Kelly Mitchell on the importance of a workplace Domestic and Family Violence Support Policy

As Employee Experience Lead at Tabcorp, Kelly has been instrumental in developing and rolling out the organisation’s enhanced Domestic and Family Violence Support Policy.

The policy has played a significant role in pushing Tabcorp to better realise their goal of becoming leaders in Inclusion & Diversity by 2021. 

With an issue as sensitive and complex as domestic and family violence, the work hasn't been without its challenges, but Kelly and the team have continued to learn, develop and optimise the policy as they go. As one of our valued clients we're also very proud of the impact that Tabcorp have achieved in this field.  

In our latest client spotlight, Kelly outlines the crucial importance of developing a DFV policy as an employer of choice and shares the key learnings from her experience.

Why is a DFV policy so important at Tabcorp and at all organisations?

Domestic and family violence may happen in the home, but its effects reach far beyond – to our communities and workplaces. In an average year in Australia, one woman a week is killed by a current or former partner and male domestic and family violence and abuse is chronically under reported. Organisations have a role to play because their own people may be experiencing some form of violence and for many work may be the only safe place they have.

At Tabcorp, one of our core values is ‘Make a Difference’. We try to make a difference with our own people and the communities in which we operate. We’re also committed to promoting a safe workplace and culture of inclusion. We have a DFV policy which aspires to be one of the best in Australia and empower team members to come forward and ask for help.

What are your tips for setting up a robust and successful policy?

Do your research. Benchmark yourself to other organisations to understand best practice, but also look to determine what support will have a positive impact for your own people. For example, we know that financial security is a primary reason why someone may stay in an abusive relationship. With this is mind, we included both financial support and relocation assistance in our DFV policy.

Don’t be afraid to iterate. The important thing is to have a starting position – our first DFV policy was released in 2018 and once people started using it, we asked for feedback. We quickly found the areas where we could increase support to make the biggest impact. We released a refreshed policy in 2019, which was communicated to all employees via our CEO.

Make your policy easy to understand. This means writing it in plain English, and clarifying the support available and defining referral pathways. We also created supporting materials for people leaders. If someone trusts their leader and comes forward, it’s important that first conversation goes well  – even if the leader doesn’t have the answers (and we don’t expect them to). The most important thing is that they understand where to go for information and assistance, which could make the world of difference to someone experiencing violence.

What impacts have you seen since launching the policy?

Confidentiality is vital, so we don’t report on the metrics around our DFV policy. We do know how much financial support we’ve given, and the amount of leave that has been taken at the end of each financial year. We also know – and are pleased – that our policy is successful. It sounds counter intuitive, but we want to see more take up of the policy. Domestic and family violence is an issue that impacts many people across Australia, so we want anyone who feels they need help to come forward.

What will be involved in the next stage to improve on your DFV policy?

Our next step is to better understand more about people who use violence. As an organisation, we want to be part of helping individuals recognise their behaviour and provide support for them to make a positive change. 

We also want to keep educating our people leaders and team members, so they’re better informed about their role, should someone in their team experience violence. 

The impact of COVID-19 has meant that a significant proportion of our workforce is now working remotely and not coming into the office regularly. So, we’re reviewing our processes to ensure we’re asking the right questions, in the right way, with team member safety as the priority.

What advice would you give to other organisations just starting to map out and implement their own policy?

Your policy goals need to align to your organisations values and objectives. Make sure the ‘why’ is clear to your people leaders. For the policy to succeed, you need their full support. This is a very complex issue with many misconceptions, so education is key. Every domestic and family violence disclosure is unique, which means trust is the most important element to build in your organisation in order to make a difference to people’s lives.

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As the line between work and home continues to blur, a forward thinking DFV policy will be essential to communicate your commitment and responsibility to your people. If you have any further questions about designing a future-proofed DVF Support Policy, you can reach out to us or Kelly via hello@weareunity.com