Why Do We Have a Diversity and Inclusion Charter?
At Teare Executive Search we specialise in finding exceptional talent jobs - we actively search for senior leaders who are impactful and outcomes-focused, for organisations across a range of sectors.
In doing so, we are duty bound not to discriminate anyone against a range of protected characteristics - the EqualityAct 2010 was introduced to protect people and create a fairer and more equal society. It is illegal to discriminate against characteristics such as age, sex, religion, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or maternity leave, disability, or race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin). It goes without saying that we adhere to the Equality Act 2010 in its entirety. But we also recognise that positive action around creating equality for all is needed and hence our action plan below.
What is our Charter?
Client Charter
We will:
At the start of a campaign, devise a candidate attraction strategy which is open, fair, and proactively identifies people with protected characteristics. This is especially the case where those with protected characteristics are under-represented at the relevant level in the organisation.
Promise to review any campaign literature to remove any bias evident within the literature to ensure that no candidate is “put off” or disadvantaged. We also promise to include appropriate language to reinforce any positive action we agree to take during the search – for example, research shows that groups of society respond differently to words, and it is therefore our responsibility to use language which is inclusive and open to all.
Provide monitoring on diversity and inclusion at all stages of the process. We collect data which we treat with confidence and in line with relevant data protection legislation. We can anonymise this data if requested.
We will provide an end of campaign Diversity and Inclusion Report which highlights our approach to diversity in the search and the relevant statistics.
Offer Unconscious Bias training to ensure that selection panels consider candidate assessments as possible.
Provide evidence in the case of making positive action when appointing a candidate from an underrepresented group, especially where there is more than one appointable candidate.
Candidate Charter
We will:
Engage with you openly, honestly, and pragmatically about the search process. Following client’s briefings, we will intelligently portray the culture and values to you so you are best prepared to assess whether you would like to make an application. We believe in the spirit of open and frank dialogue; we invite you to be as open and honest as possible about any protected characteristics you may share or any experiences you have had over the course of your life that shapes your thinking. Everyone is unique, and your educational qualifications and professional qualifications are but two elements of your overall candidacy – your values, interpersonal skills, and your communication style make you who you are - which is, of course, to be celebrated!
We will make the recruitment materials as accessible as possible to read, considering any disability you may have.
We will make reasonable adjustments if you are invited to interview and advise our clients on the best course of action to implement the reasonable adjustment if you are taken forward for interview.
Promise to treat you as an equal when assessing your application for any role we handle.
How Will We Implement Our Charter?
Our Charter is not a tick-box exercise; rather, it is an all-encompassing range of guidance and principles which informs everything that we do, and how we do it. As part of this, we endeavour to sign up to the most relevant kitemarks to ensure that our approach is in line with best practice. For example, we are currently in the process of becoming a Disability Confident Employer (May 2022). We will monitor other initiatives and implement best practice to ensure fairness for all.
How This Will Work
Candidate attraction and engagement is an important - if not the most important - part of our search. To this end, we have become skilled experts in finding (often hard to reach) people.
Identification of diverse candidates is an important part of a search process. We do this by conducting our own research but also contacting our network of sources who are involved in diversity networks across the country to proactively ask them to recommend diverse candidates. This is incredibly important for two reasons: firstly, it allows us to identify the most appropriate candidates, but secondly, it gives us access to people who have protected characteristics which are hard to identify through desk research alone.
Once identified and engaged, the story we tell candidates about any opportunity we handle is very important. We consider it our duty to create a compelling and positive story about the organisation and role using information gathered at briefing stage. It is our responsibility to amplify the mission, vision, culture and values, and the importance placed on diversity.
It is important to note that this is very much a two-way process, especially where candidates are considering multiple opportunities. Finding a skills match is but one element of a successful placement: research now tells us that how organisations connect with their people is a deciding factor as to whether a candidate will join them - or not.
Prior to joining an organisation, candidates now ask key questions such as:
What is your mission, culture, and values, and how diverse and inclusive are you as an organisation?
What is your approach to wellbeing at work?
Do you have affinity groups and networks?
What is your approach to flexible working?
What career paths are there and how are they assessed?
Positive responses to these questions will yield excellent results.
Summary
Our EDI Charter is designed to help our clients secure the best talent whilst delivering a more diverse workforce
Our Charter is designed to provide the assurance to candidates that we will engage with them in an open and transparent way.
Our expertise lies in designing a recruitment process which at its heart is about creating Positive Action.
We are continually learning and will seek best practice in the delivery our objectives in this important agenda.