Introducing National Inclusion Week

At Welsh Water, we believe in doing the right things for our customers, employees, and the company.

Over the past year, we’ve introduced a reverse mentoring scheme where directors and senior managers are paired with someone outside of the senior leadership team to share the knowledge, experiences and understanding on all sorts of topics.

Meet Sam James, Managing Director of Household Customers and Jenna Nicolle-Gaughan, who have been meeting bi-monthly over the past 12 months.

Samantha James

It is important to me that we create an environment where everyone in Welsh Water can be themselves and thrive. But to do that well, I knew that I needed to learn about other people’s experiences and reverse mentoring seemed like a great opportunity to do that.

Jenna and I started our reverse mentoring almost 12 months ago. I knew Jenna from her time in Retail Services and more recently as an Inclusivity Ambassador, but not very well. Initially I think we were both a little uncertain about how the sessions would work.

Any concerns that I had quickly disappeared. I have thoroughly enjoyed these sessions, and I am a little sad that they are coming to an end.

I have learnt a great deal from Jenna and have had my own thoughts and perceptions challenged.

I appreciate that Jenna has trusted me enough to share some of her personal experiences of her journey from coming out to her parents to marrying Liz and having her son.

Each session the discussions were wide ranging. We talked about the history of LGBT+ rights and (more worryingly) how recent some of these developments have been.

Jenna suggested books and areas for me to research and told me about how the LGBT+ community in Welsh Water feel and the things that would make a difference.

We also talked about the role that I can play as a senior leader and ally. As a result of our mentoring arrangement, Jenna has worked with the Retail Leadership Team in developing our Diversity and Inclusivity plan, which we are launching this week.

So, what are my reflections as I look back over this last year?

Well, as a company we’re on a journey. Diversity and inclusion sits high on our priorities for the company, but more importantly this is increasingly colleague-led, which is fantastic. I know that we still have more to do but this experience has given me confidence that through these open and honest discussions we are creating the culture where everyone can be themselves.

Jen – thank you for your time. I have really appreciated your honesty and for allowing me to ask my daft questions.

Jenna Nicolle-Gaughan

Reverse mentoring is something I’ve been interested in for ages. The benefits are clear, and I felt it could help drive a more progressive and inclusive culture at Welsh Water. So when I was asked to take part in a reverse mentoring pilot, I was excited but nervous.

I was paired with Sam James, Managing Director of Household Customers, and although I knew Sam from my days in Retail Services, I didn’t know her well enough to say more than a passing hello to. I was a little apprehensive - after all, Sam is one of the big bosses and I wasn’t sure how the dynamic would work.

The relationship could only be meaningful if we had trust

It was important to me that we established some ground rules around confidentiality in our first session, the relationship could only be meaningful if we had trust – in each other and in the process. We also set out what we’d like to gain from the relationship, and looking back at my notes, I think it’s fair to say we’ve achieved our objectives and more.

Sam has listened to my experiences intently, offering support and guidance where appropriate. Sam has been open about her own privileges and blind spots, and we’ve had some positive discussions to address some of these topics. In turn, I feel I have challenged Sam to be a better ally, to incorporate diversity and inclusion into PMR objectives for her team, and to be a more visible leader.

It’s not all been one way though - I’ve also taken a lot away from our sessions. Just having Sam listen to me has been incredibly validating – I can’t tell you how much it means to feel heard. On a practical level, Sam has supported me in setting up an LGBT+ Employee Network and has been generous in her support of raising awareness of LGBT+ issues at work.

She also agreed to sponsor the Pride Month event with Gareth Thomas, which wouldn’t have taken place without her support. I’ve also been given the opportunity to support the Retail Leadership Team to develop a Diversity and Inclusivity plan.

Every single one of us wants to make a difference

Working with Sam has given me an insight into how things work at the top of Welsh Water, while also giving me the confidence to continue using my voice for good. Every single one of us wants to make a difference, and this is something that feels really meaningful to me.

I feel that Sam and I have now established a solid working relationship – we ‘get’ one another and feel genuinely comfortable having difficult conversations to work through issues. Although our formal reverse mentoring arrangement is coming to an end, I’m confident that we’ll continue to support and challenge one another in our shared efforts to make Welsh Water a place where everyone can bring their whole selves to work.