Helping employers to recruit a diverse workforce
Businesses can find out how to recruit students and graduates from a wide range of backgrounds and how to support them in the workplace in a new guide that Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) has co-produced.
Yorkshire Universities’ updated Inclusive Recruitment Guide for Employers contains a wealth of information about how they can attract and employ staff from a wider range of backgrounds and with a broader range of skills and characteristics. This includes advertising roles using inclusive language, and selection processes that take into account diverse backgrounds.
The free pack also covers some of the benefits of a diverse workforce. These include:
- Increased likelihood of innovation
- Teams more accurately reflecting customer bases
- Variety in staff perspectives, reducing risk of bias
The pack includes case studies written by GHWY on specific under-represented groups, including care-experienced young people and Males on Free School Meals, which are great examples of inclusive recruitment in real-life situations.
Building inclusive recruitment into an organisation’s recruitment process is vital due to the Equality Act 2010. However, the guide covers ways in which employers can go above and beyond in this capacity and includes information on international students and graduates, and how to make accommodations in the workplace.
In addition to being a legal requirement, inclusive recruitment has also been found to have financial benefits. Analysis by professional services company Accenture found that ‘if all UK companies were able to improve workplace inclusivity by just 10%, the resulting uplift in their ability and willingness to innovate could increase UK GDP by up to 1.5% each year, equating to a total boost to the UK economy of £393 billion between 2020 and 2030.’
The Inclusive Recruitment Guide was produced collaboratively and received input from, among others, seven GHWY members: Leeds Arts University; Leeds Beckett University; Leeds Conservatoire; Leeds Trinity University; University of Bradford; University of Huddersfield; and University of Leeds.
The resource is a fantastic tool for employers to improve their processes and to benefit from a more diverse workforce.
