Blockers to inclusive recruitment can come in many guises
A central theme was a factual reality – for some roles specifically, particularly at senior leadership level, the talent pool remains very narrow. This is despite the efforts of many progressive HR colleagues across the country and recruitment consultancies such as us at McLean Public stepping up and committing to resetting the dial for inclusive hiring. Some participants at the round table lamented that in some cases, public sector pay limitations – frequently “way off the pace” – restricted their reach with diverse candidates compared to the more competitive salaries often seen in the commercial sector. We at McLean Public have tracked this issue for some time and know that this is particularly the case with digital, transformation and finance roles. Other blockers discussed included hiring decisions being made based on short term thinking, rather than genuine workforce planning and, in a number of cases, senior leaders in organisations still preferring to recruit in “their own image” rather than considering the difference in thinking that candidates from other backgrounds can bring. More controversially, a couple of people pondered if HR colleagues themselves could be blockers to genuinely innovative thinking to foster inclusive recruitment, by a reluctance to take risks and introduce new tools and recruitment techniques.
The future’s bright. The future’s orange
Horizon scanning, the panel pondered what bigger challenges might lay ahead in the future, with an immediate comment being that many Generation Z candidates prefer to work in less traditional ways than preceding generations. To this, can be added the ongoing debates around hybrid working and a more generalised ‘return to office’ seen in some sectors. What is likely to be the case is a more multi-generational work force. Some public sector colleagues brought up again how cash strapped public sector organisations are going to be given the cost pressures frequently referred to by the government. This has additional impacts – not least in terms of digital transformation. As one participant put it “if we don’t keep pace with digital advances we won’t attract talent”. Linked to this of course is AI. The jury is largely out on how this might affect inclusive recruitment. Likewise, the Government’s Employment Rights Bill 2025. More ominous, perhaps, are the noises coming over from the US and its actions already being implemented on what the White House calls “ending radical and wasteful government EDI programmes”. What goes on over the other side of the pond in this respect is surely going to influence the narrative here in the UK on EDI?
There’s lots of good practice to be shared
The richness of experience (and talent!) at our round table was certainly reflected in the ideas to promote inclusive recruitment shared throughout the session. Having EDI networks involved in recruitment processes has the principal benefit of different perspectives informing and contributing to better hiring decision making. There was a big discussion at the roundtable about anonymised recruitment. This comes in many forms from redacting identifiable information on CVs/application forms to using reference numbers rather than names. The consensus seemed to be that different approaches suit different organisational needs and adaptability is key. Westminster City Council, notably, has delivered real results in its approach of ensuring diverse recruitment panels. Also deemed to be a positive move, has been the practice of sharing interview questions up front with candidates, particularly of benefit to neurodivergent candidates. There are software options too such as ‘Applied’ which colleagues shared their use of. The most overriding driver of excellent inclusive recruitment practice referred to throughout the roundtable, however, is senior leadership sponsorship. Where this is evident and consistent, inclusive recruitment practices follow and are applied throughout the organisation. Inclusive recruitment, it seems, certainly does start from the top.
