Recruitment is about getting the most suitable person into a role; however traditional methods such as online application forms, formal interview panels and various forms of testing don’t always bring out the best in candidates and you may be missing out.
In addition, Inclusive Recruiting can help your business become more reflective of the community in which you serve whilst also offering opportunities to marginalised groups /individuals.
Making your recruitment processes more inclusive is not just about doing the right thing, it can also give your business a competitive edge and the opportunity to be recognised as an employer of choice, enhancing business profits & brand reputation – a win win!
Take a look at the CIPD Trust website for hints and tips CIPD Trust | Mentoring | Get involved
Recruitment and selection often uses traditional recruitment methods such as on-line application forms, panel interviews and various forms of testing. These methods can have the effect of unintentionally excluding people as they are not necessarily the best way of fully understanding their ability to fulfil a job role.
Following these steps will help you to recruit and select the best employees:
Job descriptions are sometimes vague, and person specifications can focus on academic ability and experience as opposed to the actual skills required. As a result, individuals screen themselves out thinking that they cannot do the job on offer.
Making an applicant as comfortable as possible will bring the best out of them. A more informal approach to the selection process can often help with this.
For most people applications are stressful – they are an essential step in securing a job but they can present a huge barrier to potential applicants. If there is an opportunity to review your application process, it’s worth considering how you can adapt it and make the process more open and accessible to a wider group of job seekers.
For example, online only applications can be challenging due to:
You could consider accepting CVs or videos CVs as an alternative, depending on the role being considered.
The Guaranteed Interview Scheme was a government scheme that businesses could sign up to, to show their commitment to offering interviews to people with disabilities, providing they met the minimum criteria for a vacancy. This was replaced by the Disability Confident scheme in 2013, which sets out a similar commitment. The scheme aims to increase the opportunities available to disabled job applicants, and to change attitudes towards disabled candidates.
The scheme is easy to sign up to (see section 5. Charters and Accreditations) and requires employers to offer a guaranteed interview to any applicant that declares that they have a disability, providing they meet the minimum standards for the job role. These standards should be included in the job description and will often be listed as essential or desirable skills.
Regardless of whether you are signed up to the Disability Confident Scheme, it’s good practice to offer a guaranteed interview to any disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria for the job role.
Ways to make the process more inclusive:
We don’t require a CV or formal application form for our entry level operational roles. We ask for an expression of interest and contact details. That can be a text, email, phone call, we don’t mind.
We then invite candidates in to meet the depot manager, discuss the role and visit the depot they would be working from. The depot manager meets them and gives them a tour of the site whilst explaining the role and about the company as well as asking open questions of the candidate.
After the visit the depot manager gets back in touch a day later to discuss if the role is right for the candidate and if the candidate is right for the role. Any feedback if they’re not suitable is given at this point so it can be discussed/clarified as needed. If everyone’s happy a start date is agreed and next steps discussed.
We’ve found this approach to be really inclusive for people joining our sector. We use a lot of jargon and can look intimidating from the outside so we’ve found this way leads to greater openness at interview and better retention for new joiners.
We currently have 2 deaf employees working at Boringdon Hall – one is a kitchen porter and has been with us over 2 years and the other started as akitchen porter 5 years ago and over that time he has progressed to commis chef assisting our Pastry chef in prepping and creating afternoon teas.
In September 2022, 10 of us including management and the kitchen team took part in deaf awareness training with Sign Solutions UK. We had an educator who was deaf teach us sign language and some important knowledge and skills to engage with a diverse workforce.
We offer reasonable adjustments to candidates as part of the invite to interview process. We were asked by one candidate to allow extra time for assessments which we supported them on throughout the whole selection process.
By doing so they performed really well in all aspects and we really got to see their potential.
They are now working for us as a trainee accountant.
You can’t ask questions about an individual’s health or disability during the recruitment process (except in limited circumstances). However, as part of the recruitment process it’s important to ask all applicants whether they need any particular adjustments or arrangements for any part of the recruitment or selection process.
Make sure you give every candidate the opportunity to discuss these in advance of an interview or selection test. You shouldn’t make assumptions about what adjustments are needed. Remember, many adjustments are straightforward and can be implemented easily, at little or no cost.
If you are considering a candidate for a role, who has the right skills, experience and abilities that you are looking for, but who may struggle with certain tasks, you can consider job carving.
Job carving is used where a person can successfully undertake most of the tasks in their job role but there may be some duties they are not able to complete. There are times where it may not be possible to find a candidate that can complete all the tasks involved in a particular job. This is where job carving can be considered as a reasonable adjustment. If the candidate can complete a high percentage of the job tasks, and you then negotiate job duties across a team so that tasks are shared in a fair and equitable way.
It’s good to be aware of local organisations who can work with you to support you and your new employee or apprentice. Some local authorities offer a supported employment service. Supported employment (through the provision of job coaches) work with the employer and employee to help them settle in, understand what is required and ensure reasonable adjustments are in place if needed.
