Meet and Greet: Amanda Scott, Compass UK&I’s Head of Talent, Learning and D&I

In this week's Meet & Greet interview, Compass UK&I’s Head of Talent, Learning and D&I Amanda Scott, shares their thoughts on the challenges facing the hospitality sector and what organisations can do to encourage inclusion in both staff and guests.

Hi Amanda! Can you tell us a little bit about your role and your organisation?

Sure – I’m the Head of Talent, Learning and D&I for Compass UK&I which the provides nutritious food, hospitality, facilities management, security, cleaning, and procurement services. Our 45,000 employees work behind the scenes at sports & leisure events, military bases, and in the heart of schools, universities, hospitals, care homes, corporate offices and boardrooms at around 6,000+ locations across the UK and Ireland.

My role covers training and development of all colleagues and includes looking after our apprenticeship and graduate programmes.  I also lead our Diversity and Inclusion agenda helping to create an environment where everyone can be themselves at work and achieve their potential.

How did you get into your current career?

I studied Economics and Industrial relations at university, and then joined the NHS in an HR role after graduating.  I then worked in HR and talent roles in financial services and oil and gas before joining Compass in 2018.

What is the importance of intersectionality and inclusion in the hospitality sector?

The hospitality sector is all about people and providing a great experience to clients and customers. Given the diversity of customers it’s important that our colleagues reflect this and understand that everyone is unique and equal and receives the best experience we can provide.

Are there any particular challenges you think face the sector, in relation to LGBTQ+ inclusion?

Having worked in other industries I find hospitality to be a welcoming place for people from all backgrounds including LGBTQ+.  There’s always more to be done and we work with our employee network to ensure we are listening to their feedback. 

It still saddens me that even today, there are people who hold prejudice views against the  LGBTQ+ community or other elements of diversity. Therefore for our colleagues in working in customer-facing environments, as well as among our own employees, it’s important that we take a stand where this occurs and make clear it’s not acceptable and ensure our people are supported.

What can organisations in the hospitality sector do to encourage more inclusion for both staff and clients/guests?

I think education and awareness is important and it’s important to hear from those with lived experience on what we could do to continue to support.  I also believe that a zero-tolerance approach to any incidents of discrimination is important to protect both our employees and customers.

Can you share any specific/recent diversity and inclusion initiatives that you are particularly proud of and why?

We have made great progress in our diversity journey over the past few years, particularly in relation to engaging with our colleagues through our amazing Employee Networks and have really focussed on education, awareness and real celebration of diversity.  We had very positive scores in our most recent all-employee survey which demonstrates that this message is landing, with over 80% of colleagues saying they could be themselves at work.