Social Mobility in the Workplace
Written by Daniel Dipper
Amongst the general public, social mobility efforts have mainly been characterised as focusing on students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds progressing into top universities and employers; a focus on ‘getting in’ to universities and companies that were traditionally seen as elite.
However, there has been comparatively less focus on ‘getting on’: the experience of those people when they get there, for the focus of this article in the workplace. Here I want to explore a few steps that can be taken as individuals and collectives to have impact in the world of work.
The first step to addressing social mobility in the workplace is quantitative – you cannot often fix what you do not measure, and what you measure is what you focus on. Numerous statutory bodies and charities have provided detailed methodologies on how to go about measurement and setting Key Performance Indicators. Focus was initially on gender and then racial diversity at senior levels in sectors like law and finance, with a more recent emphasis on socioeconomic background in terms of progression rates and now the socioeconomic pay gap (as for instance seen in the Social Mobility Foundation’s Employer Index).
Data is the lifeblood of good decision making: when collected, transformed, and used effectively, data acts as evidence and diagnostics information which will direct us to where efforts should be focussed. As with any use of data, it is important to question what is found and push back, explore the data from different perspectives and consider what is missing or whether correlation is being observed rather than causation. When done right, data sets the agenda so you know what to focus on, and then after implementing a change impact can be measured.
Despite there being huge focus on measurement in much of the discussion on social mobility, for the rest of this article I want to focus on skills, conventions, and culture. From my experience of having been involved in conversations about social mobility for the last five years, from speaking in the Metro article about my journey to the University of Oxford to having been involved in numerous social mobility organisations, I feel an area that is under articulated in the public conscience is the qualitative ways that social mobility can be achieved in the workplace; the small steps that everyone can take without the need for formal initiatives or schemes. Social mobility is not just something for HR and recruitment, or for those in named roles; social mobility should be in the ethos of how everyone does business, in the actions that individuals take and in how we work with each other.
A good example of this is around transferable skills, for example presenting with confidence or networking. These are not always skills that have been developed through formal education and even then, these skills can still be challenging for seasoned professionals. But these skills are also pivotal to so many roles that they cannot be left to chance they will be developed, so employers and colleagues in the workplace should take steps to ensure support is in place to develop these skills. Upskilling is not just something left for external training programmes or courses, but something that should be offered internally within organisations through structured and informal development initiatives. Networking could unlock your next sale or mentor, presentations your next investor or promotion, so steps individuals can take in the workplace to sharpen transferable skills will only go on to pay dividends for both the company and the employee.
The workplace, like any part of society, has its own unspoken rules and ways of working that need to be understood and navigated. Take steps to codify these where important or necessary (for example via a learning programme, induction pack, or internal Wiki), and challenge where they hinder development or the implementation of optimal ways of working. Conventions and ways of working become particularly significant in changemaking activities; to disrupt the status quo you must first understand it. Without understanding conventions, individuals can be held back by not seeming to engage in traditional ways or by traditional channels. Without challenging conventions, harmful practices can remain in existence long beyond their sell by date which can perpetuate rather than resolve issues. So review conventions, ensure they are working for everyone and they get the best of people while providing structure without being a barrier to any group.
More broadly, culture is at the centre of all workers’ experiences in the workplace. Is the natural response to challenge for team members to collaborate or confront? Is feedback constructive and actionable? Do more senior colleagues take other employees under their wing through informal or formal mentoring opportunities and even more importantly advocate for them and offer sponsorship? These are age-old questions that have been discussed countlessly, but more recently they have begun to be explored through the lens of socioeconomic background and social mobility. The Bridge Group’s research into outcomes of those on the Social Mobility Foundation’s Aspiring Professionals Programme highlights culture as being seen as one of the key barriers for getting on in the workplace, so culture cannot be ignored and is not something that can be changed quickly or in a linear fashion. Go deliberately about playing your part in creating a positive culture, one that embraces everyone to fulfil their fullest potential and one where everyone can thrive.
The main message I want people to take away from this article is that structured programmes to support social mobility can have huge impact – a social mobility vacation scheme targeted at those who don’t have connections in the legal sector, an experience day at a finance firm, or CV clinics and mock interviews. However this isn’t the only way to contribute to social mobility, and what we all do every day can sometimes have even more personal impacts. Answering that message on LinkedIn from someone who wants to learn more about your career, helping a colleague navigate the workplace, and listening to a range of perspectives on the impact of decisions are just some ways to make that difference.
Social mobility does require measurement and goal setting, ambition and creativity, reasoning and logic. At the same time, don’t forget the power of you and your everyday. You as an individual can offer so much to others, so don’t just see social mobility as something for company strategists and senior leadership but something you can play your part within.
