How can recruiters champion equality, diversity and inclusion? 

By Dean Spencer, CEO

Earlier this year, I marked my six-year anniversary as CEO of Barclay Simpson. I remain very grateful to have been given this opportunity, and I’m extremely proud of everything we – as a team and as a business – have achieved during that time. 

Since stepping into the role, one of my priorities has been to continue embedding a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) into the foundations of our organisation.  

We’ve worked hard to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging within our teams in order to create a workplace where everyone feels seen and heard. And while there is clearly a business case for EDI, the moral case is far stronger: we want to do what’s right.  

To truly thrive, however, I believe recruiters must not only embrace EDI internally, but also actively promote and celebrate it in all forms wherever possible. Put simply, I think we could all be doing more – but how?   

1/ Set the right tone at the top

Leaders and managers play a pivotal role in shaping the culture at your organisation. As role models, their behaviour and outlook has a huge impact on the employee experience. 

If your senior staff aren’t on-board with EDI initiatives, your policies are unlikely to be implemented effectively and employees may feel the organisation doesn’t take diversity and inclusion seriously.  

Unfortunately, many large companies appear to have missed the memo. CIPD research shows that 32% of senior decision-makers don’t know what EDI areas their business will be focusing on over the next five years.  

I spoke to Adam Tobias, co-founder of inclusive talent solutions firm Inventum Group, and he told me leaders should be vocal and visible when it comes to EDI issues.  

“Leaders have a huge part to play in building diverse and inclusive workplaces. They give momentum and authority to your EDI policies, processes and ambitions,” he explains.  

“Also, when leaders are from diverse backgrounds themselves, and are willing to talk about their experiences, this can be very powerful to your wider workforce, as well as customers, clients and supply chains.” 

Clearly, leaders and managers need to feel confident and empowered to champion EDI. But sometimes, this is easier said than done.  

We know that organisations and employees are often afraid to get EDI wrong. Nearly two-thirds of professionals admit they’ve actively avoided a conversation about diversity topics, including race, religion or socio-economic status, because they’re worried they’ll offend someone. 

That’s why it’s important for organisations, including recruitment agencies, to seek support if they’re unsure about how to broach EDI topics. Specialist training and advisory services can help identify areas for improvement, including leadership advocacy support.   

“Organisations really need to invest in having a large number of inclusive leaders, as well as formal management training,” Dr Jasmine Virhia, a Postdoctoral Researcher in Data Science at The Inclusion Initiative recently told us.  

“It sounds simple, but if you’re responsible for managing people – whether it’s a team of two or 20 – you should have the right understanding and training to do that. This really helps to improve diversity and inclusion organically.” 

2/ Get to know your community

Like many businesses, we’re on an EDI journey at Barclay Simpson. And a big part of that journey is engaging with our community and learning more about the issues they care about.  

Recruitment is all about people after all, and I believe it’s crucial that recruiters strive to be representative of all sections of society and make everyone within their network feel respected, valued and understood.  

No doubt many of you reading this will already be having conversations about diversity and inclusion with colleagues, clients and candidates. It’s therefore important to create safe spaces where your community members can feel comfortable discussing potentially sensitive topics.  

However, organisations can better understand the specific concerns and common questions that people have by taking a more proactive approach. For example, have you considered attending or hosting educational events, roundtables and masterclasses about EDI issues?  

This year, we ourselves hosted masterclasses on neurodiversity, disability in the workplace, inclusive language. Over the coming months, we’ll also be holding masterclasses on topics such as intergenerational teams and unconscious bias.  

We are extremely grateful to everyone who takes the time to attend these events, and I hope our community members are able to come away with useful information and recommendations they can apply in their own workplaces.  

For us, being actively involved in projects like this has been both an honour and incredibly enlightening, giving us far greater insight into the real challenges and opportunities that our community members face on a range of key EDI issues.  

3/ Participate in diversity research 

Recruiters work hard to promote diversity in different ways. Some of our efforts are very direct, such as helping clients access a diverse talent pool and ensuring qualified candidates have equal opportunities throughout the recruitment process.  

These actions are important and should always be encouraged. However, we can also support EDI in ways that have a broader, more long-term scope.   

To build more diverse and inclusive workplaces, we need to know what works, what doesn’t, and why. EDI research is a crucial piece of this puzzle, and organisations can be actively involved in answering these questions by participating in the latest studies and research programmes.  

For example, since 2021, we have partnered with Women in Banking & Finance (WIBF), a highly regarded not-for-profit network that has been championing women in financial services for more than 40 years.   

We’ve helped support their research by introducing them to senior professionals from across our specialist markets who were willing to be interviewed about their careers and lived experiences.   

Using these interviews and data from other partner organisations, the WIBF has published a series of reports that provide key insights into crucial EDI topics. The latest report – The Inclusive Individual – was released earlier this year in collaboration with the London School of Economics.  

Its findings emphasise the transformative impact that inclusivity can have on employees’ personal development, so please give it a read if you are looking for actionable recommendations to give your workplaces a greater sense of belonging. 

I would also encourage everyone within my network – whether you’re a recruiter, employer or professional – to get involved in supporting these research programmes themselves.  

Studies like these really move the needle on equality, diversity and inclusion, so please get in touch with us, the WIBF or the LSE if you’d like to contribute to innovative EDI research.  

Keep the EDI conversation going

I believe recruiters are in a unique position to promote the benefits of EDI within the world of employment. By doing so, we can help address systemic biases and shape fairer hiring processes, leading to more diverse and dynamic workplaces.  

Many of the organisations that we work with are already making significant progress on their EDI efforts. Barclay Simpson research shows that 69% of candidates across our markets agree that their employer has created a culture where people care about equality, diversity and inclusion.