Rethinking Recruitment

WPR is introducing a new approach to recruitment as part of a wider initiative to foster diversity and inclusion at the agency.

One of the first steps in this strategy has been to instigate blind recruitment practices to ensure no one involved in the shortlisting or interviewing of candidates has access to an applicant’s name, date of birth, gender, education or qualifications prior to meeting them. Job descriptions are now focused on skills and competencies rather than academic achievements, and ‘graduate executive’ roles have been renamed as ‘junior executive’ with immediate effect.

Rebecca Williams, director of people and planning at WPR, said: “People are the heart of our business and we want WPR to be somewhere that everyone feels supported, regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, social background, pregnancy or maternity.

“We know there is more we could, and should, be doing to engage people from more diverse backgrounds into the industry and to think about how issues of diversity and inclusion impact on not only our team, but also our business as a whole. By taking these positive steps in 2022, we can make significant progress towards our goal of having a team that is truly representative of all sections of society.”

The next phase of activity will see WPR broadening its outreach to schools and universities and extending its internship programme. Leading by example, senior team members will undertake diversity and inclusion training in the coming months. Similarly, by the end of the year, the entire workforce will have received unconscious bias training, and diversity and inclusion will be embedded within the new-starter induction programme.

Birmingham-based PR and social media agency WPR celebrates 30 years of business in 2022 and is marking the milestone with a pledge to make 30 positive impacts during the year. Covering five core themes – planet, people, community, society and future – WPR has identified areas where the agency can take action to drive positive change.