2018 Randstad Employer Brand Research reveals only 50% of employees believe their employers have a diverse and inclusive culture.
Despite diversity and inclusion being firmly on the agenda for Australian workplaces in 2018, the latest Randstad Employer Brand Research has revealed that only half of the Aussie workers believe their employers have successfully established a diverse and inclusive culture.
Commissioned by Randstad, the leading global HR services and recruitment company, the annual report looks at Australian workers’ perceptions of employer brands and job seeker drivers.
The Randstad research findings echo industry research which shows three in four Australian workers support their organisation taking action to create a workplace that is diverse and inclusive (1). This is backed up by the claim that one in five Australians have personally experienced harassment and/or discrimination at work in the past year (2).
Frank Ribuot, CEO of Randstad Australia, said that while the issue of diversity and inclusion has been increasingly in the spotlight globally, many local businesses are still only at the foundation stage of building their diversity programs.
There is a significant gap between what employees want and what employers are achieving when it comes to a diverse and inclusive work environment. Our research indicates organisations need to better define their strategy here, putting in place clear channels of communications to ensure genuine progress is made so that all Australians can feel safe, welcome and respected at work.
Interestingly, our study also showed that while only a fifth (19%) of Australians ranked diversity and inclusion as an important factor when choosing an employer, once in the job, they are calling on employers to deliver clear channels for communication and feedback as well as concrete and meaningful actions in relation to these issues (47%). We see this ourselves in our very own workforce of over 2,000 employees in the APAC region.
according to the research, almost two-thirds (61%) of Australians feel the most incredible sense of inclusion when an employer offers flexible work options.
This extends to social engagement, with almost half (46%) claiming the opportunity for all employees to plan and make decisions relating to social activity is highly valued.
When looking at workers' motivations for leaving a role, the study found that 27% also cited a lack of flexibility as one of the top five reasons to do so, with the early learning, education and professional, scientific and technical fields sectors being perceived as delivering the most incredible flexible working arrangements.
Libby Lyons, Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, said access to flexible working opportunities is crucial in achieving gender equality.
"The Agency's data shows that nationally, we have made progress as almost seven in 10 employers now have a policy or strategy to promote flexible working. However, plans and procedures need to be implemented through action.
"Yet, our data reveals that less than five per cent of employers set targets for engagement in flexible work, and fewer than two per cent set targets for men's attention with flexible work.
This is important because research reveals that normalising flexible working arrangements is crucial in improving women's career progression and increasing the representation of women in leadership.
"Randstad's report shows that most Australian workers want employers to offer flexible working options in their workplaces.
The onus is now on employers to ensure organisation-wide acceptance of flexible work, allowing their employees greater flexibility in their choices to manage productive work and life commitments."
Mr Ribuot agreed, noting that a robust diversity and inclusion program can help increase a business's performance, drive innovation, attract more talent, and create growth opportunities.
"As the makeup of Australia becomes more diverse, so will the expectation for companies to have dedicated policies that engage with all people, putting diversity and inclusion at the heart of their businesses.
"While several industries are making headway with flexible working environments, it's time for all Australian employers to follow suit."
what diversity and inclusion mean to Randstad
At Randstad Australia, we believe that a combination of diverse views and an environment of inclusion directly benefits our business, customers and community. We do this to create opportunities, innovation and belonging for all.
We know that people from different backgrounds and points of view can foster inclusion, promote broader perspectives and drive diverse thinking and business results which will help us deliver a distinctive experience for our clients, candidates and ourselves.
Randstad Australia firmly believes that to be successful. An organisation must champion diversity to ensure its workforce has a mix of ages, gender and cultural backgrounds - the more diverse, the better the likelihood of sourcing niche skills.
Randstad has created an internal recruitment policy to support this with partnerships with external organisations to help attract and retain candidates. Diversity is used to describe individual differences, and inclusion is used to describe the intentional and ongoing engagement with diversity.
about the Randstad Employer Brand Research
The 2018 Randstad Employer Brand Research explores Australian workers’ perceptions of employer brands, providing a unique understanding of employee and job seeker drivers.
The most significant piece of employer branding research in the world, the independent survey provides insights from over 175,000 respondents and 5,755 companies in 30 countries worldwide, including 9,555 Australians.
do you want to learn more about the Randstad Employer Brand Research?
Explore the full Randstad Employer Brand Research report.
learn moresources
https://www.dca.org.au/research/project/inclusion-index
https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/2016-17-gender-equality-scorecard.pdf
