Employees lead Musgrave's inclusion and diversity drive

More than 88% of employees say they feel they can be their true selves at Musgrave, and 80% have a great sense of belonging

Fri, 08 Dec, 2023 - 10:13

Joe Dermody

Employee Representative Groups (ERGs) give workers a great sense of empowerment in shaping company policy around diversity and inclusion, says Eileen Biggs, talent and resourcing partner with Musgrave.

The foodservice company has been pioneering in its support of the employees who have thus far created six ERGs focused on culture and heritage, gender, LGBT+, disability, multi-generations, and sustainability.

“To date, we have had more than 200 colleagues engaged with our ERGs, all nurturing diversity and inclusion,” said Eileen Biggs. “It is important for us that the employees have a voice is guiding the issues that are important for us.

“Colleagues use the ERG groups as a place where they can have conversations. In the Prism group, our LGBT+ employees and colleagues who are transitioning support one another in the workplace.”

People in each of the six ERGs at Musgrave know that they have colleagues who are able to share their own experiences. Group members know that they have allies in the workplace. They develop supports for one another. They also develop training modules to promote understanding and inclusion across the workforce.

“Our accessibility group are hosting awareness seminars for people to understand the work issues that relate to a wide range of disabilities. These seminars start in December and continue into 2024, raising awareness.

“The menopause network has achieved great outcomes, with people sharing their lived experiences with members of their group. The group members have been great in how they offer support to one another.”

Few Irish companies have as long a history as Musgrave. Founded by brothers Thomas and Stuart Musgrave in Cork in 1876, the company has consistently evolved to reflect societal change.

This is hardly surprising when the success of the business is driven by its customer-facing services. Musgrave has conducted surveys analysing how its ERGs contribute to key business outcomes, not least employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

“We are a long-established company, where some of our older colleagues have seen their children and grandchildren working for the company,” said Eileen. “We recently ran an employee engagement survey and we found that 88% of people feel that they can be their true selves in Musgrave.

“More than 80% said they had a great sense of belonging. That sense is supported by the feeling of inclusion that comes with the ERGs bringing people together.”

Musgrave has also recently joined forces with other companies to launch the Ireland chapter of the Leading Executives Advancing Diversity (LEAD) Network. The global group’s goal is to attract, retain and advance women in the retail and consumer goods industry through education, leadership and male allyship.

Founded in 2011, LEAD now has 18,000 members, 10 country chapters, with 200+ manufacturers and 100+ retailers all working to bring about gender equality at all levels of the industry.

The Ireland chapter of LEAD includes representatives from Kellanova, Musgrave, Lidl, Unilever, P&G, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, Kraft Heinz, Bank of Ireland, Haleon, Danone and Valeo Foods.

The LEAD group aims to attract, retain and advance women in the retail and consumer goods industry in Europe through education, leadership and business development.

A core aspect of Musgrave’s overall People Strategy is a comprehensive inclusion and diversity plan, made up of three pillars: ‘Engaging & Educating’, ‘Attracting Diverse Talent’ and ‘Modernising the Way We Work’. These pillars sit quite naturally alongside the commitments of the LEAD Network.

“The LEAD network is going from strength to strength,” said Eileen. “It’s very important for us. It really struck a chord with the team at Musgrave. We have a fantastic inclusive culture and our colleagues are the ones leading change in the company.

“Our commitment to inclusion and diversity is also important for new recruits joining the company. They can see that our culture is authentic. It is deeply embedded in our heritage.”

Musgrave has set a target to increase female representation in leadership and senior management roles to over 40% by 2025, from 32% currently. In addition, Musgrave has committed to achieving over 30% female participation in its executive team by 2025 from 25% presently.

Musgrave operates in a sector that has been traditionally male-dominated, but the company is actively working to change that. Musgrave has introduced a range of policies and fundamental changes to business operations aimed at encouraging more women to join the business, and to encourage women in the business to keep advancing their careers.

“Our employees are key to all of these initiatives,” said Eileen Biggs. “They’re the ones driving the ERG groups that are helping everyone understand the needs of each group, and ultimately bringing all of these groups together.”