View from the Top

Allison Seildar, Director of Opportunity Now comments on the importance of keeping diversity on the corporate agenda in the downturn.

 “With the Global economic meltdown in full swing there is a very real danger that diversity and inclusion initiatives move to the bottom of the to-do-list. With more and more companies laying off people and most employers severely tightening their belts, there is a danger that diversity will be considered a nice to do rather than a business imperative.   It is my belief that in fact the absolute opposite is true.   There has never been a more important time to prioritise diversity and inclusion.  In essence creating diverse and inclusive workplaces is about engaging with employees and ensuring that they know they matter as individuals. It is about ensuring that as an organisation you can tap into the highest calibre of talent, gain fresh perspectives and innovate. And in times of hardship engaging and motivating your employees is key if you want to drive business and ultimately succeed.   There is no doubt that employees will judge an organisation by how well it treats them in the hard times, and if you want to maintain your employer of choice brand then that means through the good times and the bad. Statistics indicate that retention of talent is still a major problem. Employers are having difficulties keeping the people they really want to keep. A recent CIPD survey showed that the number of employers reporting retention difficulties has climbed from 69 per cent to 78 per cent in the last year alone. 83 percent of private sector businesses are reporting particular difficulties. And there is no doubt that the retention issue carries with it big costs, it has been estimated that loosing just one member of staff can cost anything up to £18,000 in replacement and lost productivity costs.Many companies, when looking for immediate cost savings, opt for the slash and burn approach, only later having to make a huge investment in rehiring. The redundancy route can provide a sort term solution but can have a negative long term impact on staff morale and productivity. I often encourage employers to fully consider alternatives like re-skilling, redeploying, and being more creative in the way that jobs and roles are defined. Those employers who are ahead of the curve are already seeing that an enlightened approach to the way we design and carry out jobs is the answer. BT, one of our corporate champions, estimates that its flexible work culture has saved it £510 million plus per annum in office costs, while its home workers are on average 20% more productive than their office based colleagues. An agile approach to job design and the way jobs are carried out needs to be seen through a lens of business success and delivery. When organisations get this right they really see tangible business benefits.”