At a Glance
Positive About Inclusion was commissioned by CHP to deliver a series of face-to-face workshops for front line colleagues from across the business, from Repairs and Maintenance teams to Neighbourhood and Estate based colleagues. The brief was to design a ‘game-based’ engaging and memorable session that would raise general awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion as well as providing colleagues with the confidence and fluency to tailor services effectively to meet the needs of their customers.
About the Client
CHP is a charitable housing association based in Chelmsford, Essex that owns and manages over 11,000 homes, with 300+ colleagues providing services for over 27,000 customers in the eastern region of England.
Challenges and Objectives
CHP contacted us having seen via social media that we had successfully delivered game-based training to front-line housing sector colleagues. They required a workshop that would engage with participants, that would be memorable and that would be tailored to specifically respond to recent feedback received from their customers. The training needed to be held in a ‘safe space’ where attendees could share lived experiences as well as hearing real life examples of best practice from the social housing sector. Session delivery needed to maximise the time available whilst minimising any disruption to busy repair appointments/diaries.
Solution
We designed and delivered an engaging workshop using the game of snakes and ladders to provide a ‘back to basics’ refresher of what EDI is and why it matters, and examining the role of language, challenge, assumptions and stereotypes in creating a culture where everyone can feel that they belong. Two teams competed against each other, throwing an over-sized dice and answering questions correctly to make progress up the snakes and ladders board. Feedback from CHP customers as well as real-life social housing scenarios were woven into the game design and sessions were delivered in person at CHP’s Head Office over two separate days starting at 8am to maximise attendance. Utilising a board game format created a safe space where participants felt able to share their personal experiences and anecdotes, bringing the learning to life.
Both of the instructors were very enthusiastic and engaging. They both had a fun energy and were obviously very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. They listened to the room and answered any questions that were asked. The interactive game concept kept the learning fun and engaging. The content wasn’t to full on so there wasn’t information overload, but enough to make us think.
Workshop Participant
