Embrace diversity and inclusivity, says PageGroup CEO
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This is the current “war for talent” and difficulty filling jobsCNBC’s PageGroup, CEO, stated that companies have an opportunity to go beyond the traditional boundaries of hiring people and recognize the value of diversity.
Steve Ingham, who has been CEO of the company since 2006, recently joined Steve Rowe, CEO of Marks & Spencer, and Steve Murrells, group CEO of the Co-operative Group, to help create a movement to “put diversity and inclusion at the top of the corporate agenda.”
Leila McKenzie Delis is the CEO of The Steves. Dial Global, aim to inspire more than 100 chief execs to sign the “CEO Activist & Moving the Dial on Diversity Pledge” to take positive action in their own companies.
Ingham was paralysed from the waist in 2019 after a ski accident.
Talking March, for the latest episode “Equity and OpportunityHe told CNBC that he believes many businesses are open to diversity and asserts the same.
There is a talent shortage at the moment. It is hard to find jobs. It helps us, obviously, in our results. But it also means we can push boundaries of those that might they’re thinking or hiring.” he added.
It’s safe to say most businesses tend to follow the old ways of hiring. They tend to go to the same job boards and recruit people who look similar. But I believe they are beginning to recognize that it isn’t the best path forward. I also think they appreciate the talents of individuals who are different.
Collective action
Four areas are the focus of the diversity pledge. The pledge includes clear actions to increase diversity within future and existing leadership teams, a commitment for measuring progress each year against 10 areas of diversity and inclusion; strategic accountability plans to ensure diversity; and CEOs’ commitments to sharing their plans and learnings.
CNBC spoke with Ingham about how leaders are the key to change and that peer pressure can be a powerful tool.
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He spoke out in support of the value of collective action and said that when 100 CEOs are joined by their employees, it is possible to start talking about many people.
Signs of the “Great ResignationIngham stated that employers could be evaluated on how they have implemented diversity and inclusion strategies to their workplaces, which is what Ingham described as “a process in which people are reassessing their lives and their jobs following the Covid pandemic.”
It is easy to have the same boardroom decisions made by people with identical personalities. You have to be more inventive, creative and think outside the box to solve problems. He stated that disability was definitely an option.
Experiences from personal
Ingham, who suffered an accident in his right leg, was determined to return to work. He returned to PageGroup four months later.
He realized that not everyone thought it would be easy to return to work.
“I did talk to an ex-colleague who asked me what I was going to do when I came out of hospital, and I said, you know … I’m going to get to my daughter’s wedding, I’m going to go to the Rugby World Cup in Japan because I haven’t missed one in many years, and I’m going to go back to work,” Ingham said.
He replied, “You can’t?” “And he said that you can’t? His reply was that he’d been in a chair. It’s not modern thinking, you know. That was my realization, that not everyone thinks the same way I do. Leaders today need to be thinking in a different way. It’s not difficult to access our offices. Large companies’ offices can all be reached easily.
“Be real, honest”
Ingham was asked how he could change the attitude of leaders and CEOs who might not be as open as he has been about his disability.
“I struggle to see how leaders can be authentic if they’re hiding something as big as a disability … So I would just say, look, be courageous,” he said.
“I do not believe we are judged based on how fast we can run, but rather on the ability to perform. People shouldn’t be prejudiced because they are today. Therefore, openness, authenticity, honesty, and being real are my recommendations. You’ll likely be more successful if that is what you do.
Other organizations, including LexisNexis, Rugby League World Cup, Superdrug and Unilever, have also joined the CEO Activist & Moving the Dial on Diversity Pledge.
Ingham indicated that he would support efforts to promote equity.
“I am going to spend a lot more time focused on improving the situation for diversity generally … but what I would like to see is equity, particularly in the diversity that’s disability, that has to change, you know, there should be equal pay for people doing the same jobs, there should be an equal balance,” he said.
“And I thought that, if it were my daughter or my friend’s son, or both, and they had some kind of silly accident or got a terrible disease or became disabled from something, then I would hope they wouldn’t forget me, and they would get the same opportunities I was given throughout my career.
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