PageGroup, the specialist recruitment company, has won Most Effective Diversity & Inclusion Strategy at the Recruiter Investing in Talent Awards 2015 at a lunchtime ceremony today in London. The award recognises a recruitment company which actively respects and supports the different needs of a diverse and inclusive workforce. PageGroup created its first diversity and inclusion programme, Women@Page, in 2012 which aimed to improve gender balance at levels in the company.Sarah Kirk, Global Diversity and Inclusion Director, said: “Our goal for establishing this initiative was to create a more inclusive working environment and help our female employees continue and grow their careers at PageGroup. Through our various Women@Page policies and support programmes, we’ve witnessed more new mothers than ever returning to their careers with us, often with flexible working arrangements. “Our success with Women@Page inspired our model for OpenPage, which was launched in 2014 and is our global commitment to diversity in the workplace,” explains Mrs Kirk. Mrs Kirk helped launch OpenPage and its six diversity and inclusion programmes: Age@Page, Ability@Page, Pride@Page, Parents@Page, Women@Page and Unity@Page. “We want our people, and our business, to thrive. OpenPage is designed to remove barriers, real or perceived, to achieve success for PageGroup people. I fully believe in OpenPage and its capabilities to transform our business into a positive, welcoming and inclusive environment for our people,” says Mrs Kirk. “These programmes are opening up a greater spectrum of talent and attracting the best people, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, age or status as a parent or carer. This recognition from Recruiter is very welcome, and indicates we are making significant milestones in our diversity and inclusion work.” PageGroup was also Highly Commended in the Most Effective Professional Development for Newcomers category at the awards ceremony, most noticeably for its Internship and Graduate programmes and Sales Academy courses.
