Building a team to deliver a strategy, and bringing unique personalities from different backgrounds will enhance any charity’s ability to deliver impact. At Prospectus these are challenges and conversations we have every day with our clients. Working in partnership, and at a pace that suits them, we are able to offer advice and guidance that support the journey to building diverse and inclusive organisations.
The fundamental requirements in inclusive advertising
Our Advertising team support clients with in-depth media advice, that includes writing job advert copy, advert placement and employer branding. Some of the questions we get asked the most are:
· How can we increase diversity within our organisation?
· How can we make sure we are reaching a diverse audience when advertising our roles externally?
· What job boards and media work for reaching more diverse candidates?
There is no one golden bullet approach where a single advert in one media will be the answer to all your hiring prayers, but a well thought out, targeted and positive campaign can begin to deliver visible improvements towards the goal of building that all-inclusive team.
If some of the above areas resonate with you then we would encourage you to reflect on some of these key questions below.
Where is the desired audience? Targeting effectively with the right media
There’s a breadth of websites that cater to specific communities that can have an optimum effect if advertised alongside relevant content, news stories and information of public interest. In isolation, simply posting jobs on one-off sites will not deliver a significant increase in candidates with specific characteristics. In our experience, would an Asian, Sikh, female professional, searching for her next career move be searching on an Asian job platform only? The answer is a definite No – she would be looking where others in her profession search and advertise, therefore maximising your reach through inclusive advertising needs to be the aim. Through the use of social media and targeting passive audiences, the chances of getting in front of a more diverse audience increases.
Targeting the passive job seekers
Traditionally, job boards target active jobseekers, a methodology which has an important role to play in any recruitment campaign. However, there is a chance that you could miss out on the large numbers of passive candidates who may not be registered on traditional jobsites or have job alerts set up. These individuals may not only match the skills you’re looking for, but could also be open to new opportunities. You can find out more about passive audiences here.
Location – if you embrace remote working you can target advertising by location to improve diversity
Embracing remote working and being open to recruiting from outside the immediate geography, gives the opportunity to be far more targeted in approach to advertising and recruiting a diverse workforce. It is a simple and straightforward way to immediately improve the diversity of your recruitment shortlist. For example, next time you are recruiting a role, think about advertising it in Leicester – a location that has been described as an ethnic majority city. According to the last census less than half of Leicester’s population describe themselves as White British compared with 80% nationally, providing a fantastic opportunity to target a more diverse community here. You can read more about how to leverage location here.
Sector – is a charity sector background critical for this role?
There are a finite number of candidates from diverse backgrounds in any sector – and the charity sector’s diversity challenges are well documented. You can expand your opportunities to reach a wider range of candidates by advertising on non-sector specific job boards – or even job boards specific to the role’s function. There are numerous avenues to engage a brand-new set of candidates that might not have been previously considered for a role in this sector. E.g. Technojobs, Reed etc.
Does your employer brand support your search for talent?
Your employer branding will always impact the attractiveness of a vacancy. It tells the outside world a lot about the type of organisation you are, your values, and the kind of people that work in the organisation.
Seriously interested candidates will visit your website, specifically your recruitment pages, and look for testimonials. They will view your benefit and reward packages and they will visit websites such as Glassdoor to see what others are saying – your employer and employee reviews are an invaluable resource for job-seekers. What do yours say about you?
Make sure your job adverts are inclusive
Advertising the salary and removing non-essential skills from job adverts are just some of the things you can do to improve how your job adverts engage a diverse audience. Find our more here on how to craft the best advert possible.
The Prospectus Advertising team is committed to supporting charities becoming more diverse and inclusive, and we would welcome the opportunity to have a conversation about how we can help you on this important journey. If you’re interested in advertising to a more diverse audience across social media, other platforms or have any general queries, please don’t hesitate to contact the Prospectus Advertising team.
