Organisations who do not take diversity seriously could face difficulties attracting the best candidates to fill vacancies, and risk damaging efforts to achieve their own business objectives, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
The CIPD has produced a report to show employers how diversity can help their organisations achieve word-class results and compete in the war for talent.
The report, Driving diversity progress, was produced following a round-table discussion with key HR professionals.
The report highlights a number of key issues, including:
Organisations need older workers. Employers are starting to benefit from having a workforce made up of different age groups. However, they need to start considering offering alternative flexible savings and think about making retirement more flexible to cater for those people want to work for longer.
Training is the key to tapping into a diverse talent pool. The majority of employers now train interviewers in diversity issues and monitor diversity. However, more can be done, with only 29 per cent of organisations advertising beyond traditional means to target under-represented groups.
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It makes sense to employ ex-offenders. Only 6 per cent of employers who have knowingly employed ex-offenders have had a poor experience, and employment actually reduces re-offending by up to 50 per cent. Employing ex-offenders will help businesses as they face the war for talent, with more than 85 per cent of employers reporting difficulties in filling vacancies and suffering from skills shortages or problems of reduced business growth.
Dianah Worman, CIPD diversity adviser, said: “It is important to provide training for line managers to demonstrate the business case behind diversity because they can help make the change. Changing mindsets and developing good practices will help organisations retain knowledge and experience, widen the recruitment base, and could lead to more customers and greater profits.”
