How I built a successful carer’s network

This article is written by Brian Day, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Champion, HMRC, UK Government.

• The problem: How do you build a thriving network?
• Why it matters: Networks matter because many voices are better than one lone voice.
• The solution: Reach out to others and don’t be afraid.

Government is all about supporting and engaging with others and being a part of a truly inclusive network. This may be externally or internally. It seems simple but how do you do it? How do you build that network up?

I want to take you back to 2015. I had just joined HMRC from another government department and was looking for things to be involved with. As a carer for most of my life, I was excited to see that they had a carers network and were looking for colleagues to reinvigorate the network and give it a higher profile. I felt I was just the person to do that and got in contact with the chair to offer my services. At the time the network had about 98 members. Carers were not actively supported, and many felt that they had no voice, and no one cared about them. There was a general lack of awareness of policy, the Carers Passport and caring in general. The new committee felt that they needed to take action and raise the bar higher. We knew it was achievable, we just needed to work out how!

How we started

The most important first step was to decide what our goals and objectives were. Without this we felt that we would not be successful. We identified our main barriers and sought ways to overcome them. We quickly realised that communication would be vital to achieving our aims.

Seeing hope return to their faces during our conversations is a wonderful sight to behold. Long live carers networks!

However, we also felt that we needed to be sure who our target audience was. Did we simply support carers, or did we look to ensure that managers were equipped to support and understand the guidance? What did our audience need and want? It is important that you are able to engage with your audience and take your network with you.

We sent surveys to staff of all grades to gain their responses. The survey responses confirmed that we had to support colleagues and managers equally.

We then looked at the way in which we communicated with our colleagues. A clear and concise comms plan is vital to focus resources in the right place. We decided to take a two-pronged strategy.

We already had an existing site for carers on the intranet, but it was underutilised. We decided to change the platform, improve the content and have a relaunch. This worked well, with carers and managers interacting and viewing the new page more frequently.

We started doing face-to-face presentations with updated material to get our message out that we were here to help. These were very successful and by the end of the year, we had raised our membership from 98 to just under 2,000 colleagues with many having Carers Passports for the first time.

A growing reach

Since then, our membership has steadily grown each year and we have reached nearly 5,000 colleagues. We hold monthly dial-ins to support our colleagues and have a dedicated education programme. We also have leads in every region for more localised support.

The network has also become a major force in the wider Civil Service. In 2019 we were voted as the Civil Service Carers Network of the year with me gaining the Chair’s Award. We have become a template for smaller government organisations to model themselves on and we have three seats on the steering committee. We have helped the wider Civil Service network gain greater recognition and helped change the way that senior leaders and government view working carers in the Civil Service.

The Civil Service Network is currently in the process of launching a Manager’s Toolkit presentation and we have had major input into the Carer’s Passport and Charter which is now enshrined in every UK government department.

It has been a fantastic seven years. I never tire of feeling that sense of satisfaction when I help a carer who is struggling to cope with work and their caring role become a confident person who no longer feels alone.

Seeing hope return to their faces during our conversations is a wonderful sight to behold. Long live carers networks!

What I’ve learned on this journey

So, what have I learned? I have learned that a thriving network can change people’s lives more than just one person can. Having many voices saying the same united message can truly influence the way that government works.

It is vital that you have a clear view of who your target demographic is before you begin. Make sure you have an understanding of what your current position is and what you want your network to look like in the future. Most of all, don’t be afraid to reach out to others for help and advice. Networks are the future.

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