In celebration of Black History Month, we’re thrilled to speak with Louise Cenac and Sharon Blyfield from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Ltd. Louise, Senior Manager of People & Culture, and Sharon, Early Careers Lead, will share how the company is advancing its diversity and inclusion efforts. We’ll explore their approach to recruiting Black talent, supporting career development, and fostering an inclusive workplace culture.
Could you start by sharing a bit about Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Ltd. and your role, with a focus on how it positively influences diversity and inclusion within the company?
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) is one of the leading consumer goods companies in the world, making some of the world’s most loved brands across 31 countries worldwide.
At CCEP, we’re focused every day on our Great People, Great Execution, Great Service, Done Sustainably and strive to ensure we remain a safe, open, and inclusive workplace.
As a People & Culture (HR) Business Partner, I am in a fortunate position to be able to bring this to life every day for our people, to be an active role model, share my lived experiences, and be a voice for those who aren’t always represented – all of this positively influences a sense of belonging and inclusion within the organisation.
What proactive steps is Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Ltd. taking to create a recruitment process that fully embraces Black talent and other underrepresented groups?
From an external recruitment perspective, we ask candidates to complete their diversity information upon application, which enables us to track the diversity of our candidates, which we were not previously able to do. We feed this into hiring managers to ensure they are inviting a diverse talent pool for their roles. From an internal perspective, we ask employees to also update their diversity information in their employee profiles, so again we can have a better view of our internal population and understand where we may wish to proactively recruit. Lastly, we continue to have listening sessions, to hear the voices of our Black and multicultural employees to better understand where we can continue to improve.
What successes have you experienced in your diversity recruitment efforts, particularly in attracting Black candidates, and how have you built on those successes to overcome any challenges?
We target our recruitment to attract Black and multicultural talent and have had the benefit of working with partners like Psalt to support that further. We also target diversity through our Early Careers reach programmes to young people, which has allowed us to recruit a more diverse cohort into CCEP as part of our Graduate Programme over the last few years. Partnerships allow us direct access to Black talent that we would either not have had access to or they would not have considered us a company they could work at. We also work with the Multicultural Apprenticeship Alliance, who have been able to direct us to new audiences and communities to provide them with insight into working for our company.
How do you empower leadership and hiring managers to be champions for diversity and inclusion, particularly when it comes to supporting Black talent?
In 2021, we rolled out the ‘Equity Programme’ to all people managers across GB. The programme was specifically built to provide training to managers and senior leaders on how to manage inclusively, by first understanding the barriers for Black and multicultural colleagues and promoting active awareness of unconscious bias and ways to address these to help level the playing field for all. We also created an ‘Equity Toolkit’ for managers to refer back to. Whilst it is not enough to simply roll out training, we continuously challenge managers to keep these learnings front of mind and ensure that the inclusion and diversity lens is embedded into our internal processes.
Could you share a success story where prioritising diversity in recruitment has led to positive and lasting change for both Black hires and the company as a whole?
A great success story is the story of Jasmine. Jasmine joined CCEP on the Supply Chain Graduate Programme in 2021 and this was her first venture into a Food and Drink organisation. She had always been London-based but for her first rotation she needed to move to Wakefield, taking her totally out of her comfort zone. What this experience did was open up her awareness to the different pathways that were available to progress her career but also become more confident in herself and her own abilities. Three years on, she is now completing a rotation in an HR role in East Kilbride – she had expressed a keen interest in moving to HR and wasn’t afraid to ask the questions on how she could build her experience in the area in readiness. This confidence has now seen her move into a new area of the business and is a great example of career progression within a global organisation for someone from a Black and multicultural background, removing any perceived barriers that may have previously existed.
Once Black talent joins the company, what steps does Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Ltd. take to nurture their growth, development, and long-term success?
We are on a continuous journey as a company to nurture the growth, development, and long-term success of our Black talent. We have a strong induction plan and support system in place from an Early Careers perspective and we’re also actively encouraging conversations around Black talent in our routine talent management processes, which then lead into progressive actions. From a long-term success, we continue focusing our attention on succession planning and increasing representation at senior leadership positions.
How does Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Ltd. foster an inclusive environment where Black employees feel valued, supported, and integral to the company’s culture, beyond the recruitment process?
We have a great informal network known as The Black Experience (TBE), a safe space for Black colleagues across the business to connect, share career successes, raise concerns, and share feedback on how we as a business can continue to support our Black colleagues and ensure a sense of belonging at work. We also have an incredible employee ID&E network here known as the ‘JustBe Ambassadors’ and therefore a number of allies who really amplify everything that we do across our ID&E pillars, which includes Culture & Heritage. We also take the time every October to celebrate Black History Month, focusing on the education and celebration of Black culture, allyship, and contribution back into our community.
Finally, in the spirit of Black History Month, is there a hero or figure from Black history who has inspired you, both personally and professionally, and how has their influence shaped your approach to diversity and inclusion?
Louise: For me, it’s got to be the following quote from Michelle Obama: “When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.” I feel this on such a deep personal and professional level. I was fortunate enough to be provided with an opportunity very early on in life to have an even better education, and without which I feel has led me to where I am today. I will always be committed to offering that helping hand, voice of support, and mentorship to those that are coming up behind me because it remains important for me to pay that forward.
Sharon: For me, it’s got to be Dame Floella Benjamin. As a child growing up in the 70s, to see a young Black woman on TV after she has achieved so much throughout her career has been a real inspiration. The fact that she’s a Dame and recently awarded the BAFTA Fellowship – to have the opportunity to meet her in person 40 years later was like a childhood dream come true!
As Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Ltd. continues to lead the way in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace, they are always on the lookout for talented individuals to join their team. If you’re passionate about making a difference and want to be part of a company that values diversity and inclusion, visit Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Careers to explore current opportunities and take the first step towards a rewarding career with one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies.