BITC is the Kings Responsible Business Network, dedicated to ensuring a fairer and greener world by supporting and developing fairer and greener businesses.

We became aware of the extraordinary work BITC do through a friend who worked for them for many years, and establishing a partnership with them was a priority the moment Ambient People incorporated as a business.

There are some specifics below about how we work with them and what we do – both here and on our page dedicated to Social Responsibility – but from offering professional job coaching through their leading scheme to support those finding it hardest to get into work; to participating in initiatives which lead the way in responsible business management in the UK and across the world, our work with BITC continues to improve what we do and give our work further meaning and value.

Inventum Group have been offering expert ED&I consultancy services to engaged recruiters since 2005.

We engaged with Adam Tobias following a terrific presentation he made to a networking group we work with on the positive impact ED&I can have.

Our work with Inventum includes bespoke courses for all of us to improve our legal and practical awareness of ED&I issues as well as ongoing consultancy and support to ensure we remain at the forefront of what the recruitment industry is doing to help clients become more equitable, more diverse and more inclusive for the benefit of their people as well as their business objectives and goals.

We mandate and provide bespoke, professional ED&I courses for our team to ensure we understand the role we can play in better ED&I.

The starting point to better ED&I is understanding it’s importance, and the practical barriers which must be overcome. Through our partnership with Inventum we’ve undertaken full, intense sessions to broaden our understanding of the topic, identifying not just what we have to do but the extra things we want to do to lower barriers and give everyone a fair chance in our everyday recruitment work.

For a more diverse network.

As well as using well-recognised national jobs boards and Public-Sector specific job boards as part of our developing network, we have also targeted diversity-focussed jobs boards including:

Even Break

BAME Jobs

This helps us target and reach people we might otherwise not, expanding and enriching our network and creating fresh opportunities for the people we engage with – as well as for ourselves.

Because the words we choose matter.

The research into how language creates a barrier by resonating in a particular way is well-documented and by running our advertising through technology that highlights less-inclusive wording and terminology, we aim to ensure the broadest pool of talent.

Insight for us, insight for our network.

Knowing the scale of the diversity challenge; and being able to monitoring the success we are having for ourselves and for out clients is a key element to the progress we want to make.

We ask a number of questions of our registered and placed candidates which they aren’t obliged to answer; but we encourage them to do.

That information is NOT available to consultants and is not used within our selection process; it is purely to provide an overview of who diverse and inclusive our network is.

Where we can, we also use this anonymous data to support our clients in their own ED&I goals, and to the broader employment market generally.

We take our control, management and use of data seriously – if you want to know how we protect your data, you can find that information here.

Anyone can thrive when their strengths come to the fore.

There is more information here on what Strengths-based Recruitment is:

Specifically regarding ED&I however, strengths-based recruitment can fulfil an influential role in better hiring, looking beyond the competencies they’ve already been taught and tapping into the talents that make them unique.

By identifying the attributes a person has to offer, and matching them effectively to the challenges faced within a role, candidates appointed via SBR are more likely to have the skills to thrive in a role; are more likely to have come from a different background and offer fresh perspectives; and are more likely to be happy and retained in their work.

Together, we can make jobs more accessible.

We are one of 90+ businesses who have signed up to the Opening Doors Programme.

The Opening Doors is run by Business in the Community, and is their flagship inclusive recruitment campaign.

Open to all employers, and free to join, it has the ambition to make 2 million jobs more accessible to diverse talent by supporting employers to make changes to the way that they recruit.

A firm commitment to racism-free business.

We are a signatory to BITC’s Race to Work Charter, which followed the 2017 Government Backed review into race in the workplace.

Race in the workplace: The McGregor-Smith Review

Further details on the specifics of the charter can be seen here.

Ambient People undertake 7 key commitments as a result, including:

1. The appointment an Executive Sponsor for race equality (Liam Farncombe)
2. Capture ethnicity data and publicise progress
3. Commit at board level to zero tolerance of harassment and bullying.
4. Make equity, diversity and inclusion the responsibility of all leaders and managers.
5. Take action that supports Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse employee career progression.
6. Support race inclusion allies in the workplace.
7. Include Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse-led enterprise owners in supply chains.