How can you be a more inspiring leader? How can you improve DE&I within the workplace?
Philippa Bonay tells Bill Banham on our latest podcast about the shift we have seen over the past couple of years in the private sector towards hybrid work, and urges the importance of embracing wider and more disparate talent pools.
Phillipa highlighted that there is a big agenda for levelling up, especially with the tight labour market that we have at the moment. It is important to be looking for skills everywhere.
“THERE IS A NEED TO SHIFT PEOPLE AWAY PURELY FROM LOCAL RECRUITMENT, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE HAVE THE LABOUR MARKET THAT WE HAVE AT THE MOMENT, AND THINK MORE IN TERMS OF RESOURCING.”
– PHILLPPA BONAY
With remote and hybrid working now a ‘norm’ following the pandemic, talent pools have widened, and recruiters are no longer restricted to hiring merely local talent.
Surrounding the idea of levelling up is also moving away from the idea of a London-centric economy. Phillipa argues that balancing the number of public sector roles based throughout the UK and hiring locally meshes with the shift we have seen in the last couple of years especially within the private sector.
Phillipa argues that when workers do come into the office, great office spaces will encourage people to come back in and work with purpose and collaborate.
However, Phillipa also highlighted that lots of people, particularly throughout the pandemic, realised they do not wish to continue commuting long hours. She questions how employers can balance this better, whilst also increasing the diversity of organisations. Getting out and about the UK is a fantastic way of doing so, she suggests.
Commenting on the role of HR professionals today, Philippa also discusses the role data plays. Both qualitative and quantitative data should be used, urging HR professionals to not shy away from actually talking to people.
“USING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA ARE BOTH IMPORTANT TO TAKE GREAT ACTION.”
– PHILLPPA BONAY
Data can be a real turning point in the world of HR, argues Philippa. Using the data is absolutely crucial to take action and show respective organisations what they should be doing.
To listen to the full podcast, click here now
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
