Diversity and inclusion requires consistent and concerted effort - A case study

The path to working in the tech industry starts long before someone is hired so efforts to develop talent from under-represented groups need to start early.
Globally, we have implemented a number of programmes and practices to ensure that we are growing the number of employees from underrepresented communities and that our hiring efforts prioritise equity. One of the concrete ways we have done this is to expand training to hiring managers and recruiters to help them eliminate personal biases in hiring and adopt an inclusive mindset.

We have also amplified our efforts to support gender equity in a number of countries in Africa, for example across sub-Saharan Africa, we partnered with the Graça Machel Trust to provide digital skills training for more than 5 000 women entrepreneurs.

In practice these efforts are working - for instance, the data from the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region shows that between 2020 and 2021, we recorded an overall increase of 14% in the hiring of women. Specifically, women made up 28% of our tech hires, 49.2% of our non-tech hires and 47.1% of our leadership hires.

It’s good to see progress, but there is definitely more that our industry can and should do. 

The flip side of the hiring coin is ensuring that the people that businesses hire, stay, and are able to grow and progress in their careers. 

Understanding why people leave an organisation is an integral element of the retention process. We take a data based approach by studying attrition rates and designing programs based on that data. In 2021, our Stay & Thrive team launched a new way to help leaders better understand their team’s attrition data. This new process is more comprehensive and relatable, offering leaders a story with meaningful—and actionable—insights. In addition to providing each team lead with quantitative attrition data, the team humanises the numbers by offering insight on the day-to-day employee experience.

Armed with the why around attrition, leaders are better placed to implement the recommended solutions, such as manager upskilling, more defined progression plans, and greater support for internal mobility.

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