At Outsource UK, we're passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of people and communities across the UK. This Social Mobility Day, we're taking the opportunity to #ShareMoments, reflect on the importance of social mobility and how we, as a recruitment company, can help drive change.
What is Social Mobility?
Social mobility is about creating opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background, to succeed based on their talent and hard work. It's about ensuring that where you start in life doesn't determine where you end up. This means breaking down barriers and creating pathways for individuals from all walks of life to access education, jobs, and career advancement.
Why Social Mobility Matters
In the UK, the gap between the privileged and the less privileged remains a significant challenge. Research shows that people from lower socio-economic backgrounds often face barriers to achieving their potential. These barriers can be due to a lack of access to quality education, limited networking opportunities, or unconscious bias in hiring practices.
Improving social mobility is not just a moral imperative; it's also good for business. Diverse teams bring different perspectives, drive innovation, and better reflect the customers and communities we serve. By promoting social mobility, we can tap into a broader talent pool and build a more dynamic and inclusive workforce.
Our Commitment at Outsource UK
At Outsource UK, we believe in the power of inclusive recruitment practices to drive social mobility. Here are some of the steps we're taking:
End Salary History: we’re proud signatories of the End Salary History campaign. This national campaign which is led by Fawcett East London & supported by the Fawcett Society, encourages all companies to take a simple action to shrink the pay gap – to stop asking for salary history in the interview process. When your pay is set by what you were paid in your last job, being discriminated against once can follow you throughout your career.
Anonymised CVs: We're committed to reducing unconscious bias in our recruitment processes. Anonymised CVs are when all personal and potentially bias-inducing information has been removed from a candidates CV. They are an effective step in reducing the opportunity to be unconsciously influenced by irrelevant background information such as:
- Candidate’s name
- Nationality
- Address / location-specific information
- Names of educational institutions
- Phone numbers
- Social media links
- Profile photos
- Information relating to gender
- Hobbies
- Marital status
- Disability status
- Pronouns
- Age / Date of Birth
- Dates on employment and educational attendance
The introduction of anonymised CVs to your recruitment process not only promotes a fair candidate selection, but it also encourages greater diversity and can help protect against discriminatory biases. As a result, you will almost certainly increase the diversity of your workforce and enable you to create an inclusive culture where employees are engaged and have been selected based on being the best person for the job!
Internal Career Progression Programs: We offer support in the career progression of all employees - tailored to their needs. Whether they're looking to move up the career ladder, transition into a new department, or develop leadership capabilities - our initiatives are tailored to meet their professional aspirations. Our goal is to create a thriving environment where every colleague feels valued, empowered and equipped to achieve their full potential. Additionally, we encourage continuous learning and provide resources such as workshops, online courses, and industry conferences to stay ahead in an ever-evolving landscape.
Inclusive Training and Development: All of our employees have completed inclusive training but it doesn’t stop there, we also offer our training course to our clients to help support them in creating a truly diverse workforce. Our commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment extends beyond just training. We regularly host workshops and guest speaker events where industry leaders and diversity advocates share their insights and experiences. This provides our employees and clients with continuous learning opportunities and the latest best practices in inclusion.
Our Team of Inclusion Ambassadors: Our Ambassadors play a crucial role in promoting diversity and inclusion. They focus on various aspects of diversity, such as gender, ethnicity, mental health and neurodiversity. They provide a platform for employees to share their experiences, support one another, and drive positive change within the company. You can find out more about our Inclusion Ambassadors on our Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance webpage.
Flexible Work Arrangements: We understand that different employees have different needs. That’s why we offer flexible work arrangements, flexible hours, job share roles and part-time opportunities. This allows our employees to balance their professional and personal lives effectively, contributing to their overall well-being and job satisfaction.
Success Stories
We’re proud of the success stories that emerge from our commitment to social mobility and many of colleagues have been a great example of this! Our Head of People, Anna Kramer, joined Outsource 30 years ago as a new Mum looking for evening work. She began her journey as a Resourcer, went on to becoming a highly successful Recruiter and then managing our Key Accounts team, overseeing relationships with our largest and most important customers. Over recent years, she retrained in HR and worked her way up to becoming our Head of People! Her deep understanding of the business, gained through performing nearly every job in the company, has been crucial in our growth and success.
How You Can Get Involved
Everyone has a role to play in promoting social mobility. Here are a few ways you can get involved:
- Educate Yourself: Learn about the challenges and barriers to social mobility and how they affect individuals and communities.
- Support Local Initiatives: Get involved with local charities and organisations that are working to improve social mobility.
- Advocate for Change: Use your voice to advocate for policies and practices that promote equality and inclusion in the workplace.
Looking Ahead
As we celebrate Social Mobility Day, let's remember that our work doesn't stop here. At Outsource UK, we're committed to continuously improving our practices and championing social mobility in all that we do. Together, we can create a more inclusive and equitable society where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Let's continue to break down barriers and build a brighter future for all.
✨ Happy Social Mobility Day! ✨
