Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – Starting your journey to inclusive hiring

At ENI, we have always been passionate about Diversity & Inclusion, mostly behind closed doors as it should be a standard practice. More recently, we have learnt that being vocal can not only help support others in best practice, but improve ours too.

Why

Part of the reason we are doing this is to draw attention to the conscious and unconscious bias and barriers that are still apparent in the profession.

Our aim is to work with people in the industry to remove these, and to motivate and encourage positive behaviours and attitudes, in order to create and maintain a respectful and inclusive workplace.

What are we doing?

Alex and I recently completed training with Jennie – Train the trainer – inclusive recruitment. This came after Jennie delivered DE&I training to the entire business – this being something we wanted to continue to do, so having the ability to do this internally was key for us.

In this workshop we looked at how to approach conversations internally (without judgement!), how to recognise conscious and unconscious bias (and then overcome this) and how to foster a welcoming working environment for all. My advice for a business looking to do the same would be:

• Be open about what you don’t know
• Be willing to learn
• Be ready and willing to change processes! Implement new ways of thinking and working and encourage other people to do the same
• Have an open mind
• Celebrate difference
• Learn how to be an ally – if you don’t know, ask or do your own research!

How are we making an impact?

Firstly, we looked internally and worked on some of our processes and policies to ensure this was inclusive. Then we looked at mirroring this practice to support clients in doing the same.

• We put together guides on how to create a more inclusive recruitment process – email me for a copy – letitia@elizabethnorman.com
• We spoke with clients about their interview process e.g. is there a diverse panel that’s reflective of the business? Can you adapt to individuals needs/make adjustments throughout? What’s really important to the success of this role – skills VS ‘culture’?
• We highlighted information that isn’t necessary and can create unconscious bias: current salary, information asked at referral stages, where someone went to university if at all and so on…
• We partnered with others that care! Includability, Edwin Coe and Inclusive Environments for example.
• We invested – not just time and research. We put our money where our mouth is to train staff and implement new software that will help us to work together to create workplaces representative of the population and celebrate our diverse community.

What is important to remember, is that DE&I is ongoing and everchanging. Take it step by step to and don’t try to bite off more than you can chew out of passion/excitement when you start your journey.

Over the next 6 weeks we’ll share and expand on one initiative to consider when starting your DE&I journey.

For more information on our internal policy/support doc for clients, please get in touch with:

Letitia Oglesby – letitia@elizabethnorman.com

Alex Niarchos – alex.niarchos@elizabethnorman.com