Leading Talent Agency Says Diversity Should Still Be At The Top Of The Agenda

Just under half of UK based businesses are committed to implementing diversity in hiring strategies through out their organisations. That’s according to a poll conducted on LinkedIn by Wilson HCG. The findings come at a time when employers are seemingly dropping their diversity, equality, inclusion and belonging hiring focus. Those who responded stated that their organisations were very committed to bringing in more applicants and candidates from more diverse backgrounds but that much more needed to be done to create a more level playing field in which everyone can take part and prosper.

The House of Lords and the House of Commons have been heavily criticized recently for looking to hire managers to lead their internal inclusion teams. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has also ordered Whitehall to begin cutting DEIB roles as part of a wider effort to cut Civil Service numbers back to pre-pandemic levels. A leading talent solutions organisation has stated that diversity should be the main point of focus to ensure that everyone can have equal opportunities to take part in all tasks in the recruitment industry. This will help make it fairer for everyone to manage their daily lives.

Craig Sweeney, EVP of global strategic talent solutions at Wilson HCG, commented.

"It shouldn't need to be said, but diversity is not a box-ticking exercise, it's the right thing to do and should be celebrated, not criticised. The UK is an immensely diverse country, and it benefits both businesses and government to think laterally, and look to represent the communities that they're trying to engage with within their own workforces."

"Ideally, diversity should be ingrained in all talent attraction strategies, whether or not there is an abundance of candidates. Businesses should always look to hire on a skills-first basis, and a proper approach needs to encompass a strategic focus on DEIB. This is only really effective when it is led from the top, which is why it is concerning that it seems to be dropping down the agenda."

If diversity is highlighted more in the recruitment process and a wider variety of different staff are employed, they will be able to cater better for different individuals with in society which helps prevent any unintentional discrimination by different organisations toward their customers. This helps to provide for the needs of individuals whose values or beliefs may be different to those of the majority and helps to prevent any forms of prejudice. This helps to provide a level footing for society as a whole.

A few ways in which employers can be more diverse in the technology industry include:

1. Be open about gender pay inequality/equality

Being open and honest about the gender pay gap in your organisation will inspire trust and respect from employees because it demonstrates a genuine concern for pay equality as well as a commitment to face the problem head on. Proactive steps such as conducting a pay gap analysis report, equalising performance-related pay reviews, and posting salaries on job postings are all ways to show a commitment to diversity and inclusion from a gender pay perspective.

2. Be aware of unconscious bias

Unconscious bias is a real threat to making progress in increasing diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. If unconscious bias hasn’t been explored and identified in your company, diverse hiring practices will be more of a challenge. Ways to prevent unconscious bias from damaging diversity and inclusion efforts in your company include introducing variety to interviewing styles to move away from the ‘one size fits all’ model and towards giving everyone a fair chance to succeed, removing gendered and coded language from job ads, making data-based decisions, and advertising roles through different channels such as D&I focused job boards.

3. Acknowledge religious and cultural holidays

When employees feel supported at work it leads to higher performance and overall better engagement and staff retention. Inclusion plays a huge role in ensuring employees feel not only supported at work but recognised and valued for their individuality. Adopting a flexible approach to holidays and enabling employees to have days off to observe and celebrate religious holidays and events will demonstrate inclusion as a core company value.

These should be developed and adapted to other businesses in different sectors to help foster a more inclusive society and work force.