The SCURL EDI subgroup for Recruitment have developed this guide to help you find resources to support a more diverse recruitment process at what we think to be every stage of the process. If you have suggestions or recommendations for items to be added to this please contact the SCURL EDI group by the SCURL contact form. If you require this information in a different format, please contact us using the same form. In future we would like to replicate this guide to add resources for staff retention and career development. If you or your colleagues have ideas or initiatives you'd like included, please get in touch.

Toolkits And Guidance:

There are already several great resources out there which you can use before you begin the process of recruitment. We recommend you explore the toolkits and websites below as they provide many tips and areas you may not have considered as relevant. Advice is available from these reputable sources:

• Scottish Government Minority Ethnic Recruitment Toolkit. This toolkit from the Scottish Government was published in September 2020 and acts as a primer for a holistic approach for inclusive recruitment, considering different stages of the process. It also provides a model of how the Scottish Government have applied this to their own recruitment.

• Fair Library Jobs Manifesto. The Fair Library Jobs website and manifesto provide excellent information on the significance of recruiting equitably, and provides straightforward advice on steps to make recruitment campaigns more transparent.

• Stonewall: Best practice, toolkits & resources. Although focusing on the LGBTQIA+ community, the resources linked on Stonewall's website provide avenues to explore when recruiting, including making the workplace more supportive for people from marginalised backgrounds overall.

• CIPD inclusive recruitment guidance. CIPD is the Chartered Institute for People Development and so is an HR focused body. Although less detailed than previous guides, this provides a no-nonsense starting point for how to begin to recruit more fairly.

• Inclusive Recruitment Toolkit | Diverse Educators. Diverse Educators is a training company which started as a grassroots organisation. They have collated links to articles, books, videos and organisations which they recommend as subject experts on recruiting for education.

• Recruit! People with criminal records can make good employees. Recruit! is a website that supports UK employers to recruit people with criminal records and helps them to deal with criminal records fairly, and is managed by Unlock, a charity that works to achieve a fair and inclusive society where people with criminal records can move on positively in their lives. This resource has been recommended by the Fair Library Jobs team as an excellent source for information and practical guidance.

Positive Action Library Trainee Case Studies:

When attempting to create new entry level positions for candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds, it can be helpful to have evidence to show stakeholders of similar successful schemes. We've listed some case studies from different institutions in the UK. We hope to grow this list and add more as we hear about them.

• SCONUL Positive Action case studies. Three case studies from Goldsmiths, Lancaster and Leeds.

• Academic Libraries North EDI Action Group, Library Trainee at Leeds Trinity case study. PDF document download from ALN EDI Action Group. Provides context of partnership working with external organisation who specialise in addressing the imbalance of recruitment of Black and minority ethnic people (Path Yorkshire).

• Academic Libraries North EDI Action Group, Graduate Trainee at Lancaster case study PDF document download from ALN EDI Action Group. Contains detail for graduate trainee position outlined in SCONUL case study document linked above.

Starting Conversations With Senior Managers About Diversity In Recruitment:

It can be extremely difficult to affect change in a large organisation in a meaningful way if you yourself are not a senior manager. If you are a senior manager, you may still require approval from division heads, or support from HR regarding any deviations from the historic way that hiring practices have taken place. The following are good places to start with regards evidence for making big or small changes to the process:

• A quick guide to inclusive recruitment. Clarke provides a short introduction to what inclusive recruitment is, why it should be done and some tips on where to begin. This may be helpful in structuring a conversation with managers to explore what changes could be made at each stage of the process.

• How to recruit inclusively. This short article from HR organisation People Management describes six small ways your organisation can begin the work of recruiting more diverse candidates.

• A guide to inclusive recruitment for employers. This well-recognised organisation from the UK HR industry has created a 31 page document covering the recruitment process and how to improve accessibility for people of different backgrounds at every stage. This would be a valuable tool to use in examining the current process with managers.

• Employment of disabled persons in the academic library environment. In this article Johnstone busts myths around integrating disabled people in the library workforce, and provides some short case studies to describe how easy changes can be made to be more inclusive.

• Exploring positive action as a tool to address under-representation in apprenticeships. This report seeks to evaluate the use of positive action to address under-representation of female apprentices in gender-segregated sectors, and disabled people and ethnic minorities in apprenticeships more broadly.

• Advance HE - Minority ethnic staff. Advance HE’s research into the experiences of black and minority ethnic staff working in higher education found that there are many barriers to development and progression.

Industry Workforce Statistics and Standards:

Before recruiting you may wish to reflect on what the UK workforce looks like at present. Several organisations have produced reports which may inform your decisions:

• CILIP Workforce Mapping. Recently published (2023) results from the CILIP workforce mapping survey which took place during 2022. You may also be interested in comparing this document to the previous Workforce Mapping report from 2015.

• RLUK Report: EDI in Recruitment. This 17-page document was published in December 2022 and focuses specifically on the language used in job descriptions for Research Libraries in the UK.

• CILIP Salary Guide. Includes link to Sue Hill Salary survey (2019) and the School Libraries Association HR page, which in turn offers a downloadable Salary Guide (updated 2023).

The Job You're Advertising:

You may find that the job you're advertising for already has an existing job description. Consider closely the language used in this and whether there are adjustments that can be made to make the language more inclusive, whether the key functions of the role are feasible for people from different backgrounds, and how you would expect candidates to be able to demonstrate the skills you require. If the job description is fixed (for example, if you are recruiting for one member of a team who all have the same job description) then make it a priority to review the job description for the team regularly. Is the description a fair representation of the work expected to be performed? If you can, consult with staff currently in the role to make sure any changes reflect the requirements of the work.

Many of the resources listed at the beginning of this page already contain tips on how to evaluate the job description you are recruiting for. We highly recommend particularly looking at:

• Fair Library Jobs Manifesto. Section 6.0 Clarity, accessibility, transparency and communication is particularly relevant for evaluating job descriptions.

• CIPD - People manager guide: Inclusive recruitment. There are key parts of this toolkit which look specifically at best practice and what not to include in a job description.

• Scottish Government Minority Ethnic Recruitment Toolkit. The Advertising and Outreach section of this guide looks at where you choose to advertise your jobs, as using traditional agencies and channels may exclude large sections of the population who you may be trying to attract in a more open recruitment process.

Good Interview Practice:

While we all like to think that we conduct interviews in a fair and equitable manner, there are some practices which may help your candidates overcome any barriers that they may face on the day. This could include providing the interview questions in advance (as the interview is not a memory test), allowing them to bring notes with them, allowing for online or hybrid interviews, providing information about the physical accessibility of the interview venue in advance, or describing the expected timings and format of the interview at the beginning of the appointment. Some tips for being more inclusive in your interview practice can be found using the links below:

• Five hallmarks of an inclusive job interview process. A short article with five straightforward pieces of advice for those organizing interviews.

• Working towards more inclusive recruitment. Although this guide and checklist has been created by staff in the NHS, the same principles broadly apply to any recruitment exercise. They offer tips and a checklist to guide staff into better ways of recruiting.

Advice For Candidates:

When attracting candidates from under-represented backgrounds, you may worry that they will be less prepared for the different stages of the recruitment process. It could be helpful to include some tips and advice on what would be expected at interview in advance so that you offer an equitable experience for all candidates. The links below provide guidance that could be sent out with invitations to interview, or included in person specification as supporting information for the vacancy.

• Practice Interview scheme now open (earll.co.uk). There are schemes that can offer help with practicing for interviews, such as EARLL (Early Career Academic and Research Librarians in London). They provide some information on their website about their practice interview scheme.

• Library Interview Tips and Techniques | Oxford Libraries Graduate Trainees. You may also want to direct candidates towards this article created by the Bodleian Library on Interview Tips and Techniques, based on a training session from January 2023.

Interview Feedback:

Providing interview feedback can be a difficult (and sometimes frustrating) part of the recruitment process. However providing honest and transparent comments to candidates can be helpful not only for their future applications, but also demonstrates your organisation's dedication to upholding EDI values.

The language you use matters to those who may also be applicants for other opportunities within your organisation, so using the same critical reflective skills you've used for the job description before you send notes or comments can turn an otherwise negative interaction into a constructive one.

• “Culture Fit” as “Anti-Diversity”: Avoiding Human Resources Decisions that Disadvantage the Brightest. This editorial from the Journal of Information, Diversity & Inclusion describes an occasion where a candidate for a job felt overlooked due to their personal characteristics, with the excuse given that they were not 'a good fit'. In this Dali challenges some of the terminology we put into our job adverts such as 'warm, friendly environment' and considers what we really mean.

Resources For Further Reading:

We hope that the information included in this guide has provided a starting point for your research on how to make your recruitment processes more equitable. However we know there are new resources and studies being published all the time. We hope to revisit this guide in future to add further information as we find it, but the following links may help you expand your own understanding or networks in the interim.

• Recruiting and retaining LGBTQ+ identified staff in academic libraries through ordinary methods. Kuecker examines current literature and case studies for LGBTQ+ identified staff in library roles, considers some terminology and anti-feminist rhetoric, and suggests some practical steps to improve current praxis. This longread article is interesting as it summarises the position in 2017, and provides excellent links for further exploration on race, gender and sexuality studies on recruitment and retention in the workplace.

The following networks frequently post excellent resources and recommendations on their social media accounts:

• Diversity in Libraries of the North (DILON): Twitter

• New Library Professionals Network: Blog

• Fair Library Jobs: Twitter

If you have suggestions of resources you think should be included in this toolkit, please contact the SCURL EDI group via the contact form.

Review cycle: Links and guidance to be reviewed on an annual basis. Next review date August 2024.