How Can You Make Your Agency More Diverse?
• Are you struggling to build a diverse team?
• Paul David, CEO and co-founder at Literal Humans, has built a small yet incredibly diverse team over the last couple of years.
• Come along and hear how he has done this – and how you can do it too.
“I’ve felt like the token black American man before,” says Paul David, CEO and co-founder at Literal Humans.
“I’m an immigrant to this country, and I think that really shapes my experience. I’m already an ‘other’, so I wanted to build a place where people who maybe have also felt ‘other’, feel welcome,” he says.
Paul has a small yet incredibly diverse team, with people from all kinds of backgrounds, races and genders – something he set out to achieve from the beginning.
How is Paul’s agency able to hire more diversely, when other agencies say they are struggling?
- They target specific communities.
- They’ve taken part in diversity schemes, including the government’s Kickstart Scheme.
- They also believe flexibility is a gateway to diversity.
“It’s definitely not easy, but now there are resources out there to help agencies and organisations become more diverse. There’s really no excuse anymore,” Paul says.
“It’s important to be really explicit in your hiring materials. You can’t just say you’re an equal opportunity employer – you have to demonstrate it.”
Paul advises agencies to make a plan and treat diversity like a product.
“We build products and services for clients all the time, we set timelines and targets and benchmarks, but people don’t do this for diversity and inclusion – and I think you just produce better, more creative, more interesting work for clients with a diverse team.”
If you’re struggling to make diverse hires, how do you overcome that? What can you change in your hiring process?
Join us and hear how Paul has been successful in hiring a diverse team.