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Folding bike manufacturer Brompton has partnered with global talent assessment platform provider Thomas International to boost gender equality across its workforce.
Recent research has revealed the gender pay gap has seen ‘barely any change’ over the past 25 years, and specifically, in manufacturing, women are still underrepresented and more likely to leave the industry than men.
Like many companies in the industry, diversity is one of Brompton’s biggest challenges. In 2017, only 5% of its workforce were women. Since partnering with Thomas, Brompton has seen a 5% increase year on year of women entering the business and is on track to increase female representation to 40% by 2025.
Gavin Smith, people director at Brompton, said: “Achieving gender equality is not going to happen on its own. Businesses need to put in the extra effort to ensure D&I is at the forefront of minds. For us, Thomas’ personality tests and the gender-neutral reporting make it easier to help remove unconscious bias in the hiring process.
“We’re able to get valuable insight into strengths, behaviours and personality, instead of focusing on gender and past experiences – which unfortunately many companies still do. We’re determined to stay on track to achieve our 40% goal and with Thomas by our side, we will be able to do this.”
Harnessing Thomas’ solutions helps Brompton remove bias in its hiring processes by adding in behaviour profiles to all its job descriptions. This gives the firm a better indication of the suitability of a candidate for each of their roles.
As part of the recruitment process, candidates take the ‘Thomas Behaviour’ assessment. Brompton then uses this insight to gain a deeper understanding of individual’s preferred behavioural and communication styles, as well as how they are likely to act at work and under pressure. Taking less than ten minutes to complete, the assessment allows leaders to understand candidates’ potential for success and also helps remove any unconscious bias in hiring.
Brompton is moving towards implementing ‘blind’ CV screening and said it finds Thomas’ gender-neutral reporting a useful tool for supporting unbiased people and recruitment processes.
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Sabby Gill, CEO at Thomas, added: “It’s not always an easy road to creating a culturally diverse workplace. But not only do diverse cultures build teams that bring different viewpoints and talents into the mix, they also increase business innovation and drive higher revenues.
“Brompton’s passion is a clear example of a business actually looking to make a difference. And we’re honoured to continue supporting them as they build a fairer, more inclusive workforce that advocates gender equality.”
