How to Build a Better and More Inclusive Workplace with Russell White

Russell White is a co-owner of a recruitment company after years of experience as a recruiter including working with a variety of FTSE 500 companies. Russell joins Christina to talk about his wealth of knowledge in the industry including what real inclusion in the workplace looks like, the demands on agency-style businesses and account managers and how the pandemic revolutionised how we work forever.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Recruitment has evolved over the years that Russell has worked in the industry, it now has recognised value across industries

Sadly Russell still comes across unconscious bias and attitudes towards people based on their race, age, neurodiversity and other traits.

It’s up to businesses to accommodate those who are neurodiverse in the workplace. Bias towards them or not understanding the differences can be a detriment to the company, being neurodiverse is a positive.

Inclusion can look very different depending on the company and the employee, it’s about looking at workers as individual people and recognising their needs, seeing them as part of the organisation.

Making your people and employees feel part of something is a key element in creating good company culture as they will respect your company ethos, values and approach.

Meeting people face to face is much more nuanced, the communication flows more freely and the conversations had are different and have a different energy.

As a business owner, you have to wear many different hats, you need to be analytical yet great at relationships alongside knowing all the moving parts of the business and its people.