Case studies

DHL Supply Chain is the world’s leading logistics company, and they work every day to assist their customers crossing borders, entering new markets, and expanding their businesses. They are committed to continuously developing a truly diverse organisation that allows colleagues... to be their best selves and bring their whole selves to work every day.

There was a lack of representation across the business from different diverse groups. DHL’s application process was not as diverse as it could be, unconsciously giving some groups the upper hand. This had to change. This meant not only combating the attraction and initial application process, but ensuring managers and assessors understood and put aside their unconscious biases to create a level playing field when it comes to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

To help identify these under-represented groups, DHL reviewed the assessment process to remove any bias or barriers. This was supported by changing the weighing of the questions, using more imagery and removing grade 2:2 from the process. "A day in the life of" materials were created, and marketing collateral was updated so that all minority groups felt that they were represented. It was important that they had the right software to enable them to attract and retain a diverse workforce.

This helped to reshape their attraction strategy to make their programmes more inclusive by:

• Using gender-neutral language in job adverts.

• Updating their website and marketing imagery to be more ethnically representative.

• Including case studies of current graduates from diverse backgrounds across the attraction.

DHL has overridden the traditional CV-based application; they recruit through a strengths based assessment, which provides a fair experience, no matter what their background may be. This process assesses candidates against their passions, potential, and strengths— rather than their previous experience.

As standard, DHL track the progression of underrepresented groups such as females and ethnic minorities. This year they have also done a deep dive into ethnic groups and introduced reporting on socio-economic background, which takes account of social and economic factors. The results were phenomenal. They saw a 43.6% (experienced hires), 17% (early careers) increase in applications from candidates who identified as ethnic minorities and a 38.7% (experienced hires), and 41.46% (early careers) increase in female applications.