Over a quarter of businesses believe diversity is key to improving workplace productivity in 2020

Improving diversity and inclusion is a top priority for over a quarter of business leaders (28%) in the first half of 2020
This comes as almost all (98%) companies actively seek to enhance workplace culture to maintain a happy, productive workforce
Improvements are expected to lead to increased productivity and greater innovation, as well as boosting company reputation

London, 5 March 2020 – Enhancing diversity and inclusion is a top priority for over a quarter (28%) of business leaders, as companies seek to improve workplace culture in a competitive hiring market.

According to the latest research1 from recruitment specialist Robert Half UK, the overwhelming majority (98%) of businesses are pursuing workplace culture improvements during the first half of the year.

Given the competitive hiring market at present, it is no surprise that businesses are actively seeking to improve workplace culture in addition to taking other steps to ensure they remain attractive to prospective employees, such as assessing current remuneration packages and exploring wider incentives.

Outside of the reputational benefits, many business leaders believe increased diversity will help maintain a happy and productive multi-generational workforce and encourage more innovative thinking.

Positively, over half (64%) of all respondents reported that diversity, with regards to gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and ability, had already increased over the last three years.

Matt Weston, Managing Director of Robert Half UK, commented: “It is clear that more and more businesses are subscribing to the mentality that a happy workplace is a productive one, with the majority of leaders actively seeking to improve culture. Focusing on enhancing diversity and inclusion is one way to achieve this, as well as providing increased potential for innovation and reputational benefits to boot.

“As businesses look to attract the best and brightest in a competitive market, it is no longer enough just to offer a competitive salary. Prospective employees are looking for a well-rounded package with wider incentives, such as flexible working and healthcare benefits, as well as an attractive workplace culture – and it’ll be the businesses that understand and prioritise this that that come out on top.”

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Notes to Editors

1. The study was developed by Robert Half and conducted in October 2019 by an independent research firm among 600 C-suite and business leaders in the UK. This survey is part of an international study on hiring trends and career ambitions in the modern workplace.

About Robert Half

Robert Half is the world’s first and largest specialised recruitment consultancy and member of the S&P 500. Founded in 1948, the company has over 300 offices worldwide providing temporary, interim and permanent recruitment solutions for accounting and finance, financial services, technology, marketing and business support professionals. For more than 20 years, Robert Half has been named to FORTUNE® magazine’s list of “Most Admired Companies” and offers workplace and job seeker resources at: roberthalf.co.uk and twitter.com/roberthalfuk.