Employers are taking more account of diversity as they plan to meet their future talent needs, the CIPD’s latest annual Resourcing and Talent Planning Survey has revealed.
Organisations across the board are using more diversity-related techniques as part of their recruitment and talent activity than they did last year. The proportion of firms monitoring their workforce diversity went up from 78 to 83 per cent; those using diversity training for interviewers went up from 57 to 67 per cent; and those targeting under-represented groups through their recruitment advertising went up from 31 to 41 per cent.
“Last year we noted a reduction compared with previous years in the use of several methods to attract diverse candidates, possibly due to a reduced focus on diversity as the pressures of the economic downturn diverted attention elsewhere,” the report said. “The trend has not continued this year, suggesting that organisations are starting to look beyond efficiency measures to widening their net to attract the talent they will need to ensure their future success.”
Senior HR leaders speaking at the Economist Talent Management Summit last month revealed the importance they are placing on attracting diverse talent for their resourcing strategy. Lesley Wilkinson, head of talent and organisational development EMEA at Citi, told delegates that broadening the talent in their leadership pipeline would help them boost innovation and ride out the difficult economic climate. “We know that innovation comes from a more diverse community of talent. So increasing the differences in our skills set has become more important. But to attract diverse talent you need a community that people want to be part of.”