The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has welcomed research published by Jobcentre Plus highlighting the business imperative of developing effective diversity policies.

The research found that more than 50% of employees and customers believe that employers should be more proactive in improving workforce diversity and that having a diverse workforce could help boost sales and attract recruits.

REC chief executive Marcia Roberts says:  “The Jobcentre Plus survey confirms that there is a need for a real step-change in the development and implementation of effective diversity strategies that result in tangible change to UK workplaces.

“At the same time, it is encouraging to note that an increasing proportion of employers are recognising the business benefits of being pro-active in this area. Recruitment professionals in both the public and private sector have a pivotal role to play in helping employers to reach a wide pool of potential candidates and to implement recruitment strategies that fully embrace diversity”.

The REC has launched a ‘Diversity Assured’ health-check service for members as a follow-up initiative to the award-winning REC/Jobcentre Plus Diversity Pledge.

The ‘Diversity Assured’ health-check service will enable agencies to demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement in the field of diversity and will be of real benefit for members supplying into the public sector or into private sector clients with specific diversity targets.