At Active Humber, we are a small Active Partnership (with a staff of 12), and our role is strategic rather than based on delivery. We don’t have a HR department, so engagement with the recruitment was led by our Development Manager, Ian Spencer, who takes responsibility for people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.
Our organisation joined the Include to Improve programme, led by Activity Alliance and Sport for Confidence, funded by Sport England, to explore how it could make recruitment more inclusive and accessible.
We submitted 5 documents for review all based around the new role, including the job advert, role description, and application form.
The main feedback we received was to:
• Make documents clearer and shorter, using Plain English and more bullet points rather than long sentences.
• Provide clear opportunities to request reasonable adjustments.
• Offer alternative formats and more flexible application methods.
Ian Spencer, our Development Manager; Long Term Health Conditions and Disabilities, explained the easy process: “It’s helped identify those little things that you miss because you’ve seen these documents so many times that you just don’t see it.
"It helped to get an extra pair of eyes on it to say ‘there’s jargon here, it’s very wordy, you use acronyms, and this could be off-putting for candidates’. If we hadn’t had that input we wouldn’t have made the changes we did.”
Based on the report, changes were made to all of the documents reviewed. We:
• Made documents shorter, more concise and more focused on what was really important (the job description went from 5 to 1.5 pages).
• Removed jargon, used fewer acronyms and better links to other documents and resources (by including full hyperlink addresses).
• Looked at circulating the job advert to more places, including those that were not just physical activity-focused.
• Provided more detail on what the recruitment process would involve.
We found after reviewing our recruitment process that we should be considering inclusivity further so we made some extra changes.
• Offering different ways to apply, including by video.
• An accessibility pack was developed explaining what candidates would need to know such as how to get to our office, where to park or get off the bus, where accessible facilities were. We also produced videos showing how to get to, access and sign in at our building.
Our whole interviewing process has changed since we reviewed our recruitment process. For our new Equality Diversity and Inclusion role we hosted a full day for candidates where they could meet the other staff members, see who they could be working with and where.
The object was to provide a relaxed environment to reduce stress and increase their confidence during their interview.
“They said it felt inclusive and welcoming, which made it easier for them to give the best impression of themselves,” said Ian.
The traditional interview was also rethought. Candidates spent time meeting the team and taking part in activities before a shorter, less formal interview, with questions provided in advance.
The new approach was successful, with a suitable candidate offered and accepting the role.
Rebecca Holmes, our Development Manager; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, said how she felt during the process: “I really enjoyed the interview day and felt relaxed throughout. We were made to feel at ease by all the Active Humber staff and the lunch provided was also a highlight.
"The experience showed me how much of a difference an inclusive approach to recruitment can make."
We will use this new recruitment approach for future roles, while the accessibility resources it created can support other people visiting the organisation too.
The experience has also challenged our team to think differently about what being an inclusive organisation really means.
Ian explains: “It’s not about reinventing the wheel, it’s just small changes, a few adaptations."
We valued the Include to Improve's Strategic Partner Network along with the involvement of the Lived Experience Network and having the opportunity to talk about different experiences and provide insight from the view of people with a range of disabilities.
