Although many businesses claim to support diversity, equality, and inclusion, some are still yet to grasp that championing DE&I as part of the hiring process is one of the keys to success.

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What is DE&I?

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DE&I is the process of taking active steps to ensure that people with different genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, cultures, personalities and abilities have opportunities and support in the face of historical and structural bias.

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It Isn’t a Box-ticking Exercise.

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It’s a push for meaningful change that embraces all workers and lets them feel they’re an essential part of a business.

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The Skills Gap

Recent surveys on the “Future of Work” found that 87% of UK businesses are finding it difficult to fill vacancies, with 35% stating that the skills gap is widening. In the UK, recruiters are having to search harder and wider for talent, relying on unlocking untapped potential to close the skills gap.

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Simply put, ensuring that all candidates, irrespective of gender, race or other characteristics are fully considered in the recruitment process helps contribute to a healthy bottom line.

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For businesses looking to thrive, DE&I isn’t an optional extra - but an essential part of being a successful and forward-thinking organisation.

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Embracing Difference

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When surveyed, 40% of companies said candidates expected to learn about a company’s plans to become more diverse, while 70% wanted businesses to be more transparent about the diversity of their workforce.

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That DE&I is an important factor in attracting the right talent and is an increasingly apparent fact for hiring professionals everywhere.

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The world of recruitment, like the rest of society, has faced a reckoning in recent years with DE&I pushed to the fore.

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45% of companies believe that creating a diverse workforce is a priority to retain existing talent and attract new candidates. And 62% of candidates would turn down a job offer from a business with a culture that didn’t support diversity.

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With that in mind, it’s encouraging that 40% of companies are pushing DEI policies into their hiring processes and strategies.

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Not only is it the right thing to do ethically – it benefits the business, the workforce, and the communities we contribute to.

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Companies are beginning to understand that differences are not necessarily negatives and are starting to value a diverse range of views and voices.

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