Birmingham City University (BCU) has over 29,000 students from around the globe and commits to having students at the heart of everything it does. BCU had a very clear mandate in order to support their Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) strategy, with the ambition of having an academic team that is truly representative of its student body.
“We wanted to take significant action on improving our ED&I outcomes. Using, ResourceBank meant the project was undertaken expertly and quickly. Angela, ResourceBank’s key consultant is extremely knowledgeable on all things ED&I. Having her independent eye to review what we were currently doing and then make clear recommendations for us to implement has given us a clear pathway to improve. We would not have been able to deliver that without Angela’s expert help.”
BCU wanted to understand their current position in relation to the recruitment of non-white academic employees and identify what needed to change to increase diversity within its academic employee population. They required an in-depth analysis of their recruitment processes and an understanding of how to align their academic staff demographics with the diversity of their student body.
Angela Webster led a research project that included assessing current ED&I recruitment data and spending time with over 20 Deans and Recruiting Managers to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate their progress toward ED&I recruitment goals.
The research also involved collaboration with the recruitment and senior HR team to review current practices and processes. This assessment included:
– Evaluating the education of those responsible for recruitment
– Gauging knowledge around BCU’s ED&I ambitions
– Understanding the industry pipelines into academic roles and the challenges in attracting new talent
– Identifying any barriers preventing diverse talent from applying for academic roles
– Assessing how BCU was attracting talent
– Reviewing the selection and interview process
The project provided BCU with actionable recommendations and a comprehensive plan for improvement, supporting fundamental changes in recruitment practices. By implementing the suggested actions, the following outcomes are anticipated:
– Increased knowledge and understanding of BCU’s ED&I recruitment aims
– A clearer plan for faculties that need to implement diversity initiatives, subject to the availability of a sufficient talent pipeline
– An increase in the number of candidates applying for roles due to improved attraction strategies
– A more structured selection and interview process, resulting in greater consistency and reduced personal bias in hiring decisions
– Recruitment and HR teams upskilled to offer expert advice to recruiting managers
Let’s have a chat to find out how we can best streamline your recruitment process with intelligent automation.