Starfish Search Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy

Our organisation 

We want Starfish Search to be a place where everyone can bring their ‘whole self’ to work, and where we celebrate our organisational diversity.  We strive to embed a culture where all staff can contribute and be themselves. 

As an executive search business, we have a duty to ensure that we are an exemplar to others. We are committed to being a great employer that values and welcomes the different ideas, skills, behaviours and experiences of our colleagues. We aim to foster a culture that promotes wellbeing and mental health and provides support to enable us all to thrive.

In our dual role as an employer and adviser to clients with the same goals for their workforce, we are fully committed to meeting our legal obligations and promoting equality and diversity in both our work and our workforce.

We know that we need staff from diverse backgrounds to help ensure we make sound decisions that are representative of the different perspectives within society. We seek to positively influence the approach of the organisations we work with to promote diversity and inclusion. We believe that a diverse workforce can help us to do that much more effectively.

The Law

Under the Equality Act 2010, we have a legal duty to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity, eliminate unlawful discrimination and foster good relations between key equality strands. These include age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity.

But we are determined to do more than just meet our statutory obligations. We promote equal opportunities and we respect and acknowledge the diversity of staff who work within our organisation, the organisations we serve and their stakeholders.

Our commitment

We will ask ourselves tough questions, we will talk to our diverse talent about the barriers they have faced, and we will be smarter and more transparent with our recruitment data. We will use this information to devise strategies to engage with and attract talent from specific and harder to reach group for Starfish and the organisations we serve. 

• We will continue to build a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects and understands the public and social sector organisations that we serve
• We will ensure all colleagues are valued and can contribute to our success
• We will empower and enable all Starfish colleagues to thrive and prosper

We value wellbeing and mental health and the different styles of thinking, communicating and working that motivate our staff.  We will continue to actively consider the impact of how we work and our working environment on our wellbeing by providing effective, timely and good quality support to colleagues who need it.

Our Promises:

• Every employee is entitled to a working environment which promotes dignity and respect to all.  We will not tolerate bullying, harassment or intimidation of any groups or individuals, within our own company, towards our clients and candidates, or by clients and candidates towards a member of our team 

• All employees will monitor their conduct and language to eliminate discriminatory remarks or practices. All employees should feel comfortable challenging colleagues where this is not adhered to 

• That our equality and diversity champion shares and promotes good practice and keeps us up to date with current thinking 

• The Promotion and embedding of equality and diversity is at the fore front of how we work and how we encourage our clients to work 

• Breaches of our diversity and equality policy will be regarded as misconduct and could lead to disciplinary proceedings

• Our own processes will embody our commitment to diversity and inclusion and will be assessed to ensure that our advertising and processes are inclusive and encourage applications from underrepresented groups 

• Information relating to equality and diversity will not be shared internally or with the clients we serve except for anonymous monitoring purposes

• Pre-employment health questionnaires will not be used as part of any of our selection processes

• Successful candidates with protected characteristics will have their needs reviewed and catered for wherever possible 

• We are an equitable employer, ensuring colleagues are considered solely on their merits for career development and promotion 

• Our terms and conditions of employment and benefits are reviewed regularly to ensure that there can be no discrimination against any individual or background 

• Flexible working hours and improved work-life balance arrangements are encouraged and promoted where feasible 

• Our performance management system includes career development opportunities and tailored training to ensure we support all staff at every level of the organisation.