Diversity

Centaur strongly encourages diversity across the Group. We believe that a workforce with diverse experiences and diverse ideas makes for a better business and we are committed to recruiting and promoting the most talented people from the widest pool.

To support this aim, the Group has an Inclusion, Diversity and Equality Policy which covers recruitment and selection, promotion, training and development, and standard contract terms for all staff.

Employee engagement - DICE in action

The DICE (Diversity, Inclusion, Culture and Engagement) workforce panel was formed during 2019 with the purpose of helping the business build a more diverse, inclusive and engaged workforce by driving positive change. DICE comprises ten employees from across the Group and is led by one of our senior leadership team. DICE reports to the CEO, and Carol Hosey is the Non-Executive Director sponsor of DICE. Her role is to ensure that employee sentiment is clearly communicated to the Board and that our gender, diversity and environmental ambitions are realised with actionable plans.

DICE’s work has included:

  • Antiracism Pledge – published a six-point commitment to help drive anti-racism in the industry and improve black and minority ethnic representation;
  • Socio Economic Diversity – collaborated with The Social Mobility Foundation to invest in a series of paid internships to individuals from low income backgrounds;
  • LGBTQ+ Commitment – published a six-point commitment to support the LQBTQ+ community at Centaur;
  • Gender Diversity – hosted a series of working groups discussing issues surrounding gender equality;
  • Mentorship Scheme – launched a mentoring scheme to help employees from under-represented groups reach their full potential;
  • Diversity and Inclusivity Training – unconscious bias training rolled-out for all Centaur employees;
  • Diversity at Grassroots – partnered with Brixton Finishing School in order to source new untapped diverse talent from underrepresented groups; and
  • Community Group Forum – set up The Community Group forum which acts as a space of openness and inclusivity where employees can speak freely about issues regarding race.

The Group has a whistleblowing policy in place enabling employees to report any concerns about improper practices, including relating to its environmental and social responsibility practices.

Other initiatives

The Board has also implemented new initiatives to support our colleagues including:

All business Q&A sessions - these regular sessions take place via Teams and give all employees the opportunity to hear updates from senior leaders and ask questions on any matters of concern.

CEO “Kaizen” breakfasts - During 2022, the CEO met with every employee from the business to hear about employee experiences at Centaur. The insights collected from these breakfast meetings were used to set up cross-company projects to address some of the matters raised.

Support during Covid - we provide:

  • access to Unum “Lifeworks”, an employee assistance programme providing counselling, support with Covid, managing finances, assistance with legal matters, and mental health support services as well as giving access to virtual GP appointments free of charge;
  • mental health first-aiders were trained who employees can confidentially engage with regarding any issues they may have, supplemented by a variety of webinars and other initiatives; and
  • access to NABS, which is a support organisation for the advertising and media industry.

Gender pay

There is a requirement for all UK companies with over 250 employees to report publicly on their gender pay, in line with requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. We therefore carry out an annual analysis on Gender Pay the results of which can be found in the links below.