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PA Enterprise
Staffing companies are failing to
record data on the diversity of
their staff
• 41% of staffing firms don’t record workplace demographics
• Respondents said there is generally a culture of diversity and inclusivity in recruitment,
but were less certain about their firms’ active policies
• Religious beliefs and staff qualifications least likely of all data to be recorded
Joint research from the Association of Professional and individual views, and where diversity may
Staffing Companies (APSCo) and the Recruitment be ‘lacking’. What we found, though, was a more
& Employment Confederation (REC) has revealed pressing issue: a lack of information. Without a
that two in five employment businesses (41%) do clear and honest picture of your workforce, will
not record data on the demographic makeup of be difficult for staffing companies to identify
their own workforce and leadership teams. where there are gaps or what demographics are
In a survey of both corporate and individual currently under-represented.
representatives across the recruitment sector, the “However, while we might not be where we’d like
trade bodies found that many firms felt unable to to when it comes to being able to identify the
track this information as they are ‘too small of an demographic balance in the recruitment world,
organisation’ (quoted by 38% of respondents) or now is the time to commit to driving true diversity
simply hadn’t considered it (26%). – starting with accurate and essential record-
While survey respondents generally agreed that keeping. There are restrictions on what employers
a culture of diversity and inclusivity exists within can and can’t ask staff and how recruitment
recruitment, there was far greater uncertainty businesses approach the tracking of sensitive
about staff having access to equality, diversity personal data will require careful management
and inclusion (ED&I) training and whether their and guidance. Through APSCo Embrace - an
business had an active and evidenced ED&I all-encompassing Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
programme. member service which includes a number of
different strands to support recruitment firms
According to the REC and APSCo, with ED&I rising with their own ED&I approaches – we will be
up the corporate agenda for client businesses, working closely with our members to help them
recruiters themselves need data to ensure their navigate the diversity landscape.”
own workforce reflects the diversity of the
businesses they partner with. Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC,
said: “The glaring finding of the report is a
Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo commented: lack of effective diversity monitoring in some
“When we first embarked on this collaborative recruitment businesses. As the old saying goes,
research, our hope had been to identify what what gets measured gets managed, so effective
the current make-up of the recruitment sector data collection needs to spread more broadly
looked like, any discrepancies between corporate
PA Enterprise is published by
4 June/July 2021
