better data and insight into customer needs through research and engagement 
• targeting messages about how to use our roads safely to specific groups such as disabled or deaf people 
• improved customer contact channels such as text messages 
• more accessible infrastructure such as changing places at motorway service areas 
• providing information about the accessibility of the network 
• making sure vulnerable road users have the right support if they break down on the network 
• listening to and engaging with our customers and key stakeholders 

Employer 

We're represented by people from a diverse range of backgrounds. As an employer we want to make sure everyone feels like an integral part of the work we deliver regardless of those backgrounds.  

We have several employee networks to help people find likeminded people and feel supported and a part of a wider community.

In the last year we've had a 58% increase in self-reported LGBTQ+ representation on our schemes and a 29% increase in self-reported ethnic minority representation. 

Looking to the future and the next Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) we will continue to: 

• encourage more employees to share their diversity information with us to inform better decision-making and enable us to track our successes 
• support our employee networks to grow and thrive 
• reduce the number of pay gaps between diverse groups of our people  
• embed inclusion throughout all HR policies, procedures and processes. 
• provide an inclusive working environment that enables all our employees to thrive and bring their whole selves to work  
• increase the diversity of our people, to better reflect the communities we work in 

Working with our suppliers 

We ask our supply chain to support our diversity and inclusion ambitions by focusing on four priority performance areas: 

• Attracting and recruiting a talented, capable and diverse workforce that reflects the communities we work in 
• Creating inclusive working culture, practices and environments that enable everyone to perform to their full potential 
• Considering and valuing the diverse needs of customers and neighbouring communities at all stages of their work 
• Developing wider supply chain capability around equality, diversity and inclusion 

Supplier diversity forum 

This is a voluntary group of supply chain representatives which has been running since 2007. 

The forum’s vision is: "To work together to create a more inclusive and diverse industry, benefiting the highways customer and communities in which we operate". 

It focuses on: 

• improving inclusive behaviours – helping us to think about how our behaviour and interactions can impact on others 
• sharing and adopting best practice – learning from peers 
• creating catalysts – helping others on their inclusion journey 

The forum is part of our supplier collaboration board and influences the wider supply chain diversity and inclusion practice.