That’s the warning from a seasoned executive search specialist who has watched the way staff hiring practices have changed along with the markets over the past 15 years.
Parity Consulting founder Victoria Butt - who is passionate about ensuring helping diverse talent into leadership roles - decided to speak up after noticing the subtle but growing change that is resulting in fewer people from diverse backgrounds being hired.
“It happened during the Global Financial Crisis and it’s happening again now,” warned Victoria who has identified three types of clients she partners with to ensure professionals from diverse backgrounds are recruited.
1st – Say it and do.
Regardless of the economic climate, DEI is systemically practiced from the top and plays into everything they do (recruitment and otherwise)
2nd – Say it and do it sometimes.
This is where most of Parity’s clients sit. Intentions are very good but when markets hit a downturn and there is uncertainty ahead, old hiring practices come back in force.
3rd – Say it and rarely do it.
We all know these types of clients.
Victoria – whose business employs 20 and operates in Sydney and Melbourne – said: “With markets softening, I am seeing some clients revert to old hiring habits and it’s becoming increasingly hard to walk past.
“Executives are once again fearful of making ‘different’ hires and broadly resorting to hiring in their shadow and hiring the people that could be perceived as ‘safe bets’.”
“When I look at those personas, I am sure that two years ago those who were in the ‘Say it and do it” camp stood at 80%,” explained Victoria.
“Looking at it again now, that is down to about 20%.
“Our FY2023-24 Salary Guide & Predictions which is due out in a couple of weeks which surveyed thousands of professionals in Product, Marketing, Digital & Data professions suggested DEI initiatives were increasingly being sidelined in favour of other business projects.”
When asked what hiring leaders can do about the regression in hiring diverse talent Victoria added: “Firstly, being aware that it is a natural reaction to risky environments and that 8 out of 10 leaders are doing the same thing. The second is challenging yourself and internal colleagues about their process and decision making. And the final one is holding your recruitment partners to account to make sure shortlists are always diverse in nature.”
For more information about the salary guide, go to Parity Consulting
