Our Values

Fat Macy’s is a charity and social business that supports people to move on from temporary accommodation and build a stable life. As a team, we are driven by a vision of society where no one is left behind – a society that recognises that everyone starts in a different place.

Addressing equity, diversity and inclusion isn’t just a tick-box exercise for us, it’s fundamental to our mission and why we exist. It’s vital that we approach it with the same thoughtfulness and commitment that we bring to our programme.

Good jobs mean social mobility. So it’s our responsibility as an employer to support people into roles that move them forward. Both the hospitality and social enterprise sectors suffer from a lack of progression for people who are already disadvantaged – but we can do better. We want anyone in Fat Macy’s – trainees and team alike – to be able to progress through the organisation and be set up to succeed, both today and in the future, wherever they go.

We have been reflecting on, and changing, how we operate as an organisation and work with trainees.

The journey so far

Since 2022 we have:

  • Established an EDI working group that meets once a month to review and plan how we embed equity, diversity and inclusion across the organisation.

  • Introduced metrics around recruitment and planning how we capture data around trainee backgrounds to better inform the work we do.

  • Surveyed our team about working conditions.

  • Shifted to depersonalised CVs and open recruitment for leadership roles.

  • Shared a transparent pay structure.

  • Tasneem, the Senior Progression and Engagement Officer won the award for the Head Office Impact at Be Inclusive Hospitality Spotlight Awards.

Looking ahead

We will continue to build on these practices throughout the year, openly sharing our goals, along with our successes and shortcomings.

We know there is no overnight fix to society-wide inequality. It’s a bigger conversation than one organisation. But we hope that by taking action and making commitments in public, we can play our part in encouraging others to do the same.

This is an ongoing journey. There will be more to learn and do.

Fat Macy’s Values

These are our guiding principles that we apply to everything we do as an organisation, whether it’s working with trainees, colleagues or our partners.

We strive for equity

Every person has different life experiences and access to opportunities. We recognise this imbalance as a team, both in wider society and in our organisation. Striving for equity means ensuring that extra support is given to those who have been under-supported in the past, and welcoming people as equals no matter their role, area of work, or background.

We focus on strengths

We focus on an individual’s and our organisation’s strengths. When working with team members and trainees, we look for abilities, talents, resources and resilience that can be harnessed for personal development. In particular we help trainees to find and use often overlooked strengths to address challenges they face. As an organisation we support everyone to grow by building on their capabilities.

We cultivate empathy

Empathy plays a central role not just in supporting trainees but in how we work as a team. We try to put ourselves in other people’s shoes to make better decisions and build better relationships both at work and in life. We seek to understand how others feel in difficult situations and be mindful of the added pressures and struggles others may face. Cultivating empathy doesn’t mean we shy away from hard conversations. We give fair and honest feedback when it’s required, but always deliver it with the other person’s feelings in mind.

We empower others

We believe that a key part of motivation is having agency. In the team we strive for a culture of trust and encourage people to act autonomously, with appropriate support and direction, to meet the goals of the organisation. With trainees, we empower them to take charge of their future, career and tenancy so they can create positive change for themselves. Anyone in the organisation can have a say in how Fat Macy’s operates.

We’re continually improving

We are constantly learning as a team and we use data and experience to guide our business and programme decisions. We regularly reflect on what works and what doesn’t, rather than following the status quo. We use our size to our advantage to stay nimble and adapt quickly. When the evidence supports it, we’re not afraid to make bold, decisive changes in order to do better for our trainees, as a charity and as a business.