Joanne is a Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging specialist who engages with organisations to develop policy and best practises to be more inclusive for all people.
Working with leadership teams and challenging biases, she helps develop a vision and strategy for conscious inclusion, with the aim of bringing about positive culture change, employee experience, and promoting good mental health.
Additionally, Joanne promotes transgender awareness and support to businesses and organisations throughout the UK, Europe, and elsewhere, developing allies’ programmes, such as assisting in policy and LGBTQ+ inclusion strategies.
As a sought-after Keynote Conference speaker, podcaster, blogger and panellist, she delivers workshops, seminars, and training programmes through the UK, Europe, and elsewhere, on the topics of Culture Change, Employee Engagement and Experience. She often works with Talent Acquisition and HR teams, and advises on building an inclusive employee lifecycle, from ‘hire to retire.’
Joanne is also an Advisory Friend of The Institute of Equality & Diversity Professionals, a member of The Rotary Club, and The Professional Speaking Association, in addition to being a subject matter expert for the School of Health Sciences at the University of Southampton. As a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, she believes passionately that “people are people” and, no matter who they are, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Joanne was a contributor and featured in a Channel 4 (UK) documentary called “The Making of Me”, broadcast in February 2019. This documentary was filmed over a 3-year period and detailed her own personal gender transition and its impact on those around her.
There are many challenges companies face when undertaking D&I initiatives, and usually it’s not just one single factor, and sometimes these challenges are not so obvious. As a recruiter, a likely scenario is that a hiring team has been told to find a candidate that fulfills a D&I role, but the hiring team hasn’t been briefed properly how to do this from their leadership, they pass on faulty or inaccurate information to you, the recruiter, and then you’re on the clock to fill the position, all the while assuming the D&I research burden on a limited budget. So, there could be a plethora of things affecting your D&I strategy, from leadership to budget, branding/marketing to employee education - but before you begin, you need to ...
Let’s look at some common ways to initiate finding your why.
“Inclusion” is how you make someone feel by how you treat them. As a recruiter, let the candidate know you care and feel welcome, and communicate with them. Inclusion is also holistic, active, and deliberate, not passive or incidental. When we search for a candidate, it’s not just about ticking one box, but finding a candidate who is diverse on multiple levels (known as intersectionality). People value a sense of belonging, whether they are clients, stakeholders, or staff.
There are tangible business outcomes and benefits to hiring a D&I candidate!
When you’re on your path of finding the why, there is no one size fits all D&I playbook. It’s about YOUR people, YOUR priorities, YOUR plan. What does doing ‘great’ look like, as it pertains to your company’s vision?
When figuring out your what, make a plan that works for your company, and gather data that will lay the foundation for your D&I initiatives. What is your timeframe? What is achievable? What are the risks of not succeeding? Set goals (not quotas!), track how you’re getting candidates in the funnel, measure the candidate experience and see why people are turning down offers, accepting, or being rejected, and then repeat the process.
When finding your how, understand that changing company culture, process, and attitudes is not a quick fix. If you have questions about how to change things, communicate them, and in turn be open to new ideas from others. There’s a saying - “only bring new fish into clean water.” As it pertains to your company culture, this means addressing or removing toxic aspects to create a positive space. CLEAN THE TANK.
Seek representation. What we’re doing here is reframing the meaning of diversity, as it pertains to your company. Seek out persons who are marginalised or underrepresented. For example, it’s possible that hiring a white man could be considered a diversity hire if the company is majority Asian women. Find someone with new skills and knowledge that will add value and relevance, while challenging the norm in your company.
Own your language. Saying “I made a mistake” is not ownership. Showing that you understand you’ve offended someone by apologizing and learning how to avoid it in the future shows people the intent of your language, and shows you understand the impact it can have.
Allies and changemakers need to step up. Understand that sometimes you can be a voice for people who aren’t in the room, and by asking challenging questions you can affect change that benefits everyone. You can also help someone feel welcome and put them at ease and let them feel like they’re included on the same journey as you. Be a promoter of positive change!
As a recruiter, how do we get people on board and take initiatives while under pressure from hiring teams to deliver at speed?
To find hard-to-reach candidates, you have to work harder. That may mean reaching out to hiring team leadership or the company leadership, and requesting more resources or more time to hit your target. There has to be a conversation. However, if the brand/company doesn’t value what you’re communicating or are unwilling to consider and incorporate the D&I initiatives and supply the proper resources, maybe you have to make a personal ethical choice about working with the company.
Do you see problems of employee referrals as fostering too much of the ‘same’ type of hire at a company?
I think properly managed, it doesn’t have to be a risk, but if not analysed and assessed up front as a potential issue, then it is a danger.
How might one remove bias from the hiring process?
I would say it’s almost impossible to get rid of it and it’s normal. It’s just how it is mitigated and used. Challenge your own biases, and ask yourself why you think the way you think about a person or the language you use, or how you analyse a CV and what data you’re paying attention to in lieu of others, or how you ask interview questions.
At our company (a different company located in a different city, and is global), our D&I is non-existent. How do we begin this process?
It is challenging, but every location has different priorities, so you have to figure out the why - why is it so important to create change at XXXX location, and what is it on a global front? A good place to start is with a culture survey from employees, and you can take the results to leadership to find an ear that will listen.
How do we get leadership to buy into D&I initiatives from a business case perspective?
You can look at retention numbers, recruitment campaigns, and recruitment costs to bring them and point out where you’re failing to hit benchmarks, and where other companies are succeeding.
Do you have any sources with data from other companies that shows what works and what doesn’t with D&I recruiting?
Some of the big consulting firms have surveys and benchmark surveys (the names escape me right now), but they can show employee engagement surveys that match up to companies similar to yours. They are available!
What are the most important aspects in creating an ally program? How to get started?
First, it must be top-down sponsored, otherwise I don't think it will work. A webinar like this is great, or a “lunch and learn” meeting where people can ask questions really helps as well!
Do you want to know more about D&I? Check out the Webinar in full now!