Diversity in recruitment
TalentScotland supports diversity in recruitment because it provides organisations with important benefits.
What is diversity?
Everyone is a unique person. Even though people have things in common with each other they are also different in all sorts of ways. Differences include visible and non-visible factors, for example, personal characteristics such as background, culture, personality, work-style, size, accent, language and so on.
A number of personal characteristics are covered by discrimination law to give people protection against being treated unfairly.The ‘protected characteristics’ are race,disability, gender,religion and belief,sexual orientation, and age.
How can diversity benefit my organisation?
The business case for diversity focuses on the three Ps of key benefits to businesses:
People – Wellbeing
People want to work for employers with good employment practices and they also want to feel valued at work. Organisations need everyone who works for them to make their best contribution, be productive and committed.
- Higher staff retention
- Higher staff motivation
Profit - Market competitiveness
Most important for an organisation is to recruit and retain the skills and talent they need. Keeping an open mind about the type of candidate you want to recruit will bring you the necessary skills you need to complete your project.
Like-minded people will usually produce like-minded results. When creating new and enhanced products and services, when entering new markets and attracting a wider customer base, a greater diversity can break this mould. A fresh pair of eyes is always helpful. Employees who have different backgrounds may be able to provide alternative solutions to problems or different ways of working. As an example, supermarkets offering products to satisfy a wider range of eating preferences.
- Improved ability to respond and change through creativity
- Innovative approaches to product
- Better service delivery
- Better marketing
- Increased financial performance, increased productivity
Profile - Corporate reputation
The overall image of an organisation is important in attracting and retaining both customers and employees. The ability to connect with and understand their customers is helped by a diverse workforce who knowsmore about the needs of their customers.
- Improved employer image
- Improved customer approval
- Increased brand awareness
For more information please visit:
CIPD - Diversity in the workplace
Business Gateway - Prevent discrimination and value diversity
Highlands and Islands Enterprise - Equality and diversity