Employers cannot afford to ignore diversity

Organisations who do not take diversity seriously could face difficulties attracting the best candidates to fill vacancies, and risk damaging efforts to achieve their own business objectives. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has produced a report to show employers how diversity can help their organisations achieve word-class results and compete in the war for talent.

The report, Driving diversity progress - messages from a showcase of CIPD research, was produced following a round table discussion with key HR professionals. The report is being launched at a Driving Diversity event, in Ireland on Wednesday 26 January 2005.

CIPD produces regular research and guidance to help organisations manage people better in order to achieve business objectives. Diversity has a key part to play in this. The report highlights a number of key issues and includes the following:

*Organisations need older workers

Employers are starting to benefit from the rewards of having a workforce made up of different age groups. However, they need to start considering offering alternative flexible savings and think about making retirement more flexible to cater for those people want to work for longer. These arrangements may help organisations engage and retain staff.

*Training is key in order to tap into diverse talent pool

The majority of employers now train interviewers in diversity issues and monitor diversity. However, more can be done with only 29 per cent of organisations advertising beyond traditional means to target under-represented groups.

*It makes sense to employ ex-offenders

Only 6 per cent of employers who have knowingly employed ex-offenders have had a poor experience, however employment actually reduces reoffending by up to 50 per cent.

Employing ex-offenders will help businesses as they face the war for talent, with more than 85 per cent of employers reporting difficulties in filling vacancies and suffering from skills shortages or problems of reduced business growth.

Dianah Worman, CIPD Diversity Adviser, says, CIPD research shows the benefits a diverse mix of people can bring to an organisation. It is important to provide training for line managers in order to demonstrate the business case behind diversity because they can help make the change. Changing mindsets and developing good practices will help organisations retain knowledge and experience, widen the recruitment base, and could lead to more customers and greater profits.