Better, together
As a people business, we recognise that much of our value lies in your unique experiences, backgrounds and viewpoints and how we can bring these to the table when we are providing our clients with the insight, advice and service excellence that they need from us.
That’s why we continue to be committed to supporting an open working environment where we all feel welcomed, valued and empowered to achieve our full potential; where our diversity is our strength and where there are no barriers to success and achievement.
Our LSHTogether programme is how we will drive this going forward; encouraging and supporting a culture that celebrates our diversity and promotes inclusion.
We look forward to sharing ways that you can get involved and help shape our future.
Supporting change
- EDI Working Group
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Working Group Members
Name Office Service Line Email Address Network Donna Smith Chelmsford HR
DSmith@lsh.co.uk
Chair/Mental Health/Wellness Adam Ramshaw Birmingham (EXEC SPONSOR)
Head of Consult
Chris McCartney London (EXEC SPONSOR)
HR Director
Interfaith Aleesha Buta Manchester HR
AButa@lsh.co.uk
Multicultural Carla Watson Nottingham
CPM Accounts
Gender Balance Emmanuel Alade London Telesales EAlade@lsh.co.uk Multicultural Federico Montella London ESG FMontella@lsh.co.uk LGBTQ+ Kathy O'Reilly London Valuations KOreilly@lsh.co.uk LGBTQ+ Kirsty Wilkojc London HR KWilkojc@lsh.co.uk WorkAbility Lana Goddard London ESG LGoddard@lsh.co.uk Social Mobility Lara Davies London
Marketing
WorkAbility Rebekah Formosa London
Consult - Regeneration
Gender Balance - Our Networks
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Gender Balance - Chair/s:
We are aware that more needs to be done within the real estate sector, and indeed, our company, to address gender imbalance. We know that this is not only a matter of doing the right thing but a necessity in order to improve the service we offer our clients and increase our levels of innovation by unlocking the diverse talents of all our people.
LGBTQ+ - Chair/s:
Our LGBTQ+ working group is committed to promoting inclusivity, equality, and support for all LGBTQ+ individuals within Lambert Smith Hampton and the wider property industry. We want to continue creating a culture where everyone feels comfortable and safe to thrive. Our focus is to work with external partners and key stakeholders to raise awareness of the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals face whilst providing the support needed to allow individuals to thrive.
Multicultural and Interfaith - Chair/s:
The focus of our multicultural and interfaith networks is to broaden awareness of these aspects of life, recognising that by embracing them, and understanding the value that each of them bring to our combined expertise and insights, we will be better able to unlock opportunities, potential, and success for our people and clients.
Social Mobility - Chair:
We are taking steps to remove the socioeconomic barriers to employment by adopting a supportive and inclusive recruitment methodology that ensures an equal opportunities approach that resonates through our business and into our sector.
WorkAbility - Chair/s:
Our mission is to raise awareness of the challenges that colleagues with disabilities across Lambert Smith Hampton face, to identify barriers, recommend solutions and drive forward policy to better create a level playing field on which everyone can reach their full potential.
To join one of our Networks, please contact the Chair/s directly or email Together@lsh.co.uk
- EDI Policy
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We are a people business, and our success is driven by the effective mobilisation and support of talented people across our organisation. We recognise that our people are a diverse group with a range of valuable backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints. We embrace and endeavour to support this diversity in all aspects of our employment practise, ensuring that it is a strength and distinguisher, and not a barrier, to success and achievement, both for our colleagues and our business.
- Strategic framework
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Our approach to support change;
Our People
Create a safe space to kick start conversations, inspire change and embed networking groups, to help create a working environment where everyone can realise their full potential.
Our Business
Systematically review existing corporate processes and policies, and implement agreed best practice to attract, develop and retain talent.
Our Community
Seek network partners, adopt charters and attain accreditations that will support in building strong brand recognition, and enhance our ability to interact with diverse customers, suppliers, partners and communities.
Our Environment
Encourage collection of EDI data to establish benchmark, support reporting and inform our ongoing strategy for change.
- Events
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EDI Lunchtime Briefing - October 2024
LSHTogether hosted the Wells Street Lunchtime briefing to follow up on all the good things they’re doing and reflect on National Inclusion Week. A summary of the event was:
- The EDI Networks are for EVERYONE. You can join as someone who identifies with the marginalised community or to show your support as an ally.
- To learn more, visit our website:
- To join a Network, please contact the Network chair or email:
- We have also set up a Teams Group for EDI where we will share information/resources about our initiatives as well as help to open up the conversation. Please visit:
- Each of our Networks has their own secure private channel - to join one of these, please email:
- If you haven't done so already, please do take part in our Count Me In Campaign survey which will help us build a richer picture of the people who make up LSH that we can use to inform new and improved initiatives for our people, show progress towards our EDI objectives and provide assurances to new colleagues and clients around how we do business. Further details can be found here:
- View the slides from the lunchtime briefing here:
- View the videos included within the slides:
National Inclusion Week - September 2024
The 23rd to 27th September was National Inclusion Week and this year's theme was 'Impact Matters'. Last year we 'Took Action' by launching our 6 Employee Networks, inviting everyone to join, get involved and start to build momentum. This year we reignited and energised our efforts by showcasing all that we have achieved so far and by focusing on realistic, tangible actions which will be impactful in making positive change across LSH in all areas of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).
Race Equality Event - 6th February 2024
LSHTogether held a joint breakfast event with BAME n Property in Wells Street with attendees from both senior LSH colleagues and other property firms within the BAME in Property membership. They came together to discuss progressing racial equality in the Built Environment as well as how to retain ethnic minority talent and sharing practical tips for how we can raise the bar in our own organisations.
The event was hosted by Priya Aggarwal-Shah who was joined by 5 panellists from Carter Jonas, Montagu Evans, Wates Group and Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing along with our own Ryan Dean.
It was a positive session focussed on challenging the status quo. Hot topics were how to retail talented people as well as increase engagement with talent from diverse backgrounds so that we can attract them to the industry. Improving diversity of thought, perspective, and insight can positively impact the services we offer and develop for our clients.
There were also discussions around unconscious bias, allyship and calling out bad behaviours and comments. Over 20 Senior leaders from LSH attended the event and we will be working alongside them on what we do going forward within LSH to move the dial.
International Women's Day - March 2023
Anna Sabine: “What’s “genderwashing” and why does it matter?”
Anna Sabine is well known as a funny and engaging speaker, who pulls no punches when it comes to talking to industry colleagues about these issues. She was named as a Woman of Influence by The Planner Magazine and a Rising Star by Property Week. Anna is a community engagement specialist, passionate about innovating news ways to carry out public engagement to benefit the communities affected by it whilst also delivering positive outcomes for her clients. She is also the founder of The Female Edge, an initiative which brings together female entrepreneurs and business leaders, and Vice Chair of the “Campaign for Gender Balance” for the Lib Dems, which encourages more women into politics.
Over 100 of our colleagues joined a thought provoking keynote from Anna genderwashing.
Listen here to the recording: International Women's Day - Anna Sabine - What’s “genderwashing” and why does it matter? on Vimeo
- The EDI Networks are for EVERYONE. You can join as someone who identifies with the marginalised community or to show your support as an ally.
- Newsletters
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Take a look at our latest LSH Together newsletters:
- Shana Tova - October 2024
- National Inclusion Week: WorkAbility Network
- National Inclusion Week: Social Mobility Network
- National Inclusion Week: LGBTQ+ Network
- National Inclusion Week: Interfaith Diversity Network
- National Inclusion Week: Gender Balance Network
- National Inclusion Week 2024
- Count Me In - Diversity Data Campaign
- Pride month - June 2024
- What is Neurodiversity?
- Race Equality Week
- Introducing our LGBTQ+ Network
- Introducing our WorkAbility Network
- Introducing our Gender Balance Network
- Introducing our Social Mobility Network
- Introducing our Interfaith Diversity Network
- National Inclusion Week - October 2023
- Pride month - June 2023
- Newsletter - March 2023
- 2023 Planning - January 2023
- An update on our Real Estate Balance benefits - September 2022
- Supporting Pride Month - June 2022
- Religious festivals - April 2022
- Get to know Real Estate Balance - March 2022
- International Women's Day - March 2022
- International Day of Persons with Disabilities - December 2021
- International Men's Day - November 2021
- Shubh Diwali - November 2021
- LSH joins Real Estate Balance - October 2021
- Shana Tova - September 2021
- Racism has no place here - July 2021
- Introduction to LSH Together - June 2021
Count Me In - Diversity Data Monitoring
External Partners, Charters & Accreditations
Learning resources
Early careers
Gender Pay Gap
Policies & procedures
Count Me In - Diversity Data Monitoring
LSH is committed to fostering Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) throughout our business by cultivating an open work environment and ensuring opportunities are accessible to all.
This commitment is primarily focused on supporting our colleagues, offering the resources and opportunities they need to excel in their chosen career paths. But it also extends to ensuring that we can attract the very best talent from a wide range of diverse backgrounds and ensuring that we can provide the strongest assurances and the highest quality levels of service to our clients.
To follow through on our commitments, we need your help.
Our Count Me In campaign seeks to build a richer picture of the people who make up LSH, that we can use to inform new and improved initiatives for our people, show progress towards our EDI objectives, and provide assurances to new colleagues and clients around how we do business.
By completing our short survey, you will help us build this picture and ensure we drive change and success in the future. The survey is 100% confidential and all the information provided will only ever be used in aggregated form. Additionally, all of the questions have a 'Prefer not to say' option, providing opportunities for you to share information to a level that you are comfortable with.
Complete the COUNT ME IN survey
Why is the Count Me In campaign so important?
- Central to our EDI efforts is ensuring that we have a deep understanding and appreciation of who we are as a business and as a team. By recognising our strengths and areas for growth, we can implement meaningful programs and initiatives that uphold our responsibilities in this area.
- With 30 regional offices across the UK, we are uniquely positioned to attract talent from all backgrounds and turn the dial for diversity across the UK real estate sector through our unparalleled position.
- Incoming legislation is likely to include increased statutory reporting requirements for UK businesses and this information will be critical for us to comply with these requirements.
- Given the diversity of our clients, it is crucial that we assure them of our team's broad expertise and understanding of the challenges that they face and the potential solutions we can provide.
How it affects how we win business
Increasingly, clients and potential clients now place greater emphasis in tenders on our ability to provide comprehensive EDI data and commit to a range of associated obligations throughout the contract term. Unfortunately, there have been many instances where we have been unable to meet these requirements, resulting in missed opportunities or losing out to competitors who could offer higher-quality data and stronger assurances.
On this point, our Bids team have advised that:
- 50% of tenders received include mandatory EDI related questions
- 100% of tenders from Public Sector bodies include mandatory EDI related questions
- The EDI element generally accounts for between 5-10% of the entire tender score
- EDI requirements can also appear as a PASS/FAIL question at the initial 'Selection' stage, which can provide reasonable grounds to disqualify LSH from proceeding
- Since January 2024, 82 bids received have included an EDI weighting and our results are as follows:
- Bids won - 5
- Bids lost - 15
- Unable to submit - 26
- No service line response - 20
- Awaiting outcome - 16
- LSH is commonly required to provide employee demographic data. We currently hold this for only 19% of our colleague base, which we understand is at the lower end of the scale compared to our peer firms. Improving our dataset will improve our chances of success over the competition.
Common Questions:
- What percentage of the delivery team would be BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity) and/or women?
- How will you attract more BAME and more women to work on this contract?
- What is the percentage of disabled staff in your organisation?
- Please provide a summary of how LSH addresses equalities in the workplace and projects that you work on.
- As part of our Social Value question response we would like to include the number of our suppliers who are signed up and have implemented the 6 standards in the Mental Health at Work Commitment.
Complete the COUNT ME IN survey
The Count Me In survey will only allow you to submit one response. If you have completed the survey before, you will not need to repeat this process.
If you have joined LSH in 2024, you may have already provided your data through our Onboarding Process and you will not need to provide this again.
Get in touch
If you have any questions on how to completed this survey or anything else relating to this matter, please contact the HR Operations team at HROperations@lsh.co.uk.
External Partners, Charters & Accreditations
Real Estate Balance
Real Estate Balance (REB) is a property industry member body campaigning for diversity and inclusion. Partnering with them enables us to access their range of programmes, campaigns and events to support our progress on all aspects of diversity and inclusion across LSH, including driving cultural change and identifying best practices that can be shared.
- Access OnBalance, the REB members-only newsletter
- Sign up for Training & Networking events
- Access the REB Mentoring Programme
- Join the REB Returning to Work Parents’ Network
Find out more at Real Estate Balance.
Changing the face of property
We are proud to be a member of Changing the Face of Property, launched in 2012 by a number of major property firms. CTFOP aims to increase diversity and inclusion across all levels of our business and raises awareness of careers in the property industry through the programme Property Needs You.
Open Plan Diversity Charter
We are a proud signatory of the Property Week Open Plan Diversity Charter, and LSH Together forms a large part of our commitment to this charter.
PREACH Inclusion
PREACH Inclusion is an organisation promoting more ethnic diversity in the property and planning sectors. Partnering with them will support us to network and knowledge share with hundreds of property professionals who are also looking to create an open and inclusive culture where all employees can bring their best selves to work and deploying initiatives that support everyone to achieve their full potential.
Find out more about PREACH Inclusion.
Freehold
Freehold is a leading and unique networking forum for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender real estate professionals and allies working within the real estate sector. Their mission is to create a safe, fun network that supports LGBTQ+ people in the built environment industries. They want to create positive change and promote diversity and inclusion within our industry. The aim of Freehold is to address the equality gap for the LGBTQ+ community. The property sector considerably lags behind other industries in tackling sexual orientation issues. Evidence has demonstrated that people perform better when they are encouraged to be themselves and Freehold is there to provide support so that members of the group can feel empowered to do just that.
The Early Careers Foundation
The Early Careers Foundation are committed to creating a society where talent, not background, determines a young person's career success. They believe that early careers can be a fantastic leveller for young people, however, outdated career guidance, lack of connections in a culture of 'who you know', low starting salaries, and limiting entry requirements are all holding back talented young people. Across LSH, we have more than 70 colleagues who have signed up as a mentor to support a young person over the next 12 months.
GET INVOLVED
Want to find out more? Then get in touch and join the conversation with LSH Together.
Get in touch