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Disability is non-discriminatory. Four fifths (78%) of all disabled people acquire their disability post the age of 16. Today almost one in five people of working-age are disabled and the numbers increase daily as demographic change reflects an ever older working population. And yet, only 48% of disabled people are employed, as opposed to 78% of non-disabled people.
Despite some really well-intentioned employers working hard to attract and retain disabled people, our research with more than 220 organisations found barriers, resulting from a lack of knowledge and unconscious bias, lying at the heart of recruitment policy, process and practice. The research results support current statistics, which show a large gap in the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people.
This unconscious bias is limiting choice for employers (and the recruitment industry supplying them) by reducing exposure to diverse talent and creating a ‘glass ceiling’ beyond which disabled people in particular find it difficult to progress.
According to the research, this situation is exacerbated when recruitment agencies come into the equation. In essence, they assiduously pay lip service to the inclusivity argument in their mission statements but, in reality, lack knowledge and training. They are disinclined to offer their clients even remotely contentious candidate choices and prone to taking the ‘easier’ option, even to their own cost.
The results show that recruiters clearly believe that they are being fair, compliant and sensitive. Disabled candidates take an entirely different view, saying that they elect to seek employment through virtually any other channel after having had negative and unproductive dealings with agencies. They feel it’s simply not worth the effort.
It takes a strong organisation to open their policies and processes up for examination but some of the UK’s leading employers from the private, public and third sectors are now going one step further, working together to support knowledge development and sharing their learning as they go.
The result of this collaboration has led to the creation of an on-line community providing a framework for all UK recruiters to assess ‘current state’ and giving them access to the expertise, guidance and support needed to develop confidence and knowledge around disability in recruitment. This ClearKit community already has more than 1,200 member organisations and the ClearAssured assessment framework, which underpins knowledge development, is proving to drive real change for the better.
I strongly believe that this growing community of employers and recruitment suppliers will have a serious impact on employment rates for disabled people but we need more employers to commit themselves to the process - to share their learning and reap the benefits of a wider talent pool as a result.
Educating for diversity
There is a particular problem for employers using third party suppliers to represent them in the employment market place. Trying to ensure that everyone in touch with your recruitment process is confident around disability has been a real challenge up until now. In fact, in research carried out by us on behalf of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) Disability Steering Group, not one of the 220 employers surveyed would turn to their recruitment consultants for a diverse shortlist of candidates - a shocking 100%.
Disabled people then face a double or even triple whammy when applying for roles through a recruitment supply chain process - application stage barriers (accessibility), initial application assessment (unconscious bias at agency level) and assessment stage (unconscious bias at employer level).
The good news for HR directors and recruiters is that a robust solution now exists. The ClearKit Community enjoy the benefits of having a single resource point providing answers when you need them from experts online including UK employment lawyers, technology experts and accessibility specialists through to disability experts, assessment providers, reasonable adjustment organisers and many more. The system also provides users with access to useful documentation, case studies, research and statistics and a forum to exchange ideas and share experiences.
Ensuring inclusive recruitment practice
Over the past decade we have audited recruitment policy, process and practice of some of the UK’s leading employers such as E.ON Energy, Royal Mail Group, and HBOS. The Disability ClearKit and the ClearAssured assessment process are based on the results of these years of audit experience coupled with expertise provided by leading providers of disability advice for employers.
So far, of those organisations going through the ClearAssured assessment process, which includes some of the UK’s more ‘disability aware’ employers and recruiters, only one organisation (the Home Office) has passed the process first time round. The rest have had to introduce interventions and make changes to policy, process or practice in their recruitment strategy. All of them, without exception, have welcomed the challenge the process provides and the opportunity independently to inspect current recruitment practice.
On-going research to drive change
We’re not just stopping there, more support for HR is needed and so we, the DWP and leading UK employers are spearheading a campaign to raise awareness of the issues surrounding inclusive recruitment and deliver a supportive solution which will give recruiters the knowledge and confidence they need to remove barriers.
Employers and recruiters who believe they are already getting it right need to take a closer look at their recruitment process. Good intentions are not enough. The results of successive research programmes conducted in the last 5 years have shown that attitudes and behaviours of those closest to the candidate experience do not match the strategic intent of organisational leadership. Getting it right at the grass roots level is not just a legal requirement or ‘the right thing to do’: inclusive recruitment is a genuine opportunity to enhance employer brand and gain a competitive advantage in the war for the best talent. But the people responsible for making day-to-day hiring decisions need all the support they can get, and in most cases it just simply isn’t there at the moment. We are committed to sharing our research findings with HR directors and personnel, and are confident they will encourage greater awareness of the need – and achievability – for inclusive practices.
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