The Diversity Committee of the British Missions in Turkey and Brian Cook of the Regional Training Centre in Prague

In 2009, a worryingly high proportion of staff at the British missions in Turkey reported that they had suffered from bullying, harassment and/or discrimination. Responding to the FCO’s annual staff survey (part of the civil service-wide staff survey programme), 31 per cent said they had suffered from bullying or harassment and 27 per cent reported experiencing discrimination. These results were amongst the worst scores in the Foreign Office.

The Turkey-wide Diversity Committee has carried out in-depth interviews with more than 70 members of staff across the network to understand the reasons behind high levels of reported mistreatment and to find ways to improve.

The Committee recruited volunteer feedback champions to speak to each group of staff. This meant that the research was representative and ensured a diverse range of views was fed to the Committee and Management Board.

The survey led to a 26-point action plan, endorsed by the board. The Diversity Committee was responsible for taking forward the plan, which included public statements by the Ambassador, his Deputy and the Consul General in Istanbul about the importance they attach to mistreatment of staff, a zero-tolerance publicity campaign, and ‘Diversity Days’ in Istanbul and Ankara, at which all staff had an informal opportunity to discuss difference and tolerance. A network of 20 Zero Tolerance Contact People (ZTCP) was set up to advise and support staff concerned about bullying, harassment and discrimination.

As a result of the work of the Turkey mission’s Diversity Committee training, team building, leadership messaging and initiatives, changes to management practice and establishment of new reporting networks, these scores improved substantially in 2010, with further improvements expected in 2011. Morale, and the sense of being one team, have improved visibly. The Turkey missions are no longer amongst the FCO’s units of most concern.