Slalom – Commended 2022, Best Flexible Recruitment

Slalom recognises that offering flexibility enables them to tap into a diverse pool of talent, which in turn helps them address their clients’ diverse challenges. 

Creating flexible jobs 

Slalom’s aim is to ensure that access to flexibility is not a barrier to applying for jobs. Roles are assessed and redesigned as appropriate prior to recruitment, and non-flexible jobs must be justified.   

Whilst job adverts do not offer explicit details of flexible working policies, the Talent Acquisition team addresses flexibility needs during the first screening call of the recruitment process and ensures the hiring manager is made aware so that accommodations can be made if needed.  

Training is delivered to hiring managers, so they are equipped to conduct a fair, equitable and inclusive hiring process, including having interview panels that encourage open dialogue about flexible working.  

The best candidate for the job 

Inclusivity is a primary goal for Slalom. The Talent Acquisition team use market intelligence and insight tools to influence hiring decisions and make a conscious effort to meet and exceed market demographics. Slalom’s recruiters are committed to sourcing and interviewing a diverse pool of candidates, as well as having a diverse interview panel of their own employees, ultimately creating an interview process that attracts and retains an inclusive and diverse community.  

The Talent Acquisition team have regular training to upskill on inclusive recruiting and interviewing, and in 2021 the business invested in a seven-week training programme. Subjects covered included how to avoid unconscious bias and how to ensure job descriptions are inclusive and welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community. Additional training on Inclusive Recruiting is planned to be rolled out to business interviewers.  

Outside of recruiting, an Employee Advisory Board has been established to drive positive action from employee feedback including providing employees with two volunteering days to use per year, demonstrating their commitment to ‘do what is right, always’ when it comes to environmental, social, and corporate governance 

Addressing the balance 

The flexibility on offer is advancing Slalom’s commitment to enabling a pathway for underrepresented groups into the industry, for example addressing the lack of gender diversity in the technology landscape. The Talent Acquisition team is investing more time in early career talent to encourage more female and under-represented talent into technology focussed roles, partnering with: 

• Ada College – an organisation which strives to remove the glass ceiling for women and individuals from low-income backgrounds in the tech industry. 
• Code First Girls – the largest provider of free coding courses for women in the UK. 
• Supermums – a social enterprise which empowers mums (and dads) into well-paid, flexible work with Salesforce. The mission is to train 600 parents in Salesforce this year, as well as offering mentoring.  
• Women in Data – non-profit organisation focused on building awareness and educating women in the field of data and analytics.  

Slalom’s plans include partnering with organisations to achieve flexible return-to-work hiring programmes which are open to anyone who has taken an extended career break, typically for two years or more.