1. What does inclusion mean for Adecco?
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- Inclusion is the opposite of exclusion. It’s about understanding and respecting everyone’s unique backgrounds, attributes and circumstances.
- Inclusion enables unique combinations of skills and perspectives.
- Most importantly, inclusion creates a culture of belonging and non-discrimination.
At Adecco, we believe in the value of inclusion because we see the positive impact for people, for companies, and society at large every day. At its very core, inclusion is the exact opposite of exclusion. As a responsible employer it’s important for us to provide an inclusive environment for our employees where everyone feels valued, trusted, connected, and informed. To achieve this, we foster a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB).
This starts with encouraging non-discriminatory behaviour — something we are all responsible for, no matter where we work — and also eliminating discrimination in all its forms.
Inclusion describes the practice of providing equal access to opportunities and resources to people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, and anyone who might face discrimination. It is important for us to recognise the different backgrounds and experiences of our people and leverage the many competencies and perspectives, so that everyone can experience ownership and feel empowered.
It is especially important to stress that we do ‘see’ race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality, and other characteristics. Pretending not to can be seen to be evidence of a lack of empathy and sensitivity to particular historical and personal contexts. We must not blind ourselves to the realities of discrimination.
There are limits to inclusion, however. Personal characteristics that contribute to a toxic workplace will not be tolerated or accepted.
What do we mean by diversity? Diversity is the combination of unique skills, experiences, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds that make us who we are. Diversity means a full range of visible and invisible identities, including but not limited to gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, physical and cognitive ability, sexual orientation, military status, education, religion, age or generation, social class, and language. This list keeps growing as individuals and groups are not one-dimensional but shaped by multiple and intersecting identities.
What do we mean by equity? Equity is the fairness of access, opportunity, and advancement for all. Equity looks to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented people or groups from full participation in the workplace. Equity is also about ensuring that policies, practices, and systems provide all individuals equal access to opportunities, resources, and recognition to be successful. Incoming legislation on gender pay transparency, for example, will force our clients — and us — to do more in identifying and rectifying any gender pay gaps. We welcome this shift as it aligns perfectly with a fundamental pillar of our identity.
2. Why is inclusion so important?
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- People want to work in inclusive environments where they feel accepted, safe and truly seen for who they are.
- Studies show that diverse companies with inclusive cultures are more likely to outperform less diverse competitors.
- Social impact and economic impact go hand in hand. Inclusion boosts a talent-scarce economy and relieves public funds.
Inclusion makes sense – on a business level as well as a societal level. Studies show companies that invest in their diversity and inclusion often outperform their less diverse competitors. It’s especially important for marginalized groups of people such as refugees or workers from underprivileged backgrounds who might have fewer opportunities for fair and decent work. Companies, candidates and society alike can all benefit from inclusive efforts, both in the workplace and outside of it.
For companies, research shows inclusive practices can contribute to a climate of trust and loyalty. Building inclusive practices into your business model helps promote a sense of belonging and increases engagement, which in turn likely leads to better business results. Inclusive practices also cover accessible workplaces, like visual and cognitive features at work stations or even more accessible communication materials. Inclusive practices are the best way to build a responsible work environment that can lead to stronger mental health and wellbeing.
For many of our candidates, inclusion is an important factor in their new workplace. Candidates want to work in an environment that feels welcoming and triggers a sense of belonging. That’s why it’s so important for organisations to prioritise inclusive environments – especially when considering talent scarcity.
When organisations have access to new talent pools, they can build a more diverse workforce and fill much-needed roles. Importantly, diverse businesses are more likely to outperform competitors lacking in diversity. But perhaps even more important are the benefits of an inclusive workplace on health and mental wellbeing, its role as an antidote for harassment and bullying, and its impact on reducing absenteeism.
Inclusion not only benefits the individual and businesses, but also society. At Adecco, we believe that economic impact and social impact go hand-in-hand. Think about integrating workers, who have long been unemployed, back into the labour market. This not only helps the person but is also key for a talent-scarce economy and a well-functioning society; in turn, this means a relief for public funds.
Adecco facilitates dedicated practices with Public Employment Services where we up/reskill and coach through dedicated inclusion branches (for example in France, 150 branches through eight social ventures known as the Adecco Inclusion Network); we also have specific career center teams for vulnerable groups to help grow their abilities and find their way back into the labour market.
3. What does inclusive employment mean?
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- Inclusive employment stems from a bias-free recruitment process and an inclusive company culture.
- We go beyond the CV and use bias-free technology to evaluate people based on skills.
- Our dedication to anti-discrimination means we must sometimes say no to clients. This can be difficult, but it is the right thing to do.
Inclusive employment has two elements: recruitment and employment. For inclusive recruitment to be successful, we must consider the importance of an inclusive, welcoming culture of belonging within a company, and involve a bias-free employment process.
At Adecco, we’ve seen many cases where we may place a well-matched, diverse candidate within an organisation – only for the match not to work out in the specific workplace because the culture was not inclusive. For any company, the lack of an inclusive employment process is a clear risk.
Inclusive recruitment is all about ensuring people of all abilities and backgrounds (such as refugees, longtterm unemployed, and more) are part of our talent pool. At its heart, inclusive recruitment is a bias-free approach to provide work opportunities to people.
At this stage, it is important to distinguish between a bias-free approach and positive discrimination or positive action. While these often stem from good intentions, they do not always contribute favorably to an inclusive workplace.
At Adecco, we aim to go beyond the CV and resume to evaluate people based on their skills; this is an inclusive practice we are immensely proud of. Inclusive recruitment also involves the technology we use: our digital solutions, like QAPA, allow us to easily recruit resume-free without bias or discrimination. For many of our candidates in need of a job, this means a low barrier to apply. For our colleagues, this means a seamless, bias-free recruitment process to continuously improve our equal treatment standards.
It is important to also consider how to write job descriptions, inclusive advertisements and where to post them. Gendered language or often-used phrases like “recent graduate” or “competitive” can inadvertently deter minority groups from even applying for a position.
When we talk about inclusive recruitment, we must also discuss anti-discrimination. It’s no secret that sometimes, our colleagues are faced with discriminatory requests from potential clients. Adecco’s integrity standards do not allow us to comply with a request that would discriminate against a person’s age, sex, race, disability or any other characteristic protected under state or federal anti-discrimination laws. Any such discriminatory requests are against the law and our recruitment colleagues are trained to decline those. Very often, this can mean difficult conversations and losing potential business – but it is necessary.
If in doubt, please refer to internal guides.
4. How does Adecco address inclusion for candidates and better help clients?
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- We are a responsible employer who adopts inclusive policies and equal treatment.
- To address talent scarcity, we are committed to up/reskilling typically excluded groups and integrating them.
- Our experience and expertise in this field has made us experts in integrating refugees.
As a responsible employer, we aim to adopt inclusive policies and equal treatment, including equal pay, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status, including zero tolerance in discrimination policies. To support our clients in becoming more inclusive, we offer concrete training to overcome potential bias, from inclusive recruiting to inclusive employment and equal payment practices.
Good to know: 93% of countries that have private employment services or agency work regulation in place have rules to ensure agency workers are paid equal to workers in comparable roles who are employed directly by the client company. Adecco fully supports these principles of equal pay and equal treatment in the countries that have introduced it. We believe that equal pay benefits both workers and companies, and that equal pay is an important feature of any labour market that applies these principles.
We nonetheless respect that a national labour market specific view on equal pay is important – like in the US, taking local context and labour market design into account. To read more about fair wages for Adecco associates, have a look at our recent report, Paying Attention.
A 2022 Fortune/Deloitte CEO Survey found over 70% of CEOs feared talent shortages could disrupt the delivery of their business strategy over the next 12 months. To help companies address these skills gaps, Adecco also upskills and reskills groups that are typically excluded from the labour market – like the longterm unemployed or refugees. Social coaching and dedicated training help to ensure they have the relevant skills to access new jobs.
A crucial piece of the diversity and inclusion puzzle is cultural. In many cases, we help our clients analyse their workforce to extract relevant data such as composition and skills maps so that they may identify areas that need attention and investment.
In the last years, we have developed expertise in how to welcome refugees, make connections with employers and, depending on the situation, provide social coaching and network capacity with NGOs and State-led programs. We are proud to share that in 2022, we hired approximately 15,000 refugees through flex contracts across Europe, including 6,100 with Adecco in Germany, 3,500 with Adecco in France, and approximately 2,000 in Italy and in Poland. In 2022, we have started oursolidarity platform, “Jobs for Ukraine” through which we have so far helped more than 8,000 displaced Ukrainians find a new job.
5. What are common challenges for companies looking to be inclusive?
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- Inclusion must span the entire employee journey and be an integral part of a company’s cultural objectives.
- For DEIB initiatives to work, they must be a reflection of society, community and business needs.
- Inclusion initiatives must be implemented on 2 levels – the organisational and the individual.
Inclusion is a social responsibility and smart business decision, but it can be challenging for companies to truly think inclusively. Sustainable inclusion needs to go beyond government-led targets or quotas. While they might be required in some countries and are mandatory for certain company sizes, quotas should not be the sole reason for inclusion, but are a good starting point. Long-term, companies should truly reflect society, community and business needs and based on that, strive to build a more open-minded, comprehensive approach to inclusion in the workplace. Inclusion starts with not discriminating or being exclusive – like ensuring a handicapped person can be seated for part of the day or adjusting working hours for those in need.
However, inclusion must be implemented on two levels: the organisational and the individual. The first is about systematic changes on a process, policy and infrastructure level. While measurement of inclusion often proves difficult, this is where companies can demonstrate progress most reliably.
The latter is about encouraging individual workers to consider their position and mindset at work and motivate them to make small changes that could benefit the company culture. Whether it’s thinking more carefully about how they use pronouns in the workplace or making a concise effort to engage in coaching/reverse coaching opportunities, every little bit helps.
Summing up, inclusion should be a critical consideration across the whole employee journey, not just the recruitment stage. Discrimination, on all grounds, is clearly prohibited. For Adecco and our clients, inclusion cannot be a separate element but is an important part of a company’s cultural objectives and considerations.
The ILO has a branch on Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion working to eliminate discrimination, which may be a good reference for colleagues globally.
