Diversity is nothing new for the public sector. Yet current information suggest that public sector organisations have a long way to go if they are to meet the principles of best value and their statutory duties. Progress and results do not match up to their level of commitments. Yet, progress and results seem to be sweeping some commercial firms. For them, diversity is now the talk of the town particularly, in the context of demographic changes, shifting attitudes and debates, and the challenges facing them in recruitment, increasing profits, maximising performance and accountability.

Other surveys have suggested that whilst most public sector organisations have equality policies they are struggling to mainstream integrate and produce meaningful results. Equality and diversity is still a ‘bolt-on extra’ or ‘fries with that’ rather than the whole meal.

The war for talent

The main driver for the private sector is the recognition that there is a war for talent and the only way you could meet your business imperatives is to have all people as part of your talent pool to open up new ideas, new people and new community networks leading to improved services, improved sales and profits, adding value and improving the image of the organisation. It is now widely acknowledged that companies and projects that are inclusive are the most attractive to potential employees. They tend to have fewer difficulties in recruiting and staff turnover is substantially reduced. Independent evidence shows that it costs between £4K and £9K in direct costs alone to replace each staff member who leaves. B&Q’s campaign to target older people, Sainsbury’s focus on minority ethnic groups to attract customers from all communities, L’Oreal’s focus on men to increase sales in the male market, and Natwest’s efforts to target minority ethnic business start-ups are all part of that thinking – diversifying recruitment and business for success. Public sector organizations have similar pressures for change yet recruitment methods in many organizations have not been diversified or aligned for real success.

Recruiting for success

The key to recruiting for success is diversifying current practices. This does not mean more policies but recognizing that the market is not mono-cultural nor homogenous. It is this heterogeneity that must be segmented, planned for and targeted. Just like Saga has segmented the market to sell holidays to older people and Diamond that sells insurance to women. Talented people have become more choosy and sophisticated, however, they are attracted by employers who understand them and their ambitions. Employers, therefore, need to speak their language and become relevant to them pitching themselves as a credible, inclusive and committed organisation, which has the panache and flair to embrace everyone, and maximise & recognise their contribution and skills.

It is this diversification, segmentation and targeting that I call positive action – not to be confused with the positive action initiatives of some public authorities during the 1980s. In other words, employers need to take positive action at every stage of the recruitment process in order to attract the best from all talent pools. This means along with the general advertisement running powerful positive action booster adverts for say disabled people, which could be placed in jobability or disability now – or even in disabled washrooms across the country. Such adverts would talk their language, capture their imagination and make people sit up and take note. Sending a copy of the advert to professional membership bodies and associations from under-represented groups, key minority organisations, community groups is a cost effective way of also spreading the word. Using positive action search and specialist consultants to identify talented people from different talent pools, matching their skills and encouraging them to apply is a powerful way of boosting candidates from under-represented groups.

And all this does not necessarily mean extra costs but tweaking and diversifying current budgets!