Create a shadowing opportunity

The Idea

We know that certain groups of people may find it more difficult to progress in their career or gain confidence to lead. Shadowing can help people unlock their potential.

 

We would like you to commit to offer a shadowing opportunity to one person from a group which is under-represented within your workforce/area of activity. You can offer someone to shadow you for a day, a week or over a longer period. If you are an engaged tenant, why not offer someone to shadow you at a meeting or an event? This might be somebody who is:

 

• A colleague/tenant/customer/service user
•  Younger or Older
• Female or Male
• Disabled
• Black or from Minority Ethnic Background
• Gay or Lesbian
•  Trans*
• From a particular religious background
• Ex-offender
• Underprivileged socio-economic background
• Any other group which you think deserves to be represented or supported but isn’t

 

What is shadowing

Shadowing involves offering an employee or tenant who might have a different job in hand or be unemployed, to accompany you or assist you with job tasks. You might have something to teach, or you can help the person shadowing you to learn new skills, behaviours and competencies.

What makes a shadowing opportunity?

It has to be meaningful and could involve assisting on some tasks. It should provide an opportunity for those involved to learn and develop their skill set and knowledge. It’s a really good way for people to ‘test out’ career options and begin to think about achieving more in their career or simply gain confidence. Often people from diverse backgrounds can be dissuaded from applying for a job because they don’t feel they meet all the criteria in a job specification. Shadowing can help people to see the ‘reality’ of the job not just the job specification and this might encourage them to apply for similar positions in the future.

Information and support

There are good resources available to help you learn more about shadowing. Below are two of the more useful resources we have found. If you are interested in creating a shadowing opportunity speak to your HR department to see if they have any information or policies in place:

• Manchester Metropolitan University –  Job Shadowing Guidelines
• University of Cambridge – Types of Job Shadowing