New global research from The Access Group shows that 47% of employers cite a lack of diversity data on candidate applications as a barrier to hitting their diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) targets.
The Access Group, one of the leading providers of business management software, surveyed more than 300 recruitment agency executives in partnership with Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA).
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) is a growing demand within recruitment in recent years as businesses face pressure from employees, candidates and the government to prioritise diversity within the workplace. Having the data and analytics around diversity from the application stage allows recruiters to increase client and candidate satisfaction and ensure businesses are meeting targets.
The information included in a new report from The Access Group ‘Why is diversity and inclusion important in recruitment?’ highlights the pros of investing in DE&I programmes with organisations with a strong DE&I programme reporting a greater competitive advantage in attracting more highly skilled workers and can see higher fill rates for roles.
Recruiters said, of those organisations who have not yet got to grips with DE&I, the most common obstacles they faced when working together include struggles to nail the business case (53%), implementation challenges (69%), and compliance concerns (49%).
However, not all recruitment agencies are standing still. Around 58% view their diversity data collection capabilities as leading edge and cite higher client win rates and better-quality talent as some of the advantages.
Christian Fleck, managing director of Access Recruitment, said: “The findings show that agencies and businesses who are getting DE&I right can significantly increase their hiring rates – without increasing costs.
“At a time when diversity data is more complex than it ever has been, implementation barriers are holding recruiters and organisations back and missing out on diverse applicants is hurting the bottom line for many businesses.
“The competitive advantage in adopting DE&I as best practice in recruitment is clear, but employers need to encourage their recruitment partners to capture such data.”
Christian says staffing teams who want to improve their DE&I need to consider three things:
- Act thoughtfully. Focus on what you can actually do and start there.
- Follow best practice for compliant data collection which includes obtaining informed consent and ensuring clear privacy notifications.
- Integrate DE&I seamlessly into your existing tech stack to drive adoption into daily operations.
For more actionable insights download the report: Why is diversity and inclusion important in recruitment?
Learn more about Access Volcanic which helps recruitment agencies to track data across eight diversity elements to ensure accurate reporting and compliance.
