The social factors of ESG will continue to grow in importance, with more attention to diversity and social justice.  We are proud to announce that we have been doing much work in this space and have recently launched our new ED&I (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) webpage.

We started our development plan to educate ourselves on ED&I last year – bringing together all of the knowledge that we have gained from our work with clients, with candidates, and with the REC. Our main objective for 2023 is to keep talking about ED&I, make it an increasingly “safe” subject for all to discuss, and to contribute towards making the Yorkshire & East Midlands business regions increasingly diverse and inclusive.

From our research, our recruitment processes are consistently delivering a balance of representation that exceeds the initial expectations. Our aim is for us to continually enhance our understanding and to bring about improvements in the job market through positive ED&I practice. As such, our ED&I Commitments are:

• Every recruitment process should be open and inviting to everyone.
• ED&I is a safe subject for employers and recruiters to talk about – we will all evolve together with regular momentum at the right pace.

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Since November, we have been publishing articles on best practices surrounding ED&I, including:

• The world view on ED&I and how does that translate to Yorkshire and the East Midlands?
• What does “good ED&I” look like for recruitment and across your team? How do you set a benchmark?
• What are the latest evolutions in technology to support positive ED&I?
• What is the Pratap Partnership process for positive ED&I?
• What else do we all have to learn and commit to for the future?

We are conscious that we can’t change everything overnight, but we believe that continuous small steps over a prolonged period can make a great difference. As well as our EDI page focussing on the social factors of ESG, we have also tried to make improvements within each of the Environmental, Social and Governance areas.

‍Environmental

• Our gas and electricity contracts were due for renewal in the last few months; although it wasn’t the cheapest provider on the market, we decided to use a provider that is ‘greener’ than the competitors.  This provider uses 72% renewable energy in its fuel mix, compared to a UK average of 39%.

Social

• Launched our EDI webpage for greater transparency and coverage on this important topic.
• Proudly supported International Women’s Day. Did you know our business is made up of 68% women?
• We continue to dedicate a proportion of our time to working on searches for executive and non-executive leaders for charities and not-for-profit organisations for fees that are heavily discounted. This is not a market that we are targeting for profit, but one where we can add a lot of value. It is always a privilege to represent some of the great organisations in our region and make a positive contribution to their future direction
• Amanda O’Neill, who is on the Board of Directors for the Business Beats Cancer Charity, played a key role in the organisation of their Charity Gala Dinner which was held at the Queens Hotel, in March. The event was attended by the Pratap Partnership team and guests, alongside over 300 Yorkshire business leaders. It was a great success raising over £48,000 for Cancer Research in Yorkshire. Watch the video here.

Governance

• We strive to continue ensuring our compliance is one of the best in the market place; as such, we recently invested in Yoti, which provides digital right to work checks for all our placed candidates.

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Thank you for reading our ESG Quarterly Update.  Our aim is to provide greater transparency around our progress on these efforts, and hopefully in a manner that makes it relatable to all of our clients across Yorkshire and the East Midlands. For any more information, please don't hesitate to contact me.