Tip 4

Embrace diversity

"We have developed a culture that attracts highly talented and enthusiastic people who continually challenge and bring fresh ideas to the business. Our focus is on achievements rather than effort and we offer a flexible working environment where people are able to better balance work and personal activities. We find this helps to attract a broad range of people seeking an opportunity to deliver outstanding performance, enjoy work and have a balanced lifestyle." - Alison Hutchinson, Chief Executive Officer, Barclays B2B

Over the past few years Human Resources staff have struggled to meet target number recruits of minority ethnic people, females, people with disabilities and other under-represented groups. Parts of the IT sector employ 15% fewer women than the rest of the economy and 35% fewer over-45s. If these imbalances could be redressed by half, it would bring 120,000 into the industry and a wealth of new approaches and experiences.

A refreshing approach is to establish a culture that does not rely on head-counts of classifications, but truly values a diversity in its staff. Having people who look at the same thing in different ways, whose different perspectives can lead to a better overall picture can be a great asset to an organisation's ability to deliver to a widening range of clientele. Organisations that have got a diverse staff base feel that this is often reflected in a more diverse customer base. Having a broad range of people in the organisation has given them the confidence that they can truly understand the needs of their customers provide the kind of services they want.

Developing a culture that promotes opportunities for flexible working and encourages a work/life balance has helped companies in achieving this goal. If you manage to achieve it, you will have staff who want to stay, and will want to encourage other people to join. Once someone has found a job that that fits in with their life-style, it can become an extremely comfortable place to be. Moving towards an outcomes orientated assessment of staff contribution can be one way to achieve this. Rather than staff being measured on the amount of time they put in, the company assesses the outcomes that they have achieved. Not only is this found to be a more useful indication of achievement to the employer, but also appears to be well received by staff.

Useful Links

• 40 Plus Recruitment
  
• CamProf
  www.camprof.com
• Campaign Against Age Discrimination in Employment (CAADE)
  www.caade.net
• CfBT Thames Careers Guidance
  www.wayahead-careers.co.uk
• Employers Forum on Age (EFA)
  www.efa.org.uk
• Recruitment Magazine
  www.recruitmagazine.co.uk
• Renaissance Recruitment (Scotland & North)
  www.rr40.co.uk
• SENATE
  www.senate.uk.com
• Senior Job Bank
  www.seniorjobbank.com
• St Loye's College
  www.stloyes.co.uk
• Third Age Employment Network (TAEN)
  
• Third Age Experts
  www.thirdageexperts.com
• Wrinklies Direct
  www.wrinklies.org