Global specialist recruiter Hays has appointed Yvonne Smyth as group equality, diversity and inclusion director, a newly-created position to help drive its diversity agenda. 

Smyth, a qualified lawyer, began her career with Hays in 1999 and has over her tenure led the legal division, as well as other roles including chairing Hays Leading Women, a membership and networking group for professional women across sectors.

She told Recruiter over the last few years her role within the business and her relationship with clients had turned from an operational role to more of a strategic role. 

And what “very quickly” became apparent, she said, was that clients were seeking more help and advice on creating a more diverse workforce. 

“The conversation moved to a far more strategic kind of HR profile planning… and that, without fail, brought diversity and how do we support those organisations in building that differing profile into the fore.”

While Hays has been working in the diversity space “for quite some time”, “we have been almost unconsciously competent”. All over the world, in most of Hays’ recruitment teams, there is some kind of dedicated diversity activity, she explained. 

One example is Hays Leading Women, which began in the UK and has now been expanded internationally.

“[Now] my job is to capture and harness that into one area of really clear thought leadership… capture what we are doing, optimise it, share it and scale it.”

She added Hays would help clients “really look at their staffing through a diversity and talent lens, and not just a skills lens”. 

Clients also need to consider the inclusion aspect as well, the culture of the organisation and whether it really was inclusive, before going out and recruiting more diverse talent. 

And if Hays can get it right, she says, “we can make a material difference to both the employer market, as well as the talent market because it really moves it from being just a talking point to being real”.

While her new role is global, she will continue to be based in London. She intends to appoint regional leads to form a diversity and inclusion steering committee.

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