Insights
One-third Of Employers Expect To Increase Investment In Diversity & Inclusion Programmes In Next Year
Joe Wiggins
Joe Wiggins, Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 8 Nov 2017
Is diversity and inclusion at the organisation you work for important to you as an employee? Do you research a potential employer’s commitment to diversity as a job candidate and would it influence where you go to work? If so, then good news from employers, as greater resources are expected to be devoted towards improving a lack of diversity over the coming year. One in three (35 percent) hiring decision makers (hiring managers and recruiters, for example) expect to increase investment in diversity and inclusion efforts in the next 12 months. The report*, conducted among hiring decision makers in the U.S. and UK, also finds that job candidate demographics are one of the most important recruiting metrics to employers.
In today’s era of the informed candidate, job seekers are hungry for as much information about a company as possible before they take a job. Job seekers want insights into what businesses are doing to build a workforce that is diverse in all aspects of the word be it age, gender, ethnicity or thought. Driving toward greater diversity in the workplace is a high priority effort for many businesses. With increased investment in diversity and inclusion programmes, it signals that employers are recognising the value these efforts are having on recruiting and on financial performance.
Investment in Diversity & Inclusion Impacts Recruiting Efforts
Glassdoor data also shows recruiting is less effective when companies do not invest in diversity and inclusion programmes. Nearly three in five (59 percent) hiring decision makers report that a lack of investment in diversity and inclusion is a barrier or challenge their organisation faces in attracting and hiring quality candidates. Candidate demographics are a highly important measure of recruiting success. In fact, the costs a company incurs for generating applicants and securing a hire are the only two measures of recruiting success more important than candidate demographics, according to hiring decision makers. They report candidate demographics are more important than recruiting data points like: how long it takes to fill a role; how long it takes to deliver a job offer; and the success a company has in converting job seekers to applicants, and applicants to hires.
Information on diversity and inclusion efforts can help sway candidates. Nearly one in five (18 percent) of those surveyed report that diversity and inclusion initiatives are among the top elements that have the greatest influence on a candidate’s decision to join their organisation.
Employers should highlight and leverage their company’s diversity and inclusion efforts by enabling their recruiters, employees and others to speak about it online and off so that job seekers can gain access to this valuable information where and when they need it.
Check out three UK employers that are focussing on diversity and inclusion:
O2, which says: “We love having a diverse team of people who bring new ideas and different strengths and perspectives to the party”.
Sky, which says: “We know it is our people that make us unique” and even has its own hashtag - #justbe
EY, whose Global Chairman and CEO says: “For us to be successful we need to have the highest performing teams, which means having a very diverse and inclusive workforce.”
To learn more as an employer about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, see Glassdoor’s Guide to Diversity & Inclusion.
To learn more about what defines an informed candidates and the value of an informed candidate for recruiting and business, please visit Glassdoor’s informed candidate research.
*Aptitude Research Partners, 2017
Joe Wiggins
Joe Wiggins, is an expert career author for the Glassdoor Blog. Read about Joe Wiggins' experience and latest published articles on their author profile.
Tags:Diversity & InclusionInformed Candidate
