Putting the EDI in recruitment

As an industry, we are challenged to make private equity more accessible and inclusive for all, and Oakley Capital is committed to helping make this happen. Chief People Officer Zoe Lockwood explains how Oakley is focusing on embedding EDI across the firm, beginning with recruitment.

1. Why do we care about EDI at Oakley?

It's been proven that if you can get diversity and inclusion right, it improves the outcomes for a business over the long run. EDI allows you to see things from a different perspective. A whole group of people who think the same, who come from the same backgrounds, end up coming to the same conclusions and that doesn't mean that they're the correct conclusions. My favourite example of this was when YouTube launched its video upload app back in the day, they discovered that it didn't work for left handers, because all the people on the team developing the app were right-handed. I also think there is a moral imperative to create the space and the opportunity for people who may be equally as qualified and capable.

2. How do you do it in practise?

You can work to bring diversity into the organisation, beginning with your recruitment pipeline because the individuals that start with you or as associates for example, in the investing roles, are hopefully your future partners. So if you're not building it in from day one, you will never fundamentally move the needle on diversity. It's also the case that candidates are selecting us as much as we are selecting them: they expect organisations to be demonstrating that commitment to sustainability, to EDI. If we cannot then we will cease to be an employer of choice.

3. Name three tips for recruiting well

First, remember that what gets measured gets done. We need to make sure the search firms we use know exactly how much this matters to us, and measure them against this. Recently, we explicitly asked our recruiters for our associates search to find at least 40% diverse candidates. Second, adopt ‘structured interviewing’. So rather than just asking myself, do I like this person, would I want to sit in a plane with them for eight hours, have a set of questions that you'll be able to compare across every single candidate objectively. Third, signal to candidates that they can discuss EDI openly. Raising the topic in the interview also signposts that this is the type of organisation they're joining. We also proactively offer adjustments to candidates who may need longer for the case study because they experience, for example dyslexia, or because they require wheelchair access, reduced lighting, whatever it may be.

4. Why is ‘great recruitment diverse recruitment’?

The best candidates might not come from the really obvious places. Being able to have a recruitment process that opens this funnel up a little bit wider will bring in a better set of candidates for us. This is where the business imperative and EDI run hand in hand. Focus on how their experience and skills on their CV overlap with the requirements of your role. We've provided a cheat sheet for managers conducting interviews that remind them to check their biases. For instance, if they went to the same school as my mate, or writing them off for a weak handshake or poor eye contact. We have to bear in mind that in an interview, the dynamic isn't equal: whoever is interviewing is in a power situation. You have to give someone the chance to relax into the process.

5. What comes next?

Inclusion is crucial. There's no point in recruiting a group of diverse individuals into your organisation if the organisation isn't going to welcome them, understand where they've been, what benefit they bring to the firm. It comes down to training, it comes down to creating an environment where people feel comfortable to call out bad behaviour. It also comes down to listening: our employees recently completed our annual EDI survey where we encourage them to judge our progress as an organisation. We’re already acting on previous surveys, rolling out new policies on parental leave, neurodiversity and menopause to support all our employees.

6. How would you rate the industry's efforts so far?

Over the last ten years, I've seen a shift from the impacted group talking about what they want to change, to the industry talking about what they want to change. The biggest data shift I've seen is the increase female associates across private equity from around 20 to 30-odd percent of the total. What we would benefit from is increasing the visibility of senior leaders from diverse backgrounds, encouraging them to tell their stories. Within Oakley, we’re still at the foothills of our EDI journey but we’re pleased to see progress so far including near-gender parity across the firm. There’s plenty more we want to achieve and I’m excited about the next stage of our journey.