Ways of approaching sensitive data collection Staff and students

The business case Understanding the composition of your students/workforce can enable you to highlight differences between groups in terms of satisfaction, engagement and representation. This in turn can enable you to identify, tackle and prevent issues that would otherwise undermine engagement with current and potential staff and students.

In the words of some Equally Professional members “Monitoring is an invaluable tool that gives organisations the evidence base to determine whether they are effective in turning their good intentions into tangible outcomes and practical benefit.”

In the words of some Equally Professional members “We believe that monitoring the diversity of our staff and students will not only give us a profile of the diversity of our college population, but will also highlight the college's commitment to diversity issues and raise awareness of diversity issues amongst our whole college community”

How should we measure? Before you ask the questions you must ensure that staff and students understand why they are being surveyed.   Messages and the case for them must be grounded in organisational values. Organisations need to enable and embrace difference, and allow their staff and students and potential staff and students to be authentically who they are. Your messages need to go beyond your staff; make sure they are the right ones.

Legal responsibilities The Equality Act 2010 affords protection from unlawful discrimination in employment/goods and services to all staff across the following protected characteristics: age disability gender reassignment marriage and civil partnership pregnancy and maternity race religion or belief (including lack of belief ) sex sexual orientation

Legal responsibilities Through the public sector equality duty (PSED) of the Act, colleges have a legal responsibility to have due regard to the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation advance equality of opportunity between people of different groups foster good relations between people of different groups

Legal responsibilities For the protected characteristic of marriage and civil partnership, colleges only have legal requirements to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Underpinning the PSED is a set of specific duties, some of which place legal requirements on colleges relating to the collection and use of data, evidence and information.

Collecting data What is required?

Collecting data An accurate and reliable evidence base is needed to initiate changes in policies. Colleges should consider what data they collect, what mechanisms they can use to collect data, and what opportunities they offer staff/students to share information.

Data categories To provide evidence of whether a college’s policies and practices are effective, and meet legal requirements under the Equality Act, data should be collected across all protected characteristics.

Mechanisms to collect data A common mechanism colleges use to collect equality information is through updates to individual records. Anonymous satisfaction surveys which include opportunities for detailed follow-up questions may give colleges a more thorough understanding of their staff/learners, including those who do not want to disclose particular sensitive information through their staff/learner record.

Other mechanisms for collection of data include: Equal opportunities monitoring forms Staff satisfaction surveys Evidence from involvement, engagement and consultation exercises with staff such as focus groups and ad hoc meetings Information on how colleges have assessed the impact of their policies and practices Annual equality audits Online self-service mechanisms

Opportunities to collect data A College’s data collection procedures should provide staff/students with on-going opportunities to disclose and update equality information throughout their employment/study at the college. This ensures that information is captured on staff/students who may withhold disclosure of particular information when first joining the college, or whose information changes during employment/study (for example in relation to disability, religion and belief, sexual orientation).

Opportunities to collect data Opportunities that colleges can use for capturing equality status information include: job applications requests for interview induction packs development and performance reviews on promotion or progression to another role within the college exit interviews routine requests to staff (such as staff circulars) online self-service mechanisms where staff can update their own HR file targeted methods such as training sessions, committees, forum meetings, focus groups, equality days and online equality and diversity training

Benefits of collecting data

Benefits Colleges invest resources in collecting and analysing workforce/learner data in relation to equality characteristics. When this data is effectively used to affect improvements in the recruitment, retention, admissions and development of staff/learners, this investment can bring great benefits to the college.

College performance By analysing equality data, colleges can identify whether their practices result in differences in opportunities and outcomes for people from different equality groups. Once these issues have been identified, colleges can address any concerns through policies or initiatives which can encourage a more motivated workforce/student body, lower absenteeism and greater staff/student retention, thereby reducing overall costs to the college.

College support Specifically, collecting and analysing evidence can support colleges to: identify barriers that are preventing the recruitment of the best from the widest pool of applicants ensure induction, training and development initiatives are reaching relevant staff understand employees’ requirements understand management or performance issues highlight to staff and potential job applicants the college’s commitment to equality

Benefits for staff/students Benefits for staff/students of a college using equality data include: an opportunity to discuss college support that may be required, for example disability-related and/or caring-related reasonable adjustments targeted communications about specific college based interventions and development programmes for underrepresented groups involvement in supporting the college to create and shape an inclusive and engaging body of staff/learners where everyone is treated with respect and dignity and the diverse requirements of individuals are met

Small numbers There are likely to be small numbers of people disclosing particular protected characteristics, for example in relation to gender identity, or for particular impairments or specific ethnicities. It is therefore not uncommon for colleges, when analysing data, to group the data into broader categories, such as ‘disabled staff’ or ‘black and minority ethnic staff’, to ensure sample sizes are large enough to be significant and also to avoid identifying individual staff members in reports.

Small numbers If colleges do group data information together in this way during analysis, it is important to be aware that this may disguise significant variations between individual groups. Alternative methods of data collection, for example focus groups and interviews, may therefore be required to get a more detailed understanding of particular issues within your college.

Improving disclosure Staff/learners may be anxious or reluctant to disclose personal information for fear of discrimination and being singled out, for example when being asked to disclose information such as sexual orientation or mental health. However colleges can alleviate some of these concerns by developing a supportive culture where staff can make an informed decision about disclosing.

Communicate effectively Internal communications around data collection should explain why the data is being collected and how it will be used, shared and stored. The more individuals are aware that information will be used to introduce positive changes to increase equality and promote an inclusive and diverse environment, the greater their willingness to participate will be. Conversely, if individuals do not understand why equality data questions are being asked of them they are less likely to complete the information, leading to incomplete and inaccurate data.

Communicate effectively Colleges should ensure that they communicate that monitoring is required to ensure that their policies and practices are fair and do not discriminate and support individuals in reaching their potential, as well as being a legal requirement. It is important to ensure that staff responsible for collecting and monitoring data are fully trained and understand the value of this information. All staff engaged in managing information systems should be aware of the issues of security and be sensitive to issues of confidentiality and disclosure.

Communicate effectively Individuals should be given the option to choose not to share the information, for example, with their line manager, but also be provided with an explanation that this limits what the institution can do to support them.

Data Protection Individuals may have legitimate concerns about how information will be stored. Colleges should always ensure that they have developed the appropriate systems and safeguards to enable the safe storage and analysis of this data. Communications around data should therefore outline that the information will be stored securely in line with the Data Protection Act 1998, and who will have access to it.

Develop a culture for disclosure Colleges can improve disclosure rates through developing a culture that takes actions to promote equality and diversity. College values, as outlined in mission statements and other promotional materials, usually contain declarations about supporting all staff and students to achieve. Ensuring senior leadership commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion will support an inclusive environment which encourages everyone to share these organisational values.

Develop a culture for disclosure Colleges should also seek to ensure that senior managers are equipped to understand the benefits of equality monitoring and the strategic benefits to promoting an inclusive and supportive college culture. For example, equality, diversity and inclusion champions can be used to drive strategies forward and ensure that equality remains a pivotal issue on management agendas.

Develop a culture for disclosure A diversity champion does not need to be an expert in this field nor share the protected characteristic that they are championing. It is important however that they have significant authority within the college to influence change, model equality, diversity and inclusion through their own behaviour and challenge inappropriate behaviour in and around the college.

Develop a culture for disclosure It is essential to gain support from all departments, staff members and students and that they understand the purpose of any monitoring exercise. If monitoring is considered to be purely bureaucratic, the evidence collected may not support or inform college development. To challenge this perception colleges can provide examples of how equality monitoring data has been used previously and evidence this success.

Engaging with external stakeholders It is good practice

Engaging with external stakeholders Support from a range of stakeholders helps to ensure that the data a college collects is relevant, legally compliant and supportive of the broader college equality and diversity strategy. It can also raise awareness of the benefits of data collection and how it supports service provision.

Colleges may look to engage with: staff trades unions staff networks, including equality networks local community groups local and national equality organisations, for example Stonewall other public bodies

An inclusive college An inclusive college is based on an acknowledgement of difference and an understanding of people’s different requirements. Therefore, recognising and celebrating individuality will support the development of a college culture that considers behaviours and attitudes and is supportive of diversity. Colleges may consider organising specific ‘diversity events’, including Black History Month, Pride Week and International Women’s Day.