Our organisation
Hillside Clubhouse is a charity supporting people with mental health needs on their employment journey. This support varies depending on where the individual is on their journey, and how the individual was referred. At early stages, Hillside delivers a recovery project from its clubhouse, to help individuals who self-refer to gain skills and confidence. Hillside also offers more tailored and bespoke information and guidance around employment support. Specific employment services are co-located within NHS clinical teams to support those who are referred through the clinical route. This includes employment advisors within NHS talking therapies, and Individual Placement Support (IPS).
Why REMI?
Within IPS, all participating services need to develop a Race Equity Action Plan. Hillside felt that the whole organisation needed to support this effort, which led to the development of an organisation-wide Race Equity Strategy. While the Strategy established clear ambitions, it was high-level without detailed actions that would help set priorities, track progress or hold different parts of the organisation accountable. The Race Equity Maturity Index (REMI) was selected to address this gap.
The REMI lead at Hillside is the Director of IPS and Employment Services. He emphasised that race equity is a crucial priority for the organisation. A diverse and anti-racist organisation ensures that service users feel represented and cared for. REMI therefore aligned closely with Hillside’s existing priorities and strategic direction.
REMI provided practical steps and priorities which could be taken towards achieving the ambitions outlined in the Race Equity Strategy. It also gave a classification of progress which Hillside can work against. REMI gave the organisation a shared vocabulary and set of terminologies to describe race equity and actions taken, therefore allowing it to identify what progress was already being made.
How REMI fits with what we already do
Prior to adopting REMI, Hillside did not use a consistent tool to support progress on race equity. REMI complemented the Race Equity Strategy by translating strategic commitments into concrete actions and by embedding accountability within existing plans. Specifically, the IPS framework requires each participating service to develop a Race Equity Action Plan, and so REMI supports with fulfilling IPS requirements through identifying pathways and ensuring accountability.
What we’ve done so far
Implementation has primarily focused on using REMI to generate talking points during quarterly race equity working groups and setting aims for the organisation as part of their Race Equity Strategy.
Hillside have used REMI to understand where they are on their race equity journey. As the REMI is a staged tool, they have identified that whilst they fulfil some aspects of the later stages of REMI, they need to work to complete each indicator and action of the first few stages to ensure that their anti-racism work is as impactful as possible.
Staff engagement has been positive, with the REMI lead translating REMI to Hillside’s organisational context. He emphasised that the close ties between the existing Race Equity Strategy and REMI were crucial to establishing staff buy-in. In addition, conversations with representatives from the London Anti-Racism Collaboration for Health were important to ensure that he understood the use and value of REMI.
Value and learning
REMI has given Hillside a shared vocabulary to articulate progress towards race equity. It has provided insight into practical actions which the organisation could take to achieve the ambitions outlined in its own Race Equity Strategy. Crucially, it built accountability into that Strategy and the associated Race Equity Plans.
The REMI lead wants to use REMI to conduct a biannual review of Hillside’s progress towards race equity. Hillside plan to implement Race Equity Action Plans for each service within their organisation to ensure specific focus and accountability. Ultimately, Hillside want to use REMI as part of the effort to ensure that their organisation is an anti-racist organisation, which will deliver better outcomes for staff and service users.
Key takeaway for other organisations
REMI gives a clear and consistent assessment of an organisation’s race equity policies and can build evaluation into existing or developing strategies.
The REMI lead at Hillside advised other organisations which begin using REMI to take their time and not rush. They should use REMI to promote deep conversations among staff, and to encourage a rich understanding of the tool and of the actions which they can take. Organisations should not aim for perfection, but for progress, and should share the tool as widely as possible.