Not enough change in recruitment since BLM

Diversity and inclusion has taken more importance but there is need for more to be done.

Despite the global momentum behind the Black lives matter movement, a survey to over 13,500 respondents has indicated that this has not led to a change in D&I on an organisational level.

70% of employers say the BLM movement hasn’t changed their organisations focus on diversity and inclusion, this is also reflected by employees. Only 25% of employees see an increase in diversity and inclusion.

These numbers raise concerns, as according to a recent survey by Hays, over two thirds of employers believe a good diversity and inclusion policy helps attract the top talent, this is also reflected by employees and potential candidates.

Further investigation into the numbers show generational differences, younger workers are more optimistic than older workers.

52% of employers believe diversity and inclusion will become a priority in the next few months.

Yvonne Smith, Group head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Hays said “Encouragingly, our findings confirm that the importance of D&I policies is realised by employers and this is strongly backed up by employees, for whom it is more of a priority than it’s ever been. However, there is a sense that the focus on D&I has not changed in recent months, despite movements such as Black Lives Matter which have placed the spotlight on the difficult lived experiences faced by many in our societies.

Although it may seem unclear what it will take for employers to enact stronger change, progressing their D&I strategy needs to be a priority. As a first measure, employers need to be sure they are communicating their efforts across internal and external channels and regularly emphasising successes and results.

Furthermore, change happens when everyone works collectively, so employees should also be encouraged to get involved in initiatives they’re passionate about rather than reacting to an agenda driven solely from the top. Anyone looking for a new role ought to research a potential employer’s diversity and inclusion policies and seek evidence of where they champion those issues.”

At Ohcul jobs, we promote diversity within the workplace through removing the opportunity for people’s unconscious bias to reflect in the recruitment process. Ohcul has been found on the basis of responsible recruitment and looks to remove structural racism out of the recruitment process.

Employee diversity provides a number of benefits to any organisation (large and small). Ethnically diverse companies perform 35% better than their industry median and gender diverse companies are 15% more likely to haver returns above the industry median. With the national customer base becoming more diverse, it is important that a company is representative to fully understand its clients’ needs and, according to the latest research, 67% of employees cite a diverse workforce is a key factor when looking at a role.