Diversity & INCLUSION
Additional Information
At Skylark Recruitment, Equity & Inclusion is part of our DNA and as such it is embedded throughout all areas of our business. This doesn’t just mean that we promote equality of opportunity as an employer but that we overlay this with our clients too. We foster a culture of inclusion and belonging and with that we actively bring diverse voices to business decisions. One of the ways that has proven to be particularly successful for us has been our Operational Shadow Board, as it opens up new dialogues and ideas that are helping us with innovation.
Inclusion starts right at the beginning when looking at candidate attraction and it needs to be omnipresent throughout selection, induction, development and promotion, this means leadership, the culture, and the strategy - no area is exempt.
From the moment a candidate engages with an organisation, whether that’s us their recruitment intermediary, us as a prospective employer or indeed one of our clients, they need to feel that their differences are valued. From the wording in a job description, through to the way an interview is conducted, their induction, and right up to the day they leave the company. Leaders need to be inclusive in their approach. They need to seek diverse input from their people to ensure richness of thought and innovation. A business culture, therefore, needs to epitomise inclusion, so that each individual feels comfortable being their authentic selves in the workplace, accepted without exception, and that their voice matters.
To build a truly diverse workforce, organisations must be prepared to evolve: listen to different perspectives, actively seek out a variety of opinions, and allow individuals to challenge the status quo. The key is to eliminate groupthink and encourage change, to drive business success. Organisations that do this well have been found to significantly outperform those that do not. So, while there are, of course, moral and ethical drivers for diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, there is no denying that there is a clear commercial value for businesses too.
