Capita wins award for managing diversity at India Mill

13th April 2006

Capita's call centre at India Mill in Darwen has scooped the award for Diversity, Recruitment and Retention at the North West Contact Centre Project Awards.

Call centre manager Joanne Daynes says: “We are delighted to have won this award in recognition of the work we’ve done to create and maintain a working environment that meets the needs of our diverse workforce. It was seen that this work is also good for business because it has had a positive impact on recruitment and the retention of staff.”

The judges were impressed that Capita ensures disabled members of staff can lead independent and productive working lives – by offering a working space that is easily accessible to all. Capita was also praised for making all relevant information and training documents available in Braille, introducing new software to make it easy for visually impaired people to read computer screens, and for providing facilities for a member of staff's guide dog.

Other diversity-oriented initiatives at the site include providing a school-term shift which offers flexibility to working parents who previously found it difficult to juggle work and childcare.

The managers of the workforce in Darwen also recognise the importance of accommodating the different religious beliefs of the staff, most of whom are from Christian or Muslim backgrounds. They grant the majority of holiday requests, so that staff can enjoy their religious festivals, and they provide a prayer room and amend break times during the festival of Eid.

This award is further recognition of the Capita Contact Centre’s team’s work to meet the needs of its diverse workforce; in 2004 it received a Positive Action Award for changes implemented to meet the needs of people with impaired sight.