Matchr
Case study
Diverse workplaces cannot be created through hiring alone, however, it’s a crucial part of the process. The global recruitment company Matchr takes its role in the diversity strategies of its clients seriously, which is why their team recently undertook and achieved our Gender Equity Sourcing Accreditation.
Training course: Gender Equity Sourcing Accreditation
“As a Talent Acquisition team, it’s our responsibility to be able to provide a platform where we can actually help our customers realize their diversity goals, whatever stage of their DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) journey.”
Khayyam Aslam
Global Head of Recruitment at Matchr
The goal
Matchr believes that talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not. So while other organizations may blame the so-called “pipeline problem” for a lack of diverse applications, Matchr is taking action to break down the barriers that may be in the way of talented candidates accessing the exciting opportunities their clients have to offer.
From the use of anonymous CV screening software to flexibility around interview scheduling, the team has long been implementing a wide range of inclusive hiring practices. Made up of 35 remote part-and-full-time team members spread across 17 countries, they’re also a diverse organization themselves. However, on joining the company as Global Head of Recruitment earlier this year, Khayyam Aslam immediately identified a company-wide hunger to know and do better in this space:
“I have a background in DEI and so offered to run a few sessions. It was clear there was an appetite across the team to grow their knowledge and confidence in this area, so they could drive the conversation with our clients and help them reach their diversity goals in the right way. The Gender Equity Sourcing Accreditation provided this practical training, along with the accreditation to really validate our knowledge, and also prove our commitment to driving progress in this space.”
Matchr’s key learning objectives and outcomes from WORK180’s Gender Equity Sourcing Accreditation training:
To equip team members with the latest DEI knowledge and practices in order to:
- increase the number of women and people from marginalized groups applying to client job advertisements;
- drive the DEI conversation, advise, and educate clients with confidence;
- validate Matchr’s ongoing commitment to DEI with an accreditation from a trusted provider.
The training program:
- Gender equity hiring basics workshop (45 minutes)
- Inclusive hiring workshop (90 minutes)
- Two take-home practical activities
- Retrospective and questions workshop (90 minutes)
“The training was really well structured, and the exercises were really useful. The practical aspects were very good because while we often talk about DEI theory, the exercises brought the learnings to life […] This builds muscle memory and establishes confidence in team member’s ability to apply their learnings with clients.”
Khayyam Aslam, Global Head of Recruitment at Matchr
“The Matchr team’s passion for DEI and desire to make an impact in this space was clear from the first session. The trainees were fully engaged and active in the workshops, firing up some great conversations, which I hope they now have the confidence to continue to build upon together beyond the virtual training room. The practical work delivered in their assessments proved their application of the skills learned, and I was so pleased to award all attendees their full accreditation.”
Catherine Shooter
(Assoc CIPD), WORK180
The impact so far
While only a few weeks after completing their training and achieving their accreditation, Matchr has already reported seeing positive results:
“I have really seen the team grow in their awareness of gender equity in the area of job adverts and speaking to hiring managers. The training has had an immediate positive impact, leading to enhancements of our job adverts, external communications, and conversations with our clients.”
Matchr attributes much of the early successes to an immediate increase in the team member’s confidence when it comes to DEI. Khayyam explains that they’re able to move forward with the peace of mind that they’re applying best-practice approaches and, moreover, that they have the expert knowledge they need to ignite and facilitate DEI conversations.
This increased confidence is also evident in the feedback from the trainees themselves, who clearly feel ready, able, and inspired to drive change and have a long-lasting impact for their clients:
“Sometimes, the easier road to making a hire or achieving a goal the client has set out is to just follow what they want. However, knowing that it is a marathon to change the minds of people and companies — and not a sprint race — I know I can be more influential in educating clients on what it means for them in the longterm to be more open and aware of how their companies are perceived, and how simple changes can make them an employer where people of any gender or identity would be proud to work. It starts with education and I can do that, I just need to take the first step.” Anonymous Matchr team member
Beyond the course content, Matchr hopes that the provision of the training itself also communicates a clear message of support to both the team and their clients:
“Success of the training will be measured by the level of confidence that the team has moving these conversions forward, and that confidence comes from knowing that what they’re saying is useful, relevant, and they’re using the best-practice approach. But the provision of the training itself should also instill confidence, because it communicates the support from leadership. It tells our team members that this is a priority to our company, and that they’re supported and expected to have difficult conversations, challenge what needs to be challenged, and drive change in this space.
“And for clients, we want to make it clear that we’re taking this subject very very seriously. We’re investing the time and effort to train our team in these areas, and that’s not where it stops for us. And the accreditation from WORK180 really helps validate this continued commitment.”
Matchr has also assigned key numbers for measuring success of this training:
Internally: Measuring confidence levels within the team
Externally: Greater numbers of women and candidates from marginalized groups succeeding through the end-to-end recruitment process
“I have really seen the team grow in their awareness of gender equity in the area of job adverts and speaking to hiring managers. The training has had an immediate positive impact, leading to enhancements of our job adverts, external communications, and conversations with our clients.”
“Sometimes, the easier road to making a hire or achieving a goal the client has set out is to just follow what they want. However, knowing that it is a marathon to change the minds of people and companies — and not a sprint race — I know I can be more influential in educating clients on what it means for them in the longterm to be more open and aware of how their companies are perceived, and how simple changes can make them an employer where people of any gender or identity would be proud to work. It starts with education and I can do that, I just need to take the first step.”
Anonymous Matchr team member
What’s next?
When talking to Matchr team members about their training and accreditation, there’s a shared sense of energy and excitement around the upcoming impact for clients, candidates, the company, and DEI efforts as a whole:
“The more we can influence our clients in their DEI strategies, the more we as a company can be recognised as a positive influence within the industry. We become credible, we become the experts, we become the leaders in the fight for equity, whether it’s with startups, scale ups, or large corporations. Those women we place today could be the CEOs of tomorrow.” Anonymous Matchr team member
Applying their skills and embedding their new learnings early on is key to maintaining momentum, which is why Matchr has acted fast. In under one week, the team already implemented a full audit of all client job ads. This is coupled with a one-to-one knowledge-sharing session in which hiring managers are walked through these improvements. And Khayyam says that’s not where the knowledge sharing stops:
“We’re using the learnings from our training to improve job ads, give feedback, and we’re also planning a session with all our customers in which we’ll educate on this best practice — and raise awareness of the importance of these approaches. This means we’ll also be helping recruiters at other companies, so we’re inspiring improvements among the wider hiring community. And, to be honest, it’s this ability to drive the conversation and add even more value that we’re really excited about.”
“The more we can influence our clients in their DEI strategies, the more we as a company can be recognised as a positive influence within the industry. We become credible, we become the experts, we become the leaders in the fight for equity, whether it’s with startups, scale ups, or large corporations. Those women we place today could be the CEOs of tomorrow.”
Anonymous Matchr team member
Want to find out how WORK180 can help your organization make a real impact? Take a look at our wide range of products and services or book a time to talk to our team.
More about Matchr
Matchr offers remote embedded recruitment teams to start-up and scale-up organizations. Their recruiters work embedded within their partner’s recruitment teams. They support organizations like Miro, Bolt, and TikTok to deliver on their hiring plans and early-stage start-ups to implement their recruitment process and find their go-to-market teams.
