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We have always followed a selection process based on equal opportunities for all candidates – a level playing field for everybody. Not only is this based on the moral and ethical drivers for diversity and inclusion but also on hard evidence that it provides business benefits too. McKinsey & Co state that inclusive companies are “35% more likely to outperform their competitors”. Add to that the research findings from Harvard Business Review that inclusive companies are “70% more likely to capture new market share” and the arguments for a truly diverse and inclusive workforce begin to stack up.
So it’s natural that we want to help our clients develop more diverse teams so that they can reap the benefits of a varied and inclusive workforce. But the question we are always asked is….”how do you do it?”.
Let me share a few of our secrets here:
1. The first is that it’s not enough to be send blind CV’s. Any recruitment agency can offer that. The challenge is finding those diverse candidates in the first place. So we widen our net beyond the usual sector-specific recruitment sources and tap into more generic sites where the candidate pool is wider and more varied.
2. We work with ED&I networks and groups to reach out to candidates who may have thought a career in market research was out of their reach.
3. We try to avoid gender-coded words in our job ads. How we word job adverts can have a huge impact on response from under-represented groups. Without realising it, we all use language that is subtly “gender-coded” and that can put one gender off from applying to the otherwise perfect job.
4. We are proud that all of our UK-based staff have completed the prestigious APSCo Inclusive Recruiter course designed specifically to ensure, in their own words, “an inclusive recruitment process but also access a wider pool of talent to help clients create more diverse teams”.
5. Finally, we monitor the diversity of job applicants to check the continuing effectiveness of our inclusive strategy.
We also extend this approach to our suppliers by insisting that they all have, and follow, effective ED&I policies.
At the end of the day, we want our clients to succeed. If we can help you by opening up access to the widest, and best, talent pool, especially in a candidate-short market, we are on it.
And we never forget:
DIVERSITY IS A REALITY; INCLUSION IS A CHOICE.
