If you're looking to build a strong employer brand and assemble a workforce that will drive your organisation to new levels of profitability and success, you need to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Studies have shown that having a broad and equal representation of genders, ages, ethnicities, nationalities and professional backgrounds in your business can make you more innovative and attractive to talented jobseekers.
That’s likely to be a major advantage for your organisation, especially when more than ever are facing issues with attracting and hiring top talent.
Additionally, research from McKinsey has even found a correlation between diversity and financial performance – so there’s a clear business reason for why diversity is important in the workplace.
If you're keen to move forward in your diversity journey but you're not sure how to take the next steps, it’s worth considering getting help from an external partner like Randstad. In this article, we’ll cover some of the main ways in which our expertise can contribute to boosting diversity in your organisation, and explain the key contributions we can make that you might struggle to implement by yourself.
data on what workers want from DEI initiatives
To appeal to the broadest possible range of applicants, you need to know what modern job seekers are looking for in a prospective employer.
Data from Monster, for example, shows that over four of five job applicants from Generation Z say a commitment to diversity and inclusion is an important factor they look for in an employer. Our own 2024 Workmonitor research tells a similar story — globally, more than a third (37%) of our respondents said they wouldn’t work for a company that wasn’t looking to improve diversity and equity.
The same Workmonitor study, in which we surveyed over 27,000 workers in 34 countries, also uncovered an important understanding gap between employers and younger workers. 40% of Generation Z respondents and 34% of millennials said their employer doesn’t understand their generation. Some of these workers may still be in the early stages of their careers, but they’ll soon be a majority — and employers who are dragging their heels on DEI today will struggle to attract them tomorrow.
We specialise in gathering, interpreting and acting on insights like these. We know from experience that understanding workforce attitudes and adapting to them is vital for long-term survival. For more than 20 years, we have been conducting research into the things that really matter to employees. This information is essential when you’re trying to build a compelling employer brand and attract top talent, a key element of future business success. It’s only by working with an experienced partner that you get access to deep knowledge about your target groups that can help you reach and attract them.
fresh perspectives on diversity and inclusion in recruitment
If you want to hire diverse talent, it makes sense to have a wide range of voices and backgrounds on your recruitment team.
Your existing team may be highly talented and qualified, but if they all share a similar background, there’s a risk they might miss something. For example, they may like to source candidates from the same sources, such as specific universities or recruitment events. Or they may focus too much on one particular platform when promoting job openings while ignoring others – for example, spending a lot of time on LinkedIn while ignoring Instagram. They may have success in finding good candidates, but they will miss a large segment of the talent pool simply because they don’t know it exists.
These examples show the benefits of a diverse recruitment team. By involving colleagues with different backgrounds and experiences, you’ll open up new avenues for talent discovery. As Harvard University’s ‘hiring for diversity’ guidelines explain:
“Different backgrounds and perspectives lead to a variety of ideas, knowledge, and ways of doing things. The converse is often true as well: team members from the same background may take actions based on a narrow range of experiences. By ensuring that your team includes staff from various social and cultural backgrounds, you will widen the range of perspectives, knowledge, and approaches from which decisions are made.”
Working with external partners like Randstad will certainly widen the background of your team, but it’ll also provide you with a new, unbiased view of your recruitment methods. It doesn’t take long for an experienced adviser with a new perspective to spot areas of improvement in your process that you may have overlooked. Even this type of diversity can create a more equitable recruitment operation that creates more diverse teams.
In the words of Audra Jenkins, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Randstad US, advises: "Make sure you have a diverse team that's looking for diverse perspectives. That also helps the organisation be more relatable to diverse talent."
targeted recruitment to increase workforce diversity
Another recommendation from our chief diversity and inclusion officer is to adopt a "hunting and gathering" mindset when you want to source and engage with a wide array of talent, rather than simply "posting and praying" that diverse candidates will come to you.
We can give you access to HR technologies that will help you identify the best places to look for people who match your desired profiles. Recruiting from our network of vetted, proven talent can also give you peace of mind that anyone you hire has the skills and experience required to do the job to a high standard.
If your company isn’t already diverse, it could simply be because your employer brand isn’t strong enough among the groups you want to recruit. Using targeted recruitment makes it much easier to reach groups you wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise — groups with no existing relationship with or knowledge of your company.
The success of our targeted recruitment initiatives in creating diverse workplaces has been highlighted by various local initiatives and partnerships we have formed with non-governmental organisations, regional governments and associations that help us to find diverse talent. Examples include Without Borders, a programme launched by Randstad Italy that aims to employ migrants and refugees, our collaboration with Get Skilled Access in Australia, which focuses on breaking down barriers to employment for people with disabilities, and Hire Hope in the USA, which provides career readiness training and job placement services to underserved and at-risk women. In the UK, we have joined forces with Tent Partnership for Refugees, and are one of over 60 major companies that are committed to helping refugees secure employment in the UK.
Building up these extensive partnerships and talent pools is out of the reach of most HR departments, even at major international companies. But by working with a partner like Randstad, you gain access to a wider range of talent that enriches your company and creates more diverse teams.
These are just some of the ways working with a partner like Randstad can give your DEI initiatives a major boost, but the right approach always needs to be tailored to your organisation.
If you want more information before making a decision, take a look at this downloadable guide – it covers our approach to recruitment and gives you an idea of what a staffing partnership with Randstad might look like at your company.
