Proposal for Fern
Designing Fern’s JEDI induction journey, so new colleagues can understand, experience and practise what Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion mean here.
The starting point
Staff have reviewed proposed internal and external definitions. Agreement is strong. The next task is to make those ideas tangible in how new colleagues enter Fern.
The opportunity
5.79 is a useful organisational baseline snapshot of how JEDI has historically been experienced through induction. It is not a clean measure of every colleague’s current experience.
What Fernies told us
Across the feedback, four themes recur in how induction should support new colleagues.
Clarify justice/equity, equality/equity, integration/assimilation, gender and the meaning of “profile”.
Link Fern’s external work, partnerships and structural power to role design, meetings and progression.
Replace informal, diffuse induction with a clear foundation, later conversation and applied reflection.
Show where the work sits, how people contribute, where support lives and what happens when practice falls short.
The design principle
Written and visual formats ranked joint strongest. The qualitative signal was equally clear: people want human conversation.
| Format | Ranked 1st | Average rank | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written documents | 6 | 1.93 | Joint 1st |
| Visual content | 5 | 1.93 | Joint 1st |
| Audio recordings / podcasts | 3 | 3.00 | 3rd |
| Videos | 0 | 3.14 | 4th |
Lower average rank indicates a stronger preference.
The proposed induction journey
The architecture gives every Fernie a common internal language, then opens into relevant contexts, conversation and later reflection.
Illustrative concept 01
A calm, orienting welcome helps a new colleague see what is expected, and that this is a journey, not a compliance click-through.
Build a shared foundation, then explore what it changes in your role.
Illustrative concept 02
Progressive disclosure keeps the experience readable while connecting each concept to Fern’s internal and external practice.
At Fern, this connects mission, organisational practice and the histories or power relations shaping a decision.
Illustrative concept 03
Everyone completes the common foundation. Role-relevant pathways then deepen the questions most likely to arise in someone’s work.
Illustrative concept 04
Eufonía builds the learning method and interactive structure. Aislin and Hannah help identify and test situations that feel organisationally true.
The team wants to move quickly. The partner has local knowledge but less control over budget and timing.
What would you do first?What could this mean in your work at Fern?
Illustrative concept 05
We formalise the benefit Fernies already find in colleagues and conversation without turning it into a one-off workshop.
Formal project milestone
| Time | Format | Activity | Concrete output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plenary | Orient: Where are we now?Definition scores, existing feedback and the induction gap. Confirm the decisions needed by 11:00. | Shared starting point + decision list | |
| Breakouts → plenary | Resolve: Definition feedback clinicDecide: Keep / Clarify / Change / Move into practice. Bring only unresolved points to plenary. | Agreed revisions + implementation issues | |
| Breakouts → gallery | Translate: What does this require?A new Fernie should understand / experience / do; Fern should be accountable for. | Practical meaning ready for induction | |
| Role-based breakouts | Design: Where does JEDI show up?Identify critical moments, realistic tensions and cases across Campaigning, Communications and FAHRM. | Priority pathways + Fern-specific cases | |
| Plenary mapping | Own: Who holds what after induction?Map support, conversations, questions, concerns, contributions and future updates. | Ownership, support + accountability map | |
| Plenary | Confirm: Decision checkReview Agreed / To refine / Parked and confirm what Fern and Eufonía take forward. | Collective confirmation + next actions |
From now to December
We begin the system, visual language and content architecture before 25 November. The workshop informs the content; it does not delay the whole build.
Evidence analysis, journey, case templates, interfaces, evaluation architecture.
Resolve feedback, agree implications, validate pathways and cases.
Integrate decisions, cases, questions, references and media.
Refine components, navigation, pathway logic and accessibility.
Subject to review timings: package, guidance and implementation support.
What Fern receives
A self-contained HTML/CSS/JavaScript package designed for Fern’s internal server, intranet or platform, with straightforward assets and documentation.
Common foundation · role pathways · cases · guided reflection · conversation prompts
Searchable explanations, questions, cases and references.
Concise downloadable guides; optional short audio where it helps.
Asset structure, editable source content and deployment guidance.
Guidance for refreshing cases, policies, lessons and references.
How we will know it is working
Retain the original question for comparability. Add diagnostic indicators at the moments when understanding should become navigation, then lived application.
A living tool
Cases, policies and organisational knowledge will change. The resource is designed to make that learning visible and transferable to new colleagues.
The next step