So, here at Yellow Cat we’ve been educating ourselves on the importance of inclusive hiring. Yellow Cat is based in one of the most multicultural places in London (Brixton) and we work in such an open and accepting field. Promoting inclusion and equality very much aligns to our values and so how do we make sure that we aren’t standing in the way of people going for job roles in this industry?

We had two sessions of inclusivity training with the company Balance. Balance is an inclusive hiring consultancy that partners with organisations to achieve an inclusive and bias-free approach to recruitment. This is done through training, audits and change consultancy all led by founder Jennie Child. Our session included all team members including a colleague currently on maternity leave -along with a little baby who was a welcome honorary member of the Yellow Cat team.

Our first session with Jennie included educating us on what DEIB is, an audit of the business so far, a draft of our DEIB vision and what actions we can take to achieve this as well as a timeline for these actions. 

More specifically we covered:

• What DEIB stands for (Diversity Equality Inclusion Belonging)
• Different types of challenges people may need additional support with
• Visible and Invisible set-backs people may face
• Coming up with Yellow Cat’s DEIB Pillars
• Working as a group to come up with a vision that reflects all of us
• Setting DEIB goals
• Coming up with an action plan for those goals

The result of Yellow Cat audit enabled us to see our strong suits in DEIB, what we are doing now, and key areas we can work on in order to be as inclusive as possible in the recruitment process.

Our Vision

Coming up with the DEIB pillars and our vision was something everyone got involved with. We all came up with what we wanted Yellow Cat to stand for. Given we’re a relatively small group, all of us having a say meant the values truly reflected every member of our team’s vision and ensured we were staying true to our commitment of inclusion. We now have an action plan with different members of the team being responsible for varying deliveries. Our DEIB vision and pillars underpin our ongoing strategy, creating the framework for accountability and measurement. This encourages everyone’s voices to be heard and ensures we start to action our DEIB vision.

We came together to talk openly and honestly about our personal values in order to incorporate that into Yellow Cat’s DEIB strategy:

‘Proudly based in Brixton, London, Yellow Cat is a talent consultancy that passionately believes everyone deserves equal and equitable access to the creative industry. As a leader in our sector, we have a moral obligation to ensure our approach to recruitment is bias and barrier-free and inclusive for all, and we are enabling future generations of talent from historically under-represented backgrounds to access and thrive within this fantastic industry. We will look to continuously evolve and review our efforts, holding ourselves accountable at every stage, knowing that our work is never finished.’

– Yellow Cat’s Vision

Our DEIB Foundations

Our People & Culture – Our aim is that our workforce will genuinely represent all sections of society and that each employee feels respected and able to give their best.

Our Clients – We are a seamless partner to clients, supporting and driving their DEIB agenda and enabling them to achieve their goals.

Our Candidates – We always advocate for all candidates, especially those with any disadvantage, ensuring that the playing field is level and that we uphold an equitable recruitment experience.

Measurement – We will endlessly measure the impact of our efforts across qualitative and quantitative touchpoints.

Want to learn more about inclusive hiring? Here are 5 steps towards a more inclusive recruitment strategy.