MYFUTURE Education and Careers Guide 2021/22

HOW WE’RE CREATING A WORKPLACE
WHERE EVERYONE’S WELCOME AT
COCA-COLA EUROPACIFIC PARTNERS
Julie Thomas, Director, Inclusion and Diversity at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP)
The pandemic has impacted the
way we live and work and at Coca-
Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP),
we recognise this is an opportunity
to assess how we’re faring as a
business from an inclusion and
diversity perspective, but also
to identify how we can push
ourselves further. We want to create
a workplace where everyone’s
welcome to be themselves, feels
valued and that they belong. We
believe that a diverse workforce is
what creates truly great work.
Inclusion is about how we welcome
and create a culture where everyone,
whatever their background or
experience, feels accepted and
valued and can contribute to the
success of the business. Diversity,
on the other hand, is the mix of all
the great things that make each
of us unique, be it age, heritage,
ethnicity, gender identity, sexual
orientation, disability – the list goes
on. People feel they belong more
when we all value these differences.
To accelerate our Everyone’s
Welcome philosophy, we are guided
by four focus areas at CCEP:
1. PROMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY
Having a key sponsor is crucial to
getting initiatives off the ground. An
Executive Leadership Team member
is a lead sponsor for each one of
our diversity dimensions (Culture &
Heritage, Disability, Gender, LGBT+
and Multi-Generations), who is
committed to removing barriers to
inclusion and diversity. Supported
30
by fully representative groups from
all levels of the company across
Europe, they identify meaningful
actions that reflect the experiences
of our people to drive positive
change across our business.
2. EMBED AN INCLUSIVE
CULTURE
Collating feedback across all levels
of the businesses is important in
addressing issues and concerns
across the spectrum. Our ‘In Your
Shoes’ listening sessions are open to
all, amplifying the voices of underrepresented
groups in particular.
Run by our I&D lead sponsors,
the regular sessions seek to
encourage participants to share their
experiences in a safe environment,
so that actions taken resonate and
make a difference for everyone.
The programme also encourages
everyone to share their personal
stories and reflections, promote
conversations and create confidence
in a long and thriving career at
CCEP, safe in the knowledge that the
business values the strength that the
uniqueness its people bring.
3. ESTABLISH DIVERSE
LEADERSHIP AND PIPELINES
Diverse teams lead to more
successful business outcomes.
There’s a wealth of external research
that demonstrates a clear link
between diverse teams, improved
wellbeing and greater performance.
We also know that it’s important for
people to ‘see’ themselves at every
level of the company. We set an initial
target to have 40% women in senior
management and above roles by
2025 and we continue to improve on
that target, at almost 36% currently,
and we are exploring metrics for our
other diversity dimensions.
We want to promote the free flow
of talent and to do that we have
introduced ‘Inclusion Nudges’.
These are simple interventions
that encourage managers to
consider the bias that can playout
during key career moments like
talent discussions, interviews and
performance reviews, and nudge
them towards a more inclusive
mindset. We believe changing these
habits will have a profound impact.
4. BE DRIVERS FOR CHANGE
Creating open channels of
communication is important to
reach as many people as possible.
Across CCEP, everyone knows they
are responsible for upholding our
inclusion and diversity philosophy.
Our colleagues are empowered to
educate, celebrate and inspire each
other through the company-wide
Redline channel, where real people
share real news and experiences.
We have created Allyship Guides
to support conversations on topics
from race and ethnicity, to disability,
as we know that collaboration and
connection are core to a thriving and
inclusive workplace.
Our Board and leadership team
recognise that real inclusion means
embracing and valuing everyone.
This requires continued commitment
and change across CCEP and this
can be achieved by engaging all
corners of the business. We can only
be changemakers by taking every
voice into account.
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We spoke to three of CCEP’s
current and former apprentices
to hear about their experience of
working at Coca-Cola Europacific
Partners. They have undertaken
just some of the wide range of
apprenticeships CCEP offers,
bringing them a diverse range of
opportunities within the company.