London, UK -- (SBWire) -- 11/09/2022 --[Trend topics]. More inclusive working environments have multiple benefits, whether you're looking at it from the perspective of employee wellbeing and engagement - or the tangible difference this makes to the business bottom line. The challenge for many organisations is making changes that will foster inclusivity, especially where this hasn't been a priority in the past. Technology has the potential to open up the workplace so that it is a much more inclusive place to be - that's why the way technology roles are filled matters so much.
Technology is vital for communication today, especially since many enterprises have now made the shift to a hybrid working model. Technology that facilitates both open and private communication can contribute significantly to inclusivity. Video conferencing tools and private chat facilities, for example, help to ensure that anyone can join in the relevant discussion but also have a safe and private way to share when necessary. The way that technology has evolved in recent years also opens the door to a much more equal workplace, especially when it comes to accessibility. Assisted listening devices and induction loop systems, for example, ensure that anyone with a hearing impairment isn't excluded. Technology can also provide a more transparent infrastrastructure for hiring and promotion, helping to steer decision-making away from unconscious biases and ensure that factors such as gender or ethnicity don't get in the way of talented people being held back from advancement. All this can happen where those in key technology roles - such as Chief Technology Officer - have clear intentions in place.
Greater use of technology is also making a different perspective on productivity possible. The pandemic showed us just how much more productive we can be in a hybrid working scenario and when given greater individual freedom. It's tech, such as communication systems, team structures and video conferencing that provides the tools to build on this much more flexible approach. And it's that flexible approach that has opened up the potential for more inclusion where employees (most often women) also have care or childcare responsibilities to balance with work commitments. With greater business agility comes the potential for more focus on employee wellness too. Where an organisation is using cloud services, teams can access information, meetings and systems from anywhere, giving individuals more control to organise their own lives. All of this illustrates how the right people in technology roles - especially senior technology roles - really can generate meaningful change.
[How the company does something relevant to the topic]. Leathwaite has embedded policies that cement diversity and inclusion within the business and also helped clients to make progress with more diverse candidate choices. Today, there are clear benefits for any business in having a diverse and inclusive workforce, from the innovative and creative culture this can generate to the way it strengthens the employer brand. This is especially so in terms of technology roles that may traditionally be dominated by homogenous candidates. The team has worked hard to achieve diversity - today the business is 62% female employees and 51% female consultants, directors and partners with initiatives in place to ensure diversity of age and race. Inclusive environments ensure that everyone can show up and contribute as their best selves - and this is often where the most productive collaboration emerges from.
[How the company carries out the particular service/product]. Leathwaite helps clients do more when it comes to diversity and inclusion, in technology roles and beyond - for example in 87% of assignments clients have interviewed ethnically and / or gender diverse candidates. The team uses all the resources available to help improve this - The Leathwaite Clarity Assessment Model, for example, is used to help compare candidates' cultural fit and experience and to help clients remove unconscious bias from candidate assessment processes. This is a vital tool for fields like technology roles that are traditionally dominated by men. Plus, the team uses a wealth of metrics and data tracking to advance the diversity and inclusion strategies of clients. This kind of transparency provides not just a way to ensure that Leathwaite is delivering a service of the highest possible standard but that it serves objectives of diversity and inclusion too.
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About Leathwaite
Leathwaite delivers when it comes to technology roles. The team are CFO recruiters, leaders in headhunting recruitment and human capital specialists, delivering an interconnected range of executive search, executive interim and data & insight services, including with respect to HR talent. Since establishing the business in 1999, Leathwaite has developed key international client partnerships across a range of industry sectors.
Can Technology Make Your Business More Inclusive?