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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Our DE&I Vision

At Oaklin, we are deeply passionate about our culture, how we show up every day and how we treat others.

Our values of ‘Inclusive’, ‘Team’ and ‘Connected’ underpin our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) strategy and subsequent initiatives across the firm.

We care about investing in DE&I because it is the right thing to do. We want to ensure we reflect the societies that we live and work in and that our employees are comfortable showing up to work each day, in an environment that allows them to be their true authentic selves.

We know it is what our employees and clients expect of us, and we don’t believe in paying lip service. We are data-driven and hold ourselves accountable by tracking our success.

Our DE&I strategy aims to ensure that all the work we do within DE&I contributes to our overall growth plans as a business and is meaningful and impactful to all our employees.

Our goal is to be a consulting employer of choice for diverse talent.  A place where people can bring their authentic selves to work, develop fulfilling careers and take pride in their individual contributions at Oaklin.

Our DE&I vision and outcomes are supported by our passionate Consultants and Business Analysts who work on impactful and measurable initiatives with the aim of achieving the following outcomes:

Driven by Data

Collect diversity data to formulate goals and action plans at an organisation and workstream level. 

Attract & Retain Diverse Talent

Reflect the diversity of our chosen benchmark by putting policies, processes and programmes in place to support recruitment and retention.

Foster Inclusive Workplace Culture

Ensure everyone has a sense of belonging and is an advocate of the DE&I agenda for our business.

Jamie Mason

Associate Partner
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Oaklin truly places diversity, equity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do and this stems from the partners down. We acknowledge that only in such an environment will our people be at their best at home and at work. Client work can often be overwhelming, but I know that in Oaklin I can always raise my hand for help without fear of reprisal or recrimination. This is truly refreshing compared to the mentality I have seen in other organisations, where Inclusion and Diversity is often treated as a PR exercise.

Jamie Mason, Associate Partner

Jamie Mason

Associate Partner

Jamie is a digital consultant within Oaklin and specialises in leading complex technology transformations with our clients, from platform selection to delivery and adoption. He is pragmatic about the benefits of digital and is focused on the tangible value that it can offer to businesses.

Lara Bernard

Consultant
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“Capturing and tracking data with a DE&I lens through the employee lifecycle has enabled us to create initiatives that focus in on specific target areas for Oaklin. Having a defined DE&I vision with strategic outcomes provides us with a sense of direction which, coupled with the data tracking, means we can influence real change and support the other DE&I workstreams with their targeted campaigns. It’s exciting to see the progress we’re making quarter by quarter.”

Lara Bernard, DE&I Data Lead and Allyship at Work Trainer

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Lara Bernard

Consultant

Lara is a highly motivated individual with excellent interpersonal skills. She is passionate about the people-side of change, having worked for 10+ years on complex transformational projects. She thrives in roles focused on programme management, change management, sustainable transformation and employee experience. Lara has led multi-faceted and diverse teams to deliver high quality outcomes across FMCG, pharmaceuticals and more.

Our People

Our people

Recruiting our diverse workforce

Our commitment to DE&I in recruitment is evident in every step of our hiring process. We believe that building a workforce rich in diverse perspectives and experiences is essential for innovation and success. We’re passionate about driving DE&I in early careers and do this this through two programmes, the Work Experience and the Mock Assessment Centre. We run these in partnership with upReach, a social mobility charity that supports undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds to access and sustain graduate jobs.

“It was probably one of the best careers events I have ever attended. From the people to the planning of the whole day, I don’t think it could have gone any better!” – Mock Assessment Centre attendee, 2024

Early years recruitment

Work Experience Programme

This one-week long programme, is aimed at providing young people the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience in Management Consulting. During the week, our interns shadow client engagements, participate in sessions on various aspects of consulting, and tackle an independent case study. In the past, this programme has resulted in successful long-term recruits. 

Mock Assessment Centre

The Mock Assessment Centre provides candidates with the skills to enable them to secure a graduate job and open the pathway into consulting. We have provided over 20 undergraduates with the opportunity to practice a range of skills commonly used in consulting recruitment such as psychometric tests, competency interviews, group case studies and individual presentations. 

DE&I learning at Oaklin

Oaklin has a culture of learning; our employees are continuously taking opportunities to deepen their knowledge in capabilities and industries. This is no difference when it comes to DE&I.

  • All employees must complete a suite of mandatory DE&I training each year.
  • In 2024, we launched our reverse mentoring scheme “Parallels” which centers on our employees being partnered with an Oaklin Leadership Team member and provides a structured space to share lived experiences.
  • Each quarter we run an allyship training session to equip our employees with the tools to be better allies within the workplace, on client site and in society.
  • Every year we dedicate one of our monthly company-wide meetings to a guest DE&I speaker to educate and inspire all staff. Topics have included personal stories about race and disability, Pride and bringing your whole self to work, social mobility, surviving the Holocaust, transitioning at work and neurodiversity.

Oaklin Communities

Oaklin Communities are employee-nominated and employee-led groups which come together to celebrate diversity across the firm.

We invest in our communities to celebrate their rich cultures. In our ethnicity and religion focused communities, employees celebrate their culture over food, music, festivals and history. Our communities also provide a safe space to connect and learn about important topics that are affecting society today. 

The Communities are ever-evolving and new communities are often developed. Some of our current communities are:

Nathan Whittaker

Consultant
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“Our DE&I strategy at Oaklin has empowered me to lead new and impactful initiatives that advance inclusion across our business. With a clear vision and defined outcomes, it means I've been able to launch the Parallels Programme, our first Allyship at Work Training, and our Pride Community, fostering a more inclusive culture throughout the organisation. I’m proud of the meaningful impact we have been and are continuing to make.

Nathan Whittaker, Pride Community Lead, Parallels Programme Lead and Allyship at Work Trainer.

Nathan Whittaker

Consultant

Nathan is an experienced consultant and certified customer experience (CX) professional with demonstrated delivery across digital and large-scale transformation engagements, supporting a wide range of clients. He is most driven by designing and delivering meaningful change for clients, customers and employees.

Nathan is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and has designed and evolved different propositions both internally and with clients.

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