The Power of Partnerships in Your EDI Journey

5 min read time

Whether you’re starting your Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) journey or looking to add essential partnerships to your EDI network, there are numerous benefits to working alongside other companies who also value the importance of inclusion and equity in the world of work.

Here, we will explore the value of building EDI partner communities, how to find partners that are right for your EDI goals and how partnerships can help accelerate and expand your reach and social impact to get the most out of aligning your business goals with your EDI strategy.

The value of building partnership communities

Partnerships are integral to the success of EDI policies and initiatives as they help to ensure meaningful change. A strong network of partners is essential for support and ensuring consistency with your approach across a broader selection of under-represented communities than is possible to achieve alone. A strong partner network can provide your company with:

Shared learning – collaborating with organisations who have deeper knowledge of the challenges and needs of your local community can provide your business with accelerated learning opportunities. Through partnering together, you can exchange strategies and tools to join gaps between access to work, representation and progression opportunities that you both see pertinent to your industry, helping your organisation stay ahead of emerging trends through a collaborative EDI approach.
Make a collective impact – by partnering with companies with similar values to yours, you can make a collective impact within your industry and the larger community. Through pooling resources and cross collaboration, you can provide events and initiatives that have a lasting impact beyond your business. Whether you’re a larger corporation or small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), collaborating with the right network of EDI partners could be the key to unlocking a wider talent pool in your area and contributing to social mobility within your communities.
Accountability – the right network of EDI partners can hold each other accountable in providing an inclusive and equitable environment, as well as contributing regularly to your community and industry. By connecting with aligned partners, you can provide relevant and supportive EDI strategies to your workforce, ensuring belonging and wellbeing across all levels of your organisation.

Which EDI partners are right for you?

Building a strong EDI partner network that supports, nurtures, and informs your EDI policies and social impact is essential for growing as an inclusive employer. Across the UK, there are a variety of different institutions, organisations, and likeminded companies that you can connect and collaborate with to create a strong EDI partnership.

Some businesses you should consider within your partner network include:

Training and education providers

One essential element of developing an EDI approach and partner network is education. Whether you’re accessing inclusive training modules or supporting people into work, there are various training and education partners who can make a difference to your efforts. These partners can be important to access and support workshops, courses, and certifications in EDI.

Training and education providers to consider include:

Universities and colleges
EDI consultants or firms
Online learning platforms
Non-profit organisations offering free or subsidised training initiatives

Community and advocacy organisations

Another important partner to have is a community or advocacy organisation. These help you build relationships with underrepresented groups within your local area, ensuring that your changes and social impact make the desired change you want to see.

Some community and advocacy organisations include:

LGBTQIA+ rights and inclusion organisations
Disability justice and accessibility advocacy groups
Racial and ethnic equity organisations
Gender equity and women's empowerment networks
Faith and belief-based inclusion groups
Socioeconomic justice and anti-poverty organisations
Youth and elder advocacy organisations
Migration, refugee, and asylum support groups

Policy and compliance advisors

Whether you’re looking for legal support or help developing a new EDI policy, these organisations and advisors can be invaluable to your business. By adding a policy or compliance advisor to your partner network, you ensure that each business is not only making an impact but also following your legal obligations.

Types of policy and compliance advisors to consider:

Legal firms specialising in employment law
HR consultancies
Government bodies

Data and analytic partners

Data and analytic partners can help you unlock your EDI impact by providing visibility through tracking and monitoring. Partnering with experts in data can provide vital visibility for your business, helping you set EDI goals and targets and track and monitor your EDI progress.

Data and analytic partners to consider:

EDI audit firms
Survey platforms
Technology companies with diversity dashboards and tools

Strategic alliance networks

Some strategic alliances with similar companies and industry leaders can be a good way of improving EDI within your sector. These alliances can foster long-term collaboration and shared learning that contribute to a lasting social impact.

Some strategic alliances to consider include:

Industry-specific EDI networks
Cross-sector coalitions
Employee resource group consultants
Trade associations
Membership royal charter groups

How to keep the partnerships mutually productive and impactful?

As with any business partnership, you’ll want to know that your EDI partner network will remain mutually productive and impactful. To maintain the progress and momentum, you should:

Establish shared goals – by aligning your EDI goals across companies, you will both be accountable for progress. This means that your EDI success is mutually beneficial, helping to keep motivation high and encourage consistent effort for continual learning.
Maintain regular communication – communication is essential for any business partnership. Establish consistent lines of communication, as well as regular meetings, which set your business up for success. By establishing these early, you put your company in the best position to grow with regular reporting and updates that allow you to continually make informed decisions.
Track data – whether you’re measuring internally or collaborating with a partner that can provide regular reporting and updates, tracking your data is essential for ensuring that your EDI initiatives are impacting your community in a positive way and to ensure that your partnership is still mutually beneficial.
Create evolving partnerships – EDI partnerships don’t need to be static but can grow over time. Whether you’re adopting the advice of multiple partners, setting a baseline by partnering with trusted advisors, or expanding to include new tracking and monitoring processes, a strong EDI partner network will grow with your organisation.

How a recruitment agency partner can help?

As recruitment agencies, we hold a unique power to add to your EDI partner network. We have the understanding and expertise necessary to support your workforce, implement inclusive hiring practices, and analyse your workforce metrics to establish attraction strategies for a wider talent pool. We also regularly work alongside other EDI partners and established bodies within your community, offering an accessible, streamlined approach to building your own EDI network.

A strong recruitment partnership can connect you with businesses and organisations to establish a base for productive EDI partnerships, while also providing practical and strategic steps to improve your inclusivity, equity, and belonging from the beginning.

Our social value add makes us a strong partner for any business, in any sector, looking to benefit from more inclusive workforce practices and hiring strategies. We provide fair access to work and support diverse and inclusive work environments across the UK. Our already established network of partnerships with local organisations and charities is able to provide your business with the advice, support, and connections necessary to start your EDI journey.

Looking to start your own EDI partner network and enrich your workforce’s sense of belonging?

Get in touch with our expert advisors to learn how we can support your unique organisation’s needs.

The Power of Partnerships in Your EDI Journey

The value of building partnership communities

Which EDI partners are right for you?

Training and education providers

Community and advocacy organisations

Policy and compliance advisors

Data and analytic partners

Strategic alliance networks

How to keep the partnerships mutually productive and impactful?

How a recruitment agency partner can help?

Looking to start your own EDI partner network and enrich your workforce’s sense of belonging?

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