Developing

Use inclusive language and test with students in your outreach programmes to ensure job descriptions have wide appeal (e.g. “We’re looking for potential rather than experience”).

Remove unnecessary qualifications, which can create barriers for applicants. Advertise for skills and provide examples where appropriate.¹

Be clear about the application process and what is assessed at each stage.

Ensure interview assessors are from a diverse pool.

Review the diversity of the educational establishments you target, ensuring they have a diverse intake, and make sure you are working with traditional and non-traditional institutions such as non-fee paying schools, FE colleges and non‑Russell Group universities.

Design engagement activities that connect directly with a school, college or university’s curriculum so that opt-in does not depend wholly on students’ existing interests.

Target sponsorship at student societies and/or community groups which represent minority groups that are under-represented in your organisation.

Be transparent about eligibility criteria and the broad achievements of successful applicants for similar roles (e.g. typical A level or technical qualification grades, or skills other applicants have exhibited).

Ensure that when hiring from lower socio-economic backgrounds, should an applicant be unsuccessful, detailed feedback is given on specific areas of improvement.

Offer additional guidance to applicants such as dress codes for interviews.

Train hiring managers to disregard loud environments, poor WiFi connectivity or other features during virtual interviews.

1 For more help and ideas, visit the Financial Services Skills Commission

Developing

Review your policies and approaches to flexible working and ensure your offer to staff meets best practice.

Target social mobility coldspots near you and investigate options for improving your levels of attraction and recruitment from these areas.¹

Reimburse applicants who incur travel costs (e.g. to attend an assessment centre or to go to headquarters).

If a role requires relocation, ensure there is a budget available to support this.

Ensure IT systems enable any applicable job in the organisation is deliverable remotely; and subsequently aim to reduce required travel to headquarters.

If expectation is for remote working, ensure participant’s home environment is conducive to working remotely; ensure they have the correct equipment, access to high-speed internet, appropriate working conditions. If not, provide a budget to purchase kit. Firms should not assume that everyone will have a laptop that they can use from home.

Ensure senior leaders communicate the effectiveness of remote working and that inclusion efforts are apparent at all levels of management.

Ensure informal check-ins are encouraged for virtual workers to avoid isolation (e.g. virtual ‘coffee roulettes’).

1 For more on social mobility coldspots, view the Social Mobility Commission’s report: State of the Nation, 2017

Developing

Compare applicant data with external benchmarks to assess how well they reflect the eligible talent pool.

Consider how introducing a range of alternative routes into the organisation could support diversity.

If applicable, offer quality apprenticeships with:

• entry at Traineeships or Level 2 and a clear sequence of apprenticeships above that, enabling an individual to go from Level 2 (GCSE equivalent) up to Level 6 (degree equivalent)
• progression routes through the organisation or wider industry once completed
• pastoral support from line managers (with training) and buddying arrangements
• additional support to complete English and maths requirements at Level 3, if needed
• higher pay than the Apprenticeship minimum wage (Legal sector please see Appendix A)

Developing

Ensure candidate assessment processes are transparent, with easy access to details.

Apply selection processes consistently to all candidates (e.g. avoid preferential treatment for those who apply earlier or decisions made by discretion).

Clarify to all assessors that applicants from lower socio‑economic backgrounds may not have access to some premium experiences (e.g. extra-curricular activities, internships and studying abroad).

Support recruiting managers by providing interview training that includes the importance of diversity and individuals’ differences. Recruiters need to practise a consistent open‑minded look for potential and not judge on first impressions.

Conduct an annual evaluation of your selection processes’ impacts on disadvantaged applicants, and redesign as needed.

Where panel interviews take place, ensure the panel has diverse representation, and that final decisions are made with transparency, against guidelines with a consciously objective approach to assessing the evidence.

Developing

Implement a robust induction process for lateral hires that demonstrates how talent is identified, valued and rewarded, and how they can bring diversity of thought into the organisation.

Avoid recruiting from the ‘magic’ or ‘silver’ circle or prioritising those who have trained at top firms.

Brief recruitment agencies on your organisation’s commitment to advancing socio-economic diversity among hires, mentioning your desire for potential over polish.

Ensure there is time in the recruitment processes to give sufficient attention to advancing diversity.

Provide training and support for managers (see ‘Evaluation’ section).

Monitor or remove the use of referral bonuses to avoid encouraging employees to recruit in their own image.

Encourage applicants to anonymously self-report their socio-economic background alongside other diversity measures, explaining why it’s important they do even if they use the ‘prefer not to say’ option.

Ensure processes for lateral hiring are followed by default, with any exceptions registered and fully explained.