Case studies

Harvey Nash partnered with Thomas International to evaluate whether there was any evidence of adverse impact in their recruitment processes

Harvey Nash

Employees

1001+

Industry

Recruitment

Country

United Kingdom

Solution

Behaviour (PPA)

The Challenge

Harvey Nash partnered with Thomas International to evaluate whether there was any evidence of adverse impact in their robust recruitment processes. The leadership at Harvey Nash believed that everyone deserves equal opportunities to join a business and to be in an environment where they are respected and fully engaged, but they wanted to see if what they believed was being put into practice on a day to day basis. They knew that diversity is more than just demographics, and therefore believed in recruiting with diversity in behavioural preferences, motivators and personality in mind.

They had also decided to take part in EY's National Equality Standard which gave them the opportunity to examine all their policies and processes which included the recruitment and development of staff.

The Solution

Over 12 months, Thomas tracked hundreds of applicants for positions at Harvey Nash, monitoring demographic diversity, behavioural preferences and the eventual outcome of applications. Statistical analysis looked at the chance of each demographic group progressing and dropping out at each stage, using impact ratios, statistical tests and practical tests.

"The purpose of the project was to evaluate whether there was evidence of adverse impact in our recruitment process. So, we had the great opportunity to collaborate with Thomas International in creating a demographic questionnaire and psychometric test to send to all candidates at the onset of our recruitment process. By having the research project with Thomas International, it was giving us an opportunity to look into the demographics of our candidates coming through the recruitment process and assessing whether there was evidence of bias or discrimination throughout the process overall." - Eliz Fidan, Team Leader of Talent Acquisition, Harvey Nash.

The Results

No evidence was found that any group was being adversely impacted in the recruitment process, though Thomas were able to make recommendations to make processes even better.

Following the outcomes of the study, Harvey Nash were successful in becoming the first recruitment company to achieve the National Equality Standard, one of the UK's most rigorous and prestigious accreditations for diversity and inclusion.

Thomas International's Personal Profile Analysis was not shown to adversely impact any group. Looking at gender, ethnicity, age, sexuality and disability, no group was any more or less likely to have any particular profile. By using this tool, Harvey Nash were able to reduce unconscious bias in the recruitment process. It also allowed them to see which profiles were rarer and so could support behavioural diversity in the workplace as well as looking at which profiles were ultimately more or less successful.

Reflecting on the outcomes, Eliz comments: "The project for us was really successful and it achieved exactly what we were looking for. There were even a few surprises, but given the results, we've been able to put together a strategy to work with going forward. By taking part in the project with Thomas, it's really enabled us to look at ways of streamlining our process, thinking of ways to save time and money. We've had incredible success and it's been absolutely perfect for us."