Inclusive hiring is more than just a catchphrase; it’s evolved into a crucial component of any contemporary business strategy within the tech sector.

Our latest Tech Industries Census Report disclosed that 52% of tech enterprises are still expanding their teams, and our findings consistently highlight the importance of adopting measures that attract and foster diverse talents. Executives in the tech space are urged to adopt a thoughtful and forward-thinking approach to form diverse teams and cultivate an inclusive environment, to stay competitive, spur innovation, and adapt to the fluctuating demands of the market.

It’s evident that businesses emphasising inclusive recruitment are more inclined to enjoy a diverse and engaged team, contributing to enhanced innovation and a variety of thoughts and experiences. As an increasing number of clients prioritise diversity, equity, and inclusion, the question arises: do leaders eager to partake know where and how to commence their journey?

Common hurdles such as insufficient diversity in the talent pool, unconscious bias during recruitment, and inadequate support for marginalised employees post-hiring often lead to a stagnation of inclusive hiring initiatives. To realign focus on inclusive strategies, we’re elucidating our top 4 methods to refine your hiring practices for inclusivity:

 

Incorporate DE&I Throughout

From initiation to culmination, tech firms can equip themselves with equitable and comprehensive hiring strategies at every phase.

While starting with entry-level roles is advisable, it’s vital to establish a hiring process that is inclusive and just for all. Initiatives like workshops and reasonable modifications can level the playing field, ensuring candidates from diverse backgrounds have equal opportunities to excel. Referral programs have their merits, but they might not always yield a diverse range of candidates and should be approached with caution. When progressing beyond entry-level roles, considering the implementation of ‘long list’ quotas can be beneficial to explore a broader spectrum of candidates.

Early on, hiring managers can employ ‘long list’ quotas and diverse job platforms to aid underrepresented groups or those facing industry obstacles. These quotas enable managers to discover candidates with transferable skills, either ascending the career ladder or re-entering the sector post hiatus.

Additionally, leveraging diverse job platforms enhances the diversity of talent pools across gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, and race. Investing in such platforms allows businesses to connect with inclusive organisations, fostering relationships to further DE&I initiatives.

Companies might also explore masked recruitment phases, where specific demographic details of applicants are hidden during the preliminary stages. Group Commercial Director, Rosa Rolo shares, ”the challenge around anonymised recruitment processes is that it doesn’t address the bias in the organisation. This gap could negatively impact a less inclusive organisation and therefore affect retention of diverse candidate pools.” This highlights why a one-size fits all approach is not effective and likely can do more harm than good. Ultimately, it is about ensuring that at each stage of the process has DE&I recommendations against it.

 

Harness the Power of Data

Assessing the efficacy of your hiring endeavours is fundamental to ensuring your strategies are custom-built and sustain their effectiveness. Relying solely on a ‘one size fits all’ model does not cater to the distinctive needs of today’s tech businesses.

Instead, focus on what your data is telling you. As a crucial research tool at the disposal of hiring managers everywhere, data can help to reveal blind spots and unique issues facing your businesses. From the percentage of hires from underrepresented groups to retention in these spaces, metrics can help identify trends and make data-driven decisions to improve their hiring practices. This makes strategy planning a far more tailored and purposeful exercise, where you’re more likely to carve out a more realistic and grounded plan for change.

 

Foster Open Communication

Inclusive hiring should not be viewed as a mere compliance requirement, and while data is instrumental in identifying improvement areas, consistent feedback is essential to refining hiring and broader operational processes. Establishing regular channels for feedback and collective decision-making empowers employees to share insights, contributing to the development of a more holistic business model. A study by Deloitte revealed that companies with a dedicated diversity and inclusion council were 3.7 times better equipped to adapt to market shifts and customer requirements compared to those without. These companies were also 2.3 times more likely to exhibit innovation and agility and 1.7 times more likely to be industry leaders. The structure of such forums may vary, but they ensure sustained commitment to inclusive practices and provide a platform for employees interested in DE&I to make a meaningful impact.

 

Catalyse Change at Any Stage of Your DE&I Journey

Regardless of where you find yourself on your DE&I path, embracing inclusive practices remains invaluable for leading tech companies.

As experts in tech talent acquisition, reach out to one of our consultants to discover how we can assist you on your inclusive hiring journey or for personalized staffing consultancy.

To explore more about inclusive hiring processes or our partnerships, feel free to connect with us.

In our latest ‘5 Minutes With’ series we caught up with Suraj Bist, Chief Technology Officer at SimplyPhi to discuss how technology is tackling the current housing crisis, and how data, if used correctly, can help shape the future of housing in the UK for the better.

 

Could you talk us through your current role with SimplyPhi?

In my role as CTO at SimplyPhi, I play a pivotal role in shaping the company’s technology direction, spearheading product development, nurturing essential partnerships, and strategically allocating resources to propel the firm’s growth and success within the investment sector. I have a wealth of experience in technology, finance and real estate which uniquely positions me to excel in an influential leadership capacity.

 

In your own words, could you describe the business mission of SimplyPhi?  

SimplyPhi is a B2B proptech platform, speeding up the process for institutional buyers of residential property to acquire or rent homes in volume and at pace. Our customers are primarily local authorities and other central government bodies (Home Office, MOD etc), and real estate funds and investors. As a Certified B-Corp (https://bcorporation.uk/) we have a clearly defined mission to develop technologies and services to help eliminate the housing crisis in the UK.

 

Having understood there is a gap in the market for this type of product, what are the biggest challenges with filtering a particularly disorganized data set like the one we see in the housing industry?  

Trying to cross reference the vast amount of fragmented data available on the housing sector and then deliver relevant data sets to the many different stakeholders involved in property acquisition processes is our key challenge. Our technology is literally “simplifying” and speeding up the process of assessing individual property transactions at a very granular level, to the detail required by institutional acquirers and renters of property at scale.

 

What are the other big challenges in the housing industry at the moment and how do you feel SimplyPhi can help solve them?  

Affordability is probably the biggest key challenge in the housing sector right now. With financial obligations on landlords to address issues like decarbonisation, fire safety, cladding, damp and mould to name a few, this translates into more expensive rent or higher cost of delivery. By collating the data we do through our tech platforms, we provide clarity on what is happening in local markets, and improved efficiencies to ensure transactions are more certain and quicker to complete, giving our customers more of a commercial edge in negotiations.

Our customer are institutional by the very nature of their makeup (local and central government and real estate funds). These type of organisations are accustomed to dealing with large transactions and given housing is very granular, it is difficult for institutional buyers to manage, source and acquired portfolios on a property by property basis. By cookie cutting and digitising the property acquisition process, SimplyPhi allows its customers to carry out a greater degree of diligence on individual properties almost instantaneously, making the overall investment process viable.

We also experiment with new technologies, particularly with the advent of AI, to automate the process of valuing and surveying properties. This sort of technology will become of particular value as net-zero targets get closer, and retro-fit programmes gather pace. Digitising the makeup of a property allows for much more advanced analysis on the ongoing use of a property, such as monitoring fuel poverty, and picking up on risks of damp and mould.

 

From a personal perspective, what do you most enjoy about your role as CTO?  

In my role as CTO, I find immense satisfaction in the opportunity to shape and lead the technology strategy of SimplyPhi. It’s fulfilling to be at the forefront of innovation in the Proptech space, where we are addressing critical challenges in the housing industry. I particularly enjoy the creative aspect of my role, exploring new technologies to streamline processes and create solutions that have a positive impact on the market. Additionally, being part of a mission-driven organization like SimplyPhi, with a goal to help eliminate the housing crisis in the UK, adds a deeper sense of purpose to my work.

 

Moving forward – what are your hopes/ambitions for the product and where do you see it ending up in 5 years time? 

We are perfecting our technology in the B2B space, where there is already huge demand, but there is still a long way to go… particularly around pricing up works and managing net-zero retrofit programmes (there are over 15m homes that need upgrading in the UK) as well as monitoring property usage whilst lived in. Once we have a tried and tested end-to-end B2B solution, we will open up our technology to the retail market in a B2C platform, with plans to then make our systems available in international markets as well.