ASSIGNMENT

Iman Shafique
01-111182-037
BBA-4A
Ma’am Mehreen

Social Mobility in Business

Social mobility:
Social mobility is the ability of people to move up or down the social ladder, and is largely tied
to access to wealth, education and jobs.

Many Finance and Professional Services businesses are switched on to this issue and have
developed leading initiatives to ensure that their businesses are open to talent from all
backgrounds and a hot-bed of opportunity.

Whilst we are seeing some fantastic examples of social mobility initiatives, many businesses
struggle to grasp how to embrace the social mobility agenda and support it in their firms.

Understand the benefit of social mobility:

If your people come from similar backgrounds and studied similar courses at similar
universities, you probably have a homogenous team with a single way of thinking. If this sounds
like your business, and you are struggling to recruit the people you need, there is no better time
to start thinking outside the box on recruitment on who and where you recruit. They can meet
skills shortages, foster innovation and bring richer brainstorming and stronger customer
relationships to your business. A diverse workforce breeds creativity and inclusion, and an
environment in which people want to work.
Get to know your workforce:
Get to know your workforce Only when you build a picture of your business can you target
interventions. Measure key data on your workforce and job applicants and develop an annual
data collection exercise.

Understand what's happening in your business:

Think about where your people come from, and where your people go. To increase the social
diversity of applicants to your business, broaden the universities you target. Recruiters often look
at your current workforce and send you a shortlist of candidates that match that picture. If you
want to increase diversity, give your recruiters a diversity brief and widen the places you recruit
from. Where do your people go and why are they leaving? Check the business embraces
difference and allows people to be themselves.

Get leaders and the business on board:

Provide training to staff and new hires, so that they are open to diversity in their management
and recruitment practices.

Recruit for potential, not polish:

Review your hiring process Look for where people from diverse backgrounds might be deterred
from applying and consider a flexible approach to skills required in your person specifications.

Example of taking action on social mobility in business:

PwC and KPMG have come top of a list of 75 leading UK employers who have done the most to
promote social mobility in the workplace.

PwC was placed first overall, scoring highly for its work to increase the variety of routes for
people of all backgrounds into the firm, engaging with a wide range of schools and universities
across the country and, specifically, for providing both employment and schools outreach in
Bradford - a government identified social mobility opportunity area.

Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner at PwC UK, said: ‘As a large employer, we have an
opportunity to drive positive change for our people and the communities we work with across the
country.
‘Good progress has been made but there is still much more to be done. Many businesses are
doing fantastic work on social mobility, and we will continue to collaborate with others to have
the biggest impact and ensure that someone’s future is determined by their talent and
determination, not by their background.’

Poor social mobility will suffer:

In UK, there are some barriers which stop young people from lower socio-economic
backgrounds accessing top jobs. A report by The Sutton Trust suggests that lack of social
mobility may be an increasing problem; only 40% of respondents believe that people in the UK
have equal opportunities to get on – a significant decrease from 53% in 2008.

Research by McKinsey has shown that companies with poor diversity suffer. There are financial
penalties associated with not developing a workforce from a variety of backgrounds:
organizations in the bottom quartile for top-team diversity are 29 percent more likely to under-
perform than their peers.

Initiatives which help the socially mobile succeed have rewards for the employer. A varied
workforce will bring fresh perspectives and experiences which can lead to more innovative
solutions.