Eastside Primetimers contributed a case study to the From Here to Diversity Guide to demonstrate best practice of inclusive recruitment.
The brief
We were commissioned by St George’s Hospital Charity Board to recruit two new Trustees.
We were commissioned by St George’s Hospital Charity to recruit two new Trustees for their Board. The charity wanted the recruitment to be representative of the diversity of their local community and they also asked us to target particular skill areas.
We encouraged applications from under-represented groups, particularly people from Black and Asian backgrounds and also from a broad age-range and people living with disabilities. We welcomed applications from people who had not been senior volunteers or non-executives before.
We were looking for trustees with skills and experience in the following:
- Fundraising and income generation
- Communications and PR, particularly digital and social media
- Business and commercial expertise especially entrepreneurial businesses within St. George’s catchment area
The search
100% of our longlist of candidates were from minority backgrounds. We were able to achieve this by following a very open recruitment process, advertising the roles widely and reaching out directly to numerous networks and individuals. We contacted the following organisations/people and asked them to help spread the word about the role, providing them with wording for the ad and with a comprehensive and engaging information pack:
On LinkedIn, we connected with several minority group platforms and asked them to spread the word about the role.
The role was advertised on the following online platforms:
- Third Sector Volunteering
- Charity Jobs
- ACEVO
- Women on Boards
- LinkedIn
- Twitter
- EP and client websites
Our individual search was largely focussed on connecting to people from Black and Asian communities (about 80% of individual contacts).
Recommendations to the charity:
We interviewed a large number of potential candidates and subsequently recommended six longlist candidates to the charity, all from Black or Asian communities. We also provided 14 further CV’s of people who also met skills the criteria but who weren’t all from a minority background.
The charity decided to interview five of the people from the recommended longlist, plus three candidates from the further list of 14 (two white and one from an ethnic minority).
The charity appointed two candidates as trustees, one of whom was from an ethnic minority background. They also offered one ethnic minority candidate a position on a Development Advisory Group.
Resources
The Action for Trustee Racial Diversity UK’s From Here To Diversity Guide has launched this month and we’re pleased to have contributed to what we are sure will be a valuable resource for the sector.
The guide aims to help charities take positive and sustainable steps to increase the racial diversity of their Boards. It includes invaluable advice, case studies and quotes, which provide opportunities for learning and support and further discussion within the sector.
To view the Guide, please click here.
For more information or to discuss your resourcing needs or recruitment options, contact Bernice Rook on 07973141178 or at bernice@ep-uk.org.