Despite professing liberal enlightenment, until ten years ago Riverford had a narrow, hierarchical culture. Our (largely white, male, straight, and ageing) leaders were too busy to see what we were missing. I look back with embarrassment at how unquestioningly macho our culture was, and how detrimental that was, to women in particular. It showed in our gender pay gap, staff turnover, the scarcity of women in senior positions, and people’s reluctance to speak up and challenge. Listening was rare, decision-making was narrow, and we were all the poorer for it.
In the end, as part of our journey towards employee ownership and more devolved and inclusive decision-making, we employed a coach to help. To my surprise and irritation, she firmly asserted that things needed to change at the top. I needed to grow up and set a better example – or, as she put it, “Be gratuitously offensive less often” – and when I did go too far, I needed to apologise quickly and publicly. I countered (in a way reminiscent of the brattish behaviour of Trump and Musk) with: “As the maverick founding entrepreneur, surely I don’t have to follow the rules?” But she was having none of it.
The first time I stopped a meeting to apologise for an outburst, the room was stunned. It was liberating to learn that being sensitive, admitting mistakes, and saying sorry is not seen as weakness. In fact, I found it life-enhancing. Other things started changing too: intensive coaching, space to talk about this subject without judgement, adjustments to how we run meetings or write job descriptions, mixed recruitment panels, a fairer process for pay increases – and above all, our leaders and managers starting to see that diversity of thought, in all its forms, is invaluable. As a result, our gender pay gap has disappeared, we have more women in senior positions, and staff turnover has halved. The way we work together has changed radically, and we are making better, more rounded decisions than ever.
So we will not be joining the stampede of regressive businesses falling in behind Trump’s bullying rejection of DEI. Making the effort to listen and see the world through others’ eyes helped Riverford to become a stronger, more resilient business. I am not sure how we would have survived COVID without it. However, this is a journey without end; there is always more work to do. Co-owners across the business are driving us to keep improving – and we intend to listen to them.
Our News from the Farm posts come from Riverford. They are the digital versions of the printed letters which go out to customers, every week via Riverford’s veg boxes. Guy Singh-Watson’s weekly newsletters connect people to the farm with refreshingly honest accounts of the trials and tribulations of producing organic food, and the occasional rant about farming, ethical and business issues he feels strongly about.
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