Kirklees Adult Services have been monitoring data linked to the ethnic make up of its workforce for some time. The information is used within the service for:

• recruitment and retention strategies
• to better understand trends in disciplinary and grievance cases
• making sure processes for allocating training resources are fair.

The number of applications received from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups is high in relation to census data and also to the number of BME staff currently employed by the service. The “Undefined” category relates to candidates who chose not to give this information at this stage of process.

The type of actions that have been adopted to increase the appointment of BME staff include:-

• Detailed analysis of all recruitment exercises undertaken by the service is provided to Managers to enable them to analyse response rates and also see where candidates (particularly those from under-represented groups) fall out of the process. A review can then take place to decide whether the process or documentation used was fair or if it should be changed in the future.
• The council has adopted a Proactive Recruitment Scheme to increase applicants from under-represented groups.
• Legislation for service posts - such as genuine occupational qualifications - is used where necessary
• The service audits recruitment to ensure policies and procedures are being followed.
• Surveys are done regularly of people who request vacancy details but who do not return application forms to find out why they did not apply. This information influences future recruitment processes.
  
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