Recent Decline in EDI Best Practice in Recruitment
Hiring Insights Public Sector & Not-for-Profit ...
Recent findings from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) highlight a concerning trend: a decline in employers' use of best practices for inclusive hiring. With the UK facing skills shortages and productivity struggles, these findings underscore the need for more robust Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) measures to ensure businesses continue to thrive by attracting diverse talent.
Key Findings from the REC Survey:
Lack of Diversity-Focused Job Ads: 55.2% of employers don't specifically target diverse candidates in their adverts, and only 5.8% plan to address this in the future.
Inclusive Wording Missing: 44.2% of companies don’t use inclusive language in their job postings, with minimal plans to change this.
Name-Blind CV Submissions Declining: 74.8% of employers avoid name-blind CVs, an increase from previous years.
Diverse Interview Panels Underutilized: 61.7% do not use diverse interview panels, a number that continues to rise.
These results show a backward step in efforts to embrace inclusive hiring, despite evidence suggesting that companies benefit from more diverse and inclusive workforces. With tight labour markets and the need for new skills, it is critical for businesses to adapt, and recruiters play a key role in guiding this transformation.
The good news is, for our clients like you who work in the Public Sector, Social Housing, Charity and Educations sectors, you’re often way ahead of many private sector organisations and therefore already attracting more diverse talent. If you’re not quite there yet though, read on…
How Yolk Recruitment Can Help Plug the Gap
At Yolk Recruitment, we are committed to bridging this gap. Our approach aligns with Civil Service diversity standards and goes beyond, providing tailored EDI solutions to our clients to ensure they can continue to attract and retain top talent.
Here’s how Yolk can support your EDI goals:
Redacted CVs: To combat unconscious bias, we offer redacted CVs, ensuring candidates are judged on their skills and experience alone.
Inclusive Job Advertisements: Yolk promotes our clients' EDI efforts through job postings, social media, and direct communication with candidates, ensuring that underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply for their roles.
Balanced Shortlists: We provide balanced shortlists, helping you tap into a wider pool of candidates and bringing diverse perspectives to your team.
Workshops and Events: We offer workshops and tailored events to educate your hiring teams on inclusive practices, ensuring they can overcome challenges related to EDI.
Candidate Support: Yolk's dedicated team works closely with job seekers, helping them navigate potential barriers in the hiring process and ensuring they have a fair recruitment experience.
Insights and Reporting: We provide regular updates on EDI trends and help you adjust strategies as needed, based on data and feedback from bodies such as the REC. We also provide post campaign EDI Reports.
HR Insights Seminars: Topics are often EDI led on topics such as ‘Accessibility and Removing Barriers’ and ‘Supporting LGBTQ+ Employees’. (See example attached.)
At Yolk, we understand that inclusive hiring is not just about compliance—it's about creating a workforce that is innovative, engaged, and reflective of the communities you serve. We’re here to ensure your recruitment processes align with best practices, enabling you to harness the full potential of the talent pool available.