Increasingly, employers are coming to recognise the business benefits of improving the level of diversity and inclusion within their workforce.

The first Robert Walters whitepaper of 2017, Diversity and Inclusion in Recruitment explores strategies that employers can use to access more diverse talent pools to create a workforce that is diverse and inclusive.

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The research, based on a survey of over 450 employers and supported by the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion, shows that 85% believe that increasing diversity within their workforce is a priority but nearly half have no strategy in place to source, attract and implement this. 

By recruiting professionals from a range of backgrounds at all levels of seniority, businesses gain access to a wide variety of viewpoints and perspectives and can also impact productivity in positive way.

“A diverse workforce can deliver tangible advantages for employers in terms of productivity and innovation,” said Chris Poole, Managing Director - UK & Ireland. 

“While this is widely recognised, relatively few businesses are doing this, potentially preventing themselves from reaching highly skilled professionals and building a diverse workplace.” 

Considering professionals from overseas and those that have worked in different industries and backgrounds has the potential to bring in new ideas into the business as well as transferable and unique skills.

While this is widely recognised, relatively few businesses are doing this, potentially preventing themselves from reaching highly skilled professionals and building a diverse workplace

Encouraging collaboration with a diverse workforce

When building a diverse workforce, implementing strategies to encourage collaboration between team members to take advantages of the benefits that diversification can bring is equally important and a challenge that employers face.

This involves implementing further strategies to provide opportunities and encouraging professionals from diverse backgrounds to work together and ensure that staff feel that their voices and opinions are taken into consideration by senior managers.

Helping diverse candidates find your company

Taking steps to attract diverse candidates to your company is a key factor in developing a diverse workforce. This could include writing job adverts so the language doesn’t discourage certain candidates from applying, and ensuring staff members are aware that you are embracing diversity as part of your recruitment plan.

Reduce unconscious bias

Unconscious bias can have an underlying effect on decisions when recruiting for your business. Different approaches can be used to reduce this, including:

• Assessing blind CVs (removing certain information like gender and name)
• Reviewing information with certain stakeholders
• Anti-bias training to approach recruitment more objectively

Doing the above allows employers to develop a workforce with a broad range of backgrounds, increasing the likelihood of bringing in new ideas and creating a highly productive workforce.

About the Robert Walters Insight Series

This whitepaper is the eighth in the Robert Walters Insight Series. The Insight Series is a range of thought-leading whitepapers aimed at assisting employers develop their recruitment strategies and helping them to address key talent management issues.