Fairness, belonging and Inclusive recruitment: why It matters now more than ever

Why Inclusion and Fairness Matter in Recruitment

A recruitment experience is often a candidate’s first real interaction with an organisation. If that experience feels non-inclusive, unfair or biased it can have a negative effect on an individual’s confidence and wellbeing. It can also reduce diversity in teams, limit innovation and different perspectives, create a cycle of unconscious bias, and deter talented individuals from applying again, further damaging the trust and an employer brand. In a digital age where experiences are shared widely, this could have quite a negative impact.

If the process is fair and inclusive, individuals feel respected and fully engaged.

Fostering a Sense of Belonging from the Start

At Pick Everard, we believe that our approach to recruitment says a great deal about our values, culture and the career people can experience with us. Our goal is to make sure every candidate, whether successful or not, walks away from our process feeling heard, respected, and encouraged.

Top Tips: How We Embed Fairness and Inclusion in Our Recruitment at Pick Everard

To ensure our recruitment process reflects our values. Here are just a few of the steps we take:

• Inclusive job adverts – we create inclusive job adverts, removing unnecessary requirements and use clear unbiased language, focusing more on skills and potential.
• Widening access – we advertise on platforms that reach diverse and underrepresented groups helping us to connect with talent that may have faced barriers when entering the workforce.
• Fair shortlisting and Interviewing – we reduce unconscious bias where possible, using structured competency-based interviews with consistent criteria and interview panels that are trained with inclusive behaviours to make objective decisions.
• Accessibility & adjustments – we ensure accessibility by inviting candidates to request adjustments at any stage, tailoring our process to individual needs and regularly reviewing our recruitment systems for accessibility and usability.
• Candidate experience – we prioritise a positive candidate experience by maintaining open and transparent communication, treating every applicant with respect and professionalism.

Looking Ahead: Building a Stronger, Fairer Industry

As we look to the future, we know that fairness and inclusion in recruitment are critical to building a resilient, forward-thinking business and a better industry. At Pick Everard, we’re continuing to challenge ourselves to do more. We’re listening, learning, and striving to create a process that not only brings in talented individuals but helps them feel a sense of belonging.