Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism

Open Ear’s Commitments to Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism

Open Ear is an equal opportunities employer. We believe that a diverse culture brings richness to our organisation and inclusion is required to unleash the potential of this diversity. In 2021, we made firm committments to review, learn and implement improvements across all our workplace activity including policy, disciplinary and grievance procedures, hiring practises and social media communications.

Policy

We have a zero-tolerance policy on racism and all forms of discrimination, and have involved independent professional counsel who verify our policy is substantially robust, and is in line with the best practice guidelines set out in the Equality Act 2010.

The key points of our policy include quick and responsive action to any discrimintation case encountered within the workplace, and robust disciplinary procedures. Our policies are detailed in an Employee Handbook that every team member receives and signs up to.

This policy is by no means the be all and end all but it helps us create a safer space for all employees to feel comfortable in the workplace, to fully understand their responsibilities when it comes to appropriate language and behaviours, and to give confidence they can raise any grievance trusting that the correct procedure and action will take place effectively.

Training

As a team, we’ve participated in Anti-Racism training conducted by an experienced diversity and inclusivity trainer. The process involved learning about the historical background to racism, the psychological, social and behavioural reasons for its occurrence and provided us with a range of tools that have helped us better understand our actions and the impact these actions may have.

We now host regular calls to discuss anti-racism, diversity and inclusivity to ensure there is open communication, and we have a Slack channel where resources and information can be shared. We’ve built a variety of tools to help bring the team together including weekly catch ups, weekly one-to-one conversations between team members and a better defined outline of how behaviours and communication should be conducted internally.

This new approach to continued learning is budgeted as a resource and facilitated by a range of independent expert advisors who help us grow both personally and professionally.

Hiring practices

Our small team is spread across the UK to better serve our clients. To date, our hires have been largely facilitated through our network, as is often the case with small businesses. In line with our commitments to equality moving forward, we are in the process of onboarding an independent HR company specialising in ensuring diverse and equal opportunities for all.

Social media and external communications

As a B2B organisation our social media platforms and external communications are in place to inform, inspire and highlight our client stories and team achievements. As a company within the wider music industry we want to celebrate culture from all corners to enable discovery.

However small our voice might be within this online space, we understand that we have a responsibility to approach all of our communications with the consideration, sensitivity and representation that are important to us and our clients. We recognise that inclusive structures for input and approval are paramount.

Moving forward

We acknowldge that the above is a work in progress. We are continuing to explore ways in which we can make improvements both on a company and individual level. We welcome any feedback, comments or insights that will support our efforts to combat racism and promote diversity and inclusivity. Please do get in touch brian@openearmusic.com . To receive a copy of our policy in full, please contact us on the same email address.