Some of my favourite conversations in the last six months have been around inclusive hiring. Many people are doing brilliant work to support people from marginalised groups into the workforce, and I've learnt a lot from talking to employers like Timpson and organisations like The Bridge of Hope.
In this episode, we're going to explore what happens when an employer removes all screening, all background checks and all education and experience requirements from their hiring to be more inclusive. What are the advantages, the challenges, and the results?
My guest this week is Nykeba King, Global Head of Inclusion at The Body Shop. A few years ago, The Body Shop created an Open Hiring program to ensure they were being as inclusive as possible. It's a strategy that has produced some amazing results, and it is now giving them a unique competitive advantage in today's challenging talent markets.
In the interview, we discuss:
- Recruiting challenges at The Body Shop
- What is Open Hiring, and how does it work?
- No background checks, no screening, no education requirements
- How Open Hiring is helping The Body Shop in the current talent markets
- Making recruiting more purposeful with "Targeted Recruitment."
- Replacing scrutiny with trust
- Removing barriers and removing bias
- Implementation challenges
- The danger of second-guessing someone's ability to do a job
- Wrap-around support to build an inclusive workplace
- Time to hire, performance and retention
- What's next for Open Hiring