Calling in Coles

Kate and Mandy speak to Katie Wyatt, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Coles. In the spirit of ‘calling in’, rather than ‘calling out’, they shared Mandy’s daughter Molly’s feedback about doing work experience at her local Coles supermarket. Molly is 16 years old, attends a specialist school and has cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability.

Katie has a background in HR and lived experience of chronic illness, and became Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Coles shortly before COVID-19 hit. Katie works with Coles’ leadership and 120,000+ team members around Australia to build a diverse workplace in which everyone experiences a sense of connection and belonging.

Mandy shared the highs and lows of Molly’s feedback with Katie (the great food in the staffroom, helping customers find things, yet feeling like a burden) and some areas for learning, mentoring and support for Coles’ staff to ensure that they’re offering the best work experience program possible for young people with disabilities and additional needs. Katie shared that learning from lived experience and feedback is critical to Coles’ aim to create a workplace where everyone can belong and achieve their career goals.

Happily, at the end of her two weeks of work, Molly said she loved it so much that she didn’t want to leave! Our big thanks to Katie for her time and care in listening to and learning from Molly, Mandy and Kate's feedback. We hope other employers, large and small, can also learn from the valuable experience that Molly and all our Peashoots have to offer.

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