Talent Centric
“Focusing on visible diversity
in general often does very little to
increase the social diversity
of your workforce”
brought together more than 45 senior clients from
across industry sectors.
Clegg outlined his frustrations at the difficulties
certain young people from low-income backgrounds
face in progressing their education and subsequent
careers, and why making change on this agenda
should be a priority for the UK.
“It seems flamingly unfair that the circumstances
in which you were born trap thousands of very bright,
very brilliant youngsters, who could otherwise be
living far more fulfilling lives. I still bridle at the
complacency with which we talk about this issue,
but don’t really act to do something about it,” he
told delegates.
Clegg, who joined the Social Mobility Foundation
as a trustee in 2015, described the work the charity
does in identifying talented young people from the
poorest backgrounds, helping them access the most
sought-after universities while also giving them
the “informal, unspoken and assumed” assets that
often those from middle class backgrounds take for
granted – such as mentors, a support network and
work experience opportunities.
He was keen to point out the responsibility of
business to help on this agenda. “It won’t come
to life or make a difference unless there is active
participation from employers up and down the
country,” he said.
In the same way that people have become much
more comfortable discussing mental health in recent
years, which has led to positive action, Clegg would
like to see greater openness around social mobility.
“From the days I started talking about social
mobility in corporate settings 10-15 years ago, it’s now
become something that everybody’s aware of and
keen to address, which is wonderful. We’ve broken
the taboos, but now is the time for action,” he declared.
Open to all talent?
In 2017, the Social Mobility Foundation launched
its Employer Index, in conjunction with the Social
Mobility Commission, to understand the work being
done to tackle social mobility among employers.
Around 100 organisations from across 17 sectors,
collectively employing just under a million people,
submitted entries.
Organisations were assessed across seven key
areas, including attraction, selection
and progression, to find out whether
they are truly open to talent from all
backgrounds.
“Every organisation says they
want the best people, but we assess
whether those with ability and a
low-income background have as
much chance of progressing in
that organisation as anyone else,”
explains David Johnston, Chief
Executive of the SMF.
After completing their
submission, organisations receive
a report which highlights what
they are doing well; what might be
stopping talented people getting
through channels, and how they
can improve.
“Organisations that do social
mobility ‘well’ are doing things
like reaching out to young people
beyond their doorstep, creating
non-graduate schemes which offer
genuine progression, and widening
their attraction strategies to
look beyond top universities,”
comments Johnston.
Employer
commitment
SOCIAL MOBILITY
AT OUR CORE
FIONUALA GORITSAS,
CLIENT ENGAGEMENT
DIRECTOR
Fionuala worked closely on the event
with the Social Mobility Foundation
and is determined to ensure that
social mobility is firmly at the
heart of Alexander Mann Solutions’
Diversity & Inclusion efforts both
internally and externally:
In the UK, talking about class or
social economic background is
always awkward. It’s comforting to
think that anyone can switch class
and be mobile, but the shameful fact
is that many cannot.
There’s no easy fix but it’s
heartening that our clients want
to make a difference in this space
and as an immediate response, the
Alexander Mann Solutions Client
Social Mobility Think Tank, set
up in September and sponsored
by Rosaleen (Blair, CEO), will be
working with a cross section of key
clients on how we can, as a joined-up
business community, tackle the lack
of social mobility in our respective
organisations in a proactive and
practical way. Governments have
failed epically in this space so it’s time
for business to make a difference.
Johnston has observed a “real
acceleration” in employers’
commitment to social mobility
in the past three years, which he
puts down to their acknowledging
that elements of diversity are not
mutually exclusive.
“Focusing on visible diversity
in general often does very little
to increase the social diversity of
your workforce,” he explains. “You
might hire more women or ethnic
minorities, say, but these people
Our next Social Mobility keynote
are often privately educated with
event will take place in February
professional families, and the same
2018; visit our website for
home and education advantages as
further details.
the existing workforce. Such
individuals tend to present in the
same way as the existing workforce,
and it’s easy to recruit in your
own image.”
But Johnston argues that from an organisational
perspective, social mobility is less about looking at
how candidates present themselves and more about
how employers conduct themselves and whether
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