Widen your choice of employees to improve competitiveness
Here's how a diverse workforce has helped my business
Wheelies Direct is the UK's leading cycle insurance replacement service, based in Swansea. The business has 75 staff and comprises an online shop, call centre, workshop, warehouse and two retail outlets. HR manager Carl Jones explains how the company's policy of employing a diverse workforce has helped it overcome recruitment problems, widen its skills base and enhance its reputation with customers and suppliers.
What I did
Introduce an equal opportunities policy
"The company has always pursued best practice in employment,
gaining Investors in People (IiP) status in 1999. Following
IiP, we took the decision to do more about workforce diversity.
"With the help of a consultant from the Welsh Development Agency, we developed an equal opportunities policy to encourage applicants from different age groups and ethnic backgrounds as well as disabled applicants. The policy came into effect in 2002 and we're now a recognised Age Positive and Positive About Disabled employer."
Get advice
"We work closely with the Department of Work and Pensions'
Job Centre Plus service, which has been a great source of
advice on diversity issues.
"All our vacancies are advertised with them and they assist with formulating recruitment advertisements. They also provide workplace assessments and financial support to help us modify our premises and procedures to accommodate the needs of different groups.
"Diversity awareness has also helped us build business networks of other equal opportunities employers. It's like an unofficial club where we all collaborate and share best practice."
Maximise the advantages
"Our diverse workforce brings many commercial advantages.
For example, we find that older people are effective in call
centre roles, because their experience enables them to handle
difficult situations and provide mentoring for younger employees.
"In our retail outlets, a mixture of ages widens our market appeal and increases sales. For example, a teenager looking for a state-of-the-art BMX bike is more likely to buy from someone younger, while a mother looking for a child's bike is reassured by dealing with a mature person.
"Our reputation as an equal opportunities employer has given us access to a wider pool of job candidates too, which is a real competitive advantage in recruiting skilled staff. It's also proved useful in bidding for tenders, because larger organisations want concrete proof that their suppliers comply with anti-discrimination laws."
What I'd do differently
Get involved sooner
"I joined the business five years ago, but it took a
while to address diversity issues. I wish I'd got involved
sooner."
Keep up to speed
"Diversity policies need to be regularly monitored and
reviewed to take account of legislative and market developments.
We now have appropriate procedures in place, but it would
have been better to build them in from the start."
