{"id":1243,"date":"2020-11-17T10:41:21","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T10:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sage-people-scraping-gb.local\/?p=1243"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:02:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:02:40","slug":"hr-role-diversity-inclusion-ask-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/hr-role-diversity-inclusion-ask-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"What role should HR and People teams play in diversity and inclusion?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat role should HR and People teams play in diversity and inclusion?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tJessica Leyshon<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Who should be responsible for diversity and inclusion in the workplace \u2013 HR, or the C-suite? What role can technology play? We asked the experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace has never been so heightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organisations across the globe now see diversity and inclusion as a serious concern, and there is a strong emphasis on CEOs to take ownership and lead the way in driving accountability across senior management to create fair, equal and inclusive workplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBusinesses that abdicate their responsibility to HR are missing a trick. It needs to be led at C-level as it impacts brand, corporate purpose and performance,\u201d says Jennie Oliver, HR associate at global freelance community The Hoxby Collective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Holloway, communications specialist at HRbyHoxby, says never has there been a more critical time for businesses to re-evaluate their approach to diversity and inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says: \u201cWhere before organisations \u2018just\u2019 had a duty of care and a moral obligation to act on this, there are now compelling statistics that show this is a commercial issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Further, the recent gender pay gap publication in the UK has forced businesses to consider the reputational impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Holloway alludes, this greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion is not only because it\u2019s the right thing to do; there are considerable financial and business benefits to be had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a study by the World Bank, gender equality would enrich the global economy by an estimated $160tn (\u00a3120tn) if women were earning as much as men in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At an organisational level, companies with a gender diverse workforce in their executive teams are 21% more likely to experience above average profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, companies with a strong ethnic and cultural diversity are 33% more likely to perform better financially than companies with a less diverse workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With highly skilled employees in fierce demand, promoting diversity and inclusion is also another means for companies to arm themselves in the ongoing war for talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a PwC survey on breaking down the barriers to diversity, more than 80% of millennials said that an employer\u2019s policy on diversity, equality and workforce inclusion was an important factor when deciding whether or not to work for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workplace inclusion also creates stronger engagement as employees feel more valued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A study by the Diversity Council of Australia found employees in inclusive workplaces are 19 times more likely to be satisfied with their job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Request a free, live demo of Sage People and discover how it can help your organisation attract the best people, retain your key talent and increase productivity<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

C-suite awareness is not enough<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the issue making it on to the radar of C-suite executives, results appear to be too slow according to a report by Deloitte, called Diversity and inclusion: the reality gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report explains: \u201cOrganisations should consider making structural changes, implementing transparent, data-driven solutions, and immersing executives in the world of bias to give them a visceral understanding of how bias impacts decision making, talent decisions, and business outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a nutshell, making people aware is not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where HR leaders have a significant role to play in supporting the CEO and senior management team to effectively implement and create a real sea change in delivering diversity and inclusion within the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defining HR\u2019s role in diversity and inclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With it becoming a C-suite concern, is there a danger that HR and People teams may ruffle the feathers of senior management if it takes the lead on driving diversity and inclusion in the workplace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanessa Karadimos-Tonkin, chief people officer at SQS Group, doesn\u2019t think so. She strongly believes HR\u2019s role is to lead and influence diversity and inclusion in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says: \u201cAs a department servicing the wider organisation, it is imperative to drive these policies that will identify talent and diverse individuals that will take the organisation forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds: \u201cIt is also HR\u2019s responsibility to foster an environment where all employees feel valued and included, which in turn helps inform the recruitment strategy to make the organisation attractive to a more diverse pool of potential candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Estelle Shepherd, head of talent at What If! Innovation, agrees, and says HR and People teams have a fundamental role to play in prompting the rest of the business to \u201cstart thinking about different opportunities [the company] can create for upping diversity and inclusion\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds: \u201cWhere HR is becoming increasingly talent-focused and more involved in the recruitment process, I think there are just small levers we can pull to prompt the organisation to think in the right way, and to be a little more open.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Pallot-Cook, founder and HR consultant at Pallot Cook Consulting, points out that HR is all about talent, and \u201ctalent is everyone \u2014 not a select few\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says: \u201cHR needs to be leading the organisation to ensure the right talent is in place to achieve the organisational goals \u2014 and that means having all the systems and processes aligned to this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hoxby Collective\u2019s Jennie Oliver believes where HR can help is by highlighting the disparities and identifying gaps through evidence such as data on gender, pay, and recruitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds: \u201cHR can help with training on eliminating bias, but it needs more than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There often has to be structural changes for an organisation to address these issues and an organisation that has and uses transparent data \u2014 sharing value on inclusion, building consensus and showing how diverse teams will out-perform other teams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Download your free guide, 6 ways to create amazing workforce experiences<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Unconscious bias and HR technology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That moves us on to the topic of unconscious bias, which remains one of the key challenges in the fight for a fairer and more equal playing field when it comes to recruiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As human beings, we are hardwired to make intuitive decisions about other people without even realising we are doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HR technology sector has evolved rapidly in the past 18 months with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning being used in a variety of HR applications, particularly in recruitment software<\/a> where it helps eliminate bias in applicant screening and selection.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But is there a risk technology can hinder companies in the drive for greater diversity and inclusion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veronica Belmont, product manager at employee engagement and recognition platform Disco, points out that the problem with using technology to solve diversity problems is that it\u2019s created by people with biases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTherefore, we need to make human conscious decisions to be inclusive in hiring practices,” she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Kate Graham, head of content at HR analyst firm Fosway, believes technology should really be able to drive diversity and inclusion at every stage, \u201cfrom harnessing AI to screen candidates and remove any bias, to onboarding, to learning technology that educates people around this subject, to technology-supported talent pools, succession planning and career development\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds: \u201cIf it\u2019s predictive analytics and machine intelligence pointing towards the best people for the job or which people should be recognised and rewarded, then that starts to overcome gender bias.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Littal Shemer Haim, people analytics consultant and HR data strategist, agrees that HR technology plays a vital role in driving diversity and inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says: \u201cMachine learning based apps can predict performance regardless of gender and other demographic variables, and as a result minimise interview biases.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Brennan, industry analyst and founder of Accelir, a strategic advisory firm focused on the HCM marketplace, and founder of HRTechBlog, argues technology can be both a good and bad thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explains: \u201cTechnology can enable both good and bad processes equally. At the end of the day we need to have deliberate, smart, fair processes for our candidates and employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUntil that is in place, and you are ready to enforce the practices, there isn\u2019t much any technology can do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She advises HR leaders to look at areas where diversity and inclusion may be lacking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n