“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance.”
Verna Myers
Diversity and inclusion aren’t mutually exclusive. If employees don’t feel engaged, welcome, and part of their new organisation, they may not achieve their potential. We believe it is imperative that employers provide a working culture where diverse talent can thrive and be recognised for the value they create in the business, be their authentic selves and be fully protected from discrimination. It is not just about hiring a diverse talent but also onboarding, retaining and including all employees.
As your company grows, the diversity of your leadership team should grow with it. But increasing diversity isn’t a matter of filling quotas. That attitude leads to tokenism, which does nothing for your company. True diversity and inclusivity require a more expansive approach to recruitment, hiring and employee development.
How do we fit in?
- Our passion, knowledge and commitment to driving diversity is met with keen personal interest.Our network is continuously growing with potential talent and allies. We attend Diversity and Inclusion networking events regularly.
- We are industry specialists and have an extensive contact base, built over a number of years. As trusted and respected search professionals our network feel confident connecting us with their wider network.
- We delve deeper, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the skills and capabilities required by the client; advising and challenging the stakeholder to enable them to consider alternative talent.
- We provide a strong and positive candidate experience. This is demonstrated by the fact our candidates so often become our clients.
Our priority is to identify the right talent. Each search is led by our clients’ requirements whilst working hard to identify diverse talent.
Why is Diversity & Inclusion important?
- Companies that have more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenue (Boston Consulting Group, 2018).
- In a 2018 Forbes survey of 321 international companies, 85% of respondents were convinced that diversity plays a key role in driving innovation.
- A 2017 study by Boston Consulting Group in Germany, Austria and Switzerland found companies with a diverse management team had increased revenues, gained from innovative products and services.
- A 2018 Forbes study found that, on average, companies with a diverse management team earn 19% more revenue than companies with below-average diversity. According to another study, a 1% increase in workplace gender diversity was associated with a 3% increase in sales revenue, while a 1% increase in racial diversity was correlated with a 9% increase in revenue. More diversity means greater innovation, as a diverse workforce brings in a broader range of experience, which in turn fuels new ideas.
- A 2018 McKinsey report, named ‘Women in the Workplace’, based on 462 companies, found that ‘two things are clear: one, women remain underrepresented, particularly women of colour. Two, companies need to change the way they hire and promote entry and manager-level employees to make real progress.
- A recent (July 2019) report by The Guardian newspaper found that ‘Women make up 32% of FTSE 100 directors – up from 29% a year ago – putting leading companies on track for the government’s target of 33% by 2020. But female directors keep their jobs for a shorter time and are less likely to be promoted than men. Female directors are also older than their male counterparts and disproportionately white’.
- Companies with an ethnic or culturally diverse board are 43% more likely to have higher profits (McKinsey, 2018). Companies in the bottom quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity are 29% less likely to achieve above-average profitability.
- While the Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) community makes up 14 per cent of the UK population, only 4 per cent of FTSE 100 companies have BAME CEOs at the top–a figure that has remained unchanged for over a year. The McGregor-Smith Review (commissioned by the UK Government in 2017) found that businesses can catalyse their growth by ensuring career progression of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) employees. It could also boost the UK economy by £24 billion.
As evidence of our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion, we are proud to be signatories to the Executive Search Voluntary Code of Conduct which is a government accreditation for search firms to address gender diversity on corporate boards and best practice for the related search processes.
