Savills, British Land and JLL have signed up to the Contextual Recruitment System, run by diversity recruitment specialist Rare, to attract a more diverse range of graduates and apprentices.
Rare’s CRS hardwires social mobility metrics into companies’ existing graduate recruitment databases. It allows firms to see, at a glance, not just the achievements of candidates, but the context in which those achievements were gained, taking into consideration several factors, including postcode, school quality, eligibility for free school meals, refugee status and time spent in care.
The system, which was developed following of a two-year research project conducted by Rare, and sponsored by international law firm Clifford Chance, has been found to increase the amount of disadvantaged candidates hires by organisations by 50%.
Raph Mokades, founder and managing director of Rare, said: “A lack of diversity within the talent pool continues to be a challenge for the real estate sector in the UK. The move by Savills, British Land and JLL is hugely significant.”
Ema Saunders, head of Savills’ graduate team, said: “The real estate industry is striving to reach out to a wider talent pool and, as a business, Savills is committed to growing its appeal to a diverse audience. Technology-based tools such as the CRS complement our existing initiatives to ensure that real estate is visible and accessible to a broad range of talent irrespective of background.”
Lydia Corneck, head of talent acquisition and development at JLL added: “The business case for diversity has been made numerous times and its merits are undisputed. Employers frequently comment that Rare’s candidates are more robust than those sourced from conventional backgrounds – they can be better at handling the challenges of demanding jobs, and less likely to drop out. Candidates once seen as ‘unconventional’ often make the best hires.”
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