Around half of UK organisations who were hiring in the past year have claimed that they have hired a more diverse workforce compared to statistics for the previous year.
That’s according to data from the latest Resourcing and Talent Planning Report which was published this year. The document which looked at the state of play with in the UK employment sector made some interesting observation which illustrated that fairness in the jobs market is gradually starting to improve which means that the British economy is becoming a fairer place for people who are less able than others to become part of an organisation and manage to earn a living for themselves. This indicates that people with disabilities are being given more equal opportunities with those who are able bodied to make the country a fairer place to live.
This also gives an indication that the country’s welfare bill is likely to decrease in the near future as those who may have depended on it before will have been able to start earning a living for themselves as more and more companies will have begun hiring people from a more diverse background, meaning those who may be disabled will have more opportunities than they previously did. This means that there is a lot less discrimination in work place settings and more people are being chosen for different roles with regard to their knowledge and skills with in the area.
The main headline figure of 51% of businesses beginning to hire people from a more diverse background can be quite misleading though as research has illustrated that various businesses are struggling to maintain the momentum and find adequately qualified or able candidates for any roles they have advertised and need to fill.
While this paints a promising picture for diverse workforces, employers also indicated growing difficulties maintaining this momentum. The number of organisations, that attempted to fill vacancies over the past year, reporting challenges hiring diverse talent increased from 16% in 2022, to 29% this year. This could put future inclusive recruitment practices at risk unless employers are able to take action swiftly.
Louise Shaw, Managing Director at Omni RMS explains that employers will need to take further steps to ensure the movement already gained in diverse hiring isn’t lost:
“It’s encouraging to see progress at a strategic level, though less so at a tactical. We need to go beyond a stage where organisations are focusing on inclusive hiring to hit recruitment targets and instead see employers recognising that diversity is necessary for retention as much as attraction. However, this requires a significant cultural shift within a business to make it stick.
“Employers are already aware of the fact that diverse hiring is only going to become more challenging. In order to best manage this, they need to consider more than just training. There are a number of steps we’ve seen work for organisations already. Engaging senior sponsors and utilising internal employee networks to showcase diversity and make sure the right voices are heard all aids attraction and retention. Ensuring wide reach for diverse talent attraction and objective assessments of candidate’s performance and potential are another such methods.
“We’ve seen the positive impact that more inclusive hiring can have. In our work with Ofcom, for example, we were able to increase ethnic hires from 24% to 28% and grow female leadership recruitment from 33% to 46%. It may become more challenging to continue the momentum in diverse recruitment, but it will also be far more rewarding for organisations and employees alike.”
The findings of the report show that more and more needs to be done to ensure that the country remains a fair place for everybody to live and prosper in. Everyone should be given a fair opportunity to take on any roles they feel they may be suitable for. It is only then that we can help maintain a status quo in which everyone can continue to associate with their friends and peers and no one will be isolated due to the fact that they have a disability or are from a different part of the world.
