How can I get started with Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for my business?

For many, ED&I seems like a big task but there are quick wins and initial small steps that you can take to get started.

“A recent study conducted in 2022 by Tribepad and The Firm found that 95% of companies have ED&I as a core focus but almost half (46%) don’t set KPI’s around ED&I for anyone. This suggests that companies are keen on improving ED&I but perhaps don’t really know how to go about making improvements”.

For many ED&I is something they want to do; however what businesses are actually doing currently is wide ranging. This may be because of their size, scale, if they have a HR Team, a dedicated recruiter or a dedicated resource in their organisation.

So how do you get started with ED&I?

Here is a list of practical things you might want to consider to get started.

1. Appoint an ED&I champion within your business or get some outside help.

You may think that people will say they have so much to do that no-one will take up this mantle. You might be surprised at how passionate ED&I champions are in our industry. A big benefit them is it’s great for their development, profile and progress. 

2.Understand the diversity profile of your organisation and what you want to achieve. 

This is data you will already probably hold and a small project you could allocate to your ED&I Champion.

3. Review your recruitment practices and how you can reduce bias in the recruitment process

From trialling blind applications to bringing in someone to deliver bias training there are lots of good examples of how organisations have been successful in the past to increase the number of diverse applications.

4. Actively partner with organisations to help you diversify your candidate attraction strategy.

Did you know the most common concerns that candidates have when applying for jobs is; their age (too old), their personal appearance, disability or learning needs, gender or gender identity, race or ethnicity, weight, age (too young), accent, mental health and being a parent.

It makes for pretty sober reading doesn’t it?

There are proactive things you can do to reach diverse groups such as contacting organisations already providing support to diverse groups as well as using ED&I specific job boards.

I hope that this small insight has been useful. It really is all about taking positive action. Starting small is fine too. It is all about having a plan in place.

*Source Tribepad – Stop the bias report