Businesses in the UK need to focus on diversity and inclusion, if they want to secure top talent.
The ‘Great Resignation’ and a talent shortage is going to cause recruitment issues. According to a specialist recruiter, more than half of senior business leaders think it will be harder to find talent with the right skills in 2022.
Robert Half’s 2022 Salary Guide suggests businesses also need to focus on culture and CSR work, as candidates are increasingly interested in a their workplace’s value.
This coincided with 29 percent of senior leaders who feel staff are dissatisfied with company culture. They believe this is what causes a people to leave – a crucial issue especially due to the current talent shortage.
How Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) boosts a workplace
But, almost thirty percent of senior leader agreed that investing in DEI initiatives created a better culture within staff.
It also created better empathy for their workplace, and DEI initiatives also resulted in both attracting and retaining workers.
Victoria Sprott, International Talent Acquisition Director at Robert Half, said:
“Attracting top talent is consistently the top issue expressed by employers, especially now that we are in a competitive market where qualified talent is hard to find. With candidates re-evaluating life priorities and difficulties with access to childcare, there is a clear desire for strong values, driven by DEI policies and flexibility that engenders inclusivity.
Diversity breeds innovation
Well-known research shows investing in DEI initiatives can also help businesses to grow and innovate, because a diverse talent pool brings diverse ideas.
It also enhances employers’ brand and reputation and attracts new clients. Robert Half says more than a third of business leaders found that putting in a DEI strategy helped boost company and client acquisition. A quarter also said that it attracted investors.
Widespread adoption of DEI initiatives also has the potential to boost a company’s productivity.
The Office for National Statistics suggests that output per worker is at 1.6% below the 2019 average, whilst the research found that employers with a more diverse workplace had an increase in productivity.
Robert Half found that 24% of employers reported an increase in productivity thanks to greater workplace diversity and inclusion. Additionally, a quarter (25%) experienced increased potential for new ideas and innovation within their teams.
Feyaza Khan has been a journalist for more than 20 years in print and broadcast. Her special interests include neurodiversity in the workplace, tech, diversity, trauma and wellbeing.
