Includability create Committed Recruitment Agency Standard

Includability is proud to announce that we are now open to working with Recruitment Agencies and have added a Six Star Verification process to help working practices remain transparent and inclusive to everyone.

Who is our recruitment verification star partner?

Includability’s sixth star, the Diversity in Recruitment Star, will be managed and awarded by Jo Major, Founder of Diversity in Recruitment. Diversity in Recruitment are the latest social enterprise to become an Includability Official Partner. This partnership will have a significant and positive impact on the recruitment sector.

Jo’s role will be to gather evidence and commitments from recruitment agencies about their internal practices and speak to them around how they engage with their clients and wider communities in terms of accessibility and diversity of the business.

Companies and organisations who sign up to Includability undergo an initial Five Star Verification Process in which they have committed to take the journey toward authentic inclusion by integrating fairness into company culture and into each stage of their recruitment process by making commitments in sustainability, mental health, wellbeing, talent management, and diversity and inclusion. Companies will also make specific commitment to look out for employee mental health by signing up to the Mental Health Charter CIC.

What is the process?

During the process, Includability assesses commitments or evidence of existing initiatives geared towards sustainable business practices (like becoming B Corp certified, pledged Carbon Neutral, recycling programme and community volunteering) to award a Sustainability Star. The remaining process is conducted by Includability Official Partners; Outliers Wellbeing, IncludeUs, Unleashed, and Mental Health Charter CIC to award the Wellbeing Star, the Diversity and Inclusion Star, the Talent Management, and the Mental Health Star, respectively, who assess company evidence and/or commitments in these areas in a similar manner to the Sustainability Star. Their purpose in the process is to ensure practices align with established definitions of an ‘Inclusive Workplace’.

This process will remain a Five Star Verification Process for individual companies and organisations that register on the Includability platform. Recruitment Agencies and those who work with third party employers will undergo a 6 Star Verification Process which will check if the recruitment services on offer are working towards becoming accessible and inclusive.  

Jo commented on what recruiters should expect when they are contacted by her regarding the Diversity in Recruitment Star,

“During our initial discovery call, our aim is to fully understand your motivations and commitment to making your recruitment services fully accessible and inclusive. We will also explore the work that you have planned or have completed so far on your Diversity & Inclusion journey, and the immediate and long-term goals and objectives for your D&I activity. This insight will also help us understand the support and guidance that you may need, so that we can support your recruitment business as it works to remove the barriers underrepresented and minority candidates face when looking for work.”

Become an Includability Committed Recruitment Agency

Agencies that successfully complete the Six Star Verification Process will be awarded Includability Committed Recruitment Agency status. Once recruiters have this status, they are free to advertise jobs, and candidates can be safe in the knowledge that they honestly care about diverse and inclusive recruitment.

Paul Smith, Founder of Includability said:

“I am delighted that we are now partnering with Diversity in Recruitment to be able to offer all the benefits of the Includability platform and our community to ethical, inclusive and forward thinking recruitment agencies. As the owner of a recruitment company I feel passionately that we are able to support, advise and collaborate with like-minded businesses in order to build our knowledge together, with the aim of further supporting job seekers, offering a better service to employers and contributing to the development of all employees. We’re looking forward to expanding Includability’s reach and continuing to positively impact as many companies as possible”.