So what is it?
Contextual recruitment can be summed up as taking a person’s background into account when recruiting. So, for example, the candidate might have come from being in care, or maybe from a very poor single drunken parent background, or even from a moneyed family and public school. Would we require fewer academic qualifications from somebody who had been to a sink estate comprehensive?
I thought about this. Apart from my personal feelings about asking if somebody has come from such a background, (definitely not something I would formulate as a question on an application form…!), I think that in some ways this is over-intrusive. If candidates want to tell us something about their background, I prefer to give them the space to do so during the interview.
Octagon Technology is a small family business. All of our employees came to us and asked if they could work for us. For me, that demonstrates initiative and already they have passed the initial stage for acceptance. We have never advertised a vacancy in our almost twenty five years, yet consistently we have attracted motivated, loyal staff who rarely leave us once they have joined – okay, one retired, one went to university, one moved away for love – you get the picture.
So, despite not having a policy of contextual recruitment, we have managed to attract a fully diverse complement of staff. We are just waiting for the latest apprentice recruit to finish school, then we shall have staff in their teens, twenties, thirties, forties, fifties and sixties. We probably have representatives from all genders and sexual preferences (as far as I know, everybody is welcome), we have some from different ethnic backgrounds and some with disabilities. I don’t know about their religious and political beliefs, but to be fair we try to avoid contentious discussions! So far, nobody has spoken to me about abusive or very poor home backgrounds, but if somebody came to me with a reason why their grades are not as good as they would like them to be, I would listen.
What we are looking for in our staff is attitude first and foremost. Aptitude and problem-solving ability are also crucial, as is a willingness to constantly learn new things. Our staff have to be clever, and that is not always measured by GCSE results. They have to be able to think about a problem in mind maps, not straight lines, if that is what is needed.
So, whether they are black, white, old, young, autistic, empathic, in a wheelchair or running marathons, solitary or gregarious, as long as they are enthusiastic and wanting to be challenged every day, they will probably fit in!
Diana
Diana is a founder and Managing Director of Octagon Technology.
Twenty odd years ago Diana was teaching IT at a college in Essex when local companies started to come in and ask her for help with their computers. This led to the creation of Octagon Technology alongside fellow lecturer Clive, with a vision of providing Technology Without Tears for our clients.
Nowadays, Diana concentrates on the less glamourous side of the business, dealing with the statutory reporting, the strategic planning, the budgeting, forecasting and cash flow analysis. She also looks after the payroll, together with the human resources policies and procedures.
If you would like to talk to Diana about any of the issues raised in this article, please let us know (01522 797520) and we will ask her to contact you and answer your questions.
