Diversity in Dividends

Meeting Missions: Addressing Representation Across the Globe

As one of the world’s leading international banks, our client values differences and prioritizes inclusion, especially when it comes to their workforce. Committed to increasing opportunities for employees from underrepresented populations around the world, the bank partnered with Allegis Global Solutions (AGS) to evolve its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy in North America.

The workplace diversity strategy needed to be multifaceted to address underrepresentation in several key areas. The client set out to achieve the following:

• Increase the percentage of women in executive-level roles and number of employees from underrepresented communities (e.g., gender; veterans; visible minorities; persons with disabilities; and Indigenous, First Nations and Inuit populations in Canada)
• Generate a dedicated diverse talent pipeline, including an established partnership network to provide enhanced access to diverse candidates
• Amplify their internal and external brand as a diverse and inclusive employer

Taking Action: Advising and Advancing DEI Initiatives

As the client’s exclusive provider of end-to-end recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) services, AGS was well-positioned to design an omnichannel DEI strategy to help achieve their hiring goals.

We set up a dedicated eight-person DEI recruitment team aligned to finding diverse candidates for opportunities within specific lines of business and skill sets that the organization typically hires. This team led the charge for driving diverse candidates into the client’s pipelines, serving as the primary point of contact for diverse partner organizations and ensuring that diversity scope and drive for results was incorporated into existing efforts.

Working hand-in-hand with client sponsors, we tackled this challenge from multiple, key areas:

Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing

Employer branding is key in diversity recruiting as candidates need to see and hear from employees they identify with to truly see themselves in an organization. We took an omnichannel approach to our diversity recruitment marketing strategy – from planning and executing diversity recruiting events to connect with local candidates in key markets, to building recruitment marketing material and managing a communications calendar, to working with our client’s employee resource groups (ERGs) to collect, manage and amplify employee testimonials via LinkedIn job campaigns. Further, we operationalized job ad tools that provide advanced language insights to ensure inclusive language was used in job requisitions and client assets.

Sourcing and Networking

AGS curated diverse candidate slates and shortlists to present to our client’s hiring managers, ensuring gender and ethnicity balance. To enhance our ability to curate diverse talent pools and build a pipeline of future talent, we partnered with more than a dozen organizations that facilitate employment opportunities for diverse and underrepresented populations. We also partnered with diversity-focused firms that enhanced our ability to curate diverse talent pools for our client.

Inclusion Best Practices Training and Processes

Bringing diversity candidates to the table is only one part of the journey toward greater DEI within an organization. They have to get hired. To ensure hiring managers had the tools and resources they need to move the needle on diversity within our client’s organization, we operationalized bias mitigation training; developed diversity hiring best practices guides and workplace accommodation policy and resources; and set up diverse interview panels.

Delivering Impact: Making Measurable Progress Toward DEI

A DEI strategy is critical to an organization’s ability to innovate, compete and effectively attract and retain talent. By implementing DEI strategies, processes and programs, we helped to significantly elevate our client’s DEI efforts – achieving and often exceeding its goals to increase diversity representation across its North American workforce.

A few key highlights:

• Achieved 110% of the hiring goal for women at the executive level in the US
• Increased the number of African American candidates advancing to senior vice president- and vice president-level interviews (with candidate pull-through rising from 7% to 15-20% over three years)
• Delivered candidate slates with at least 50% diverse representation, exceeding goals for the last two years
• Met or exceeded hiring goals and improved results year over year in Canada, including:
• Established ongoing partnership and engagement with client’s ERGs to further recruitment efforts and results

Diversity, equity and inclusion goals don’t come with an end date. We continue to partner closely with our client to impact and evolve their goals and strategy when it comes to fostering a truly diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.