Opening Doors: Driving Inclusive Recruitment

Q: How do I register my interest?

Complete and submit this form Once you have submitted your expression of interest, a member of the team at BITC will share the campaign sign-up form. You will be asked to tell us: which actions you will be taking forward (minimum of three from across the five keys ) an estimate of the number of roles that will be impacted by each action the anticipated date of completion. We ask for this information so we can provide support to help you take action and track progress towards our goal of two million roles influenced by the campaign.

Opening Doors is Business in the Community’s (BITC) flagship inclusive recruitment campaign. Open to all employers, and free to join, we have an ambition to make 2 million jobs more accessible to diverse talent by supporting employers to make changes to the way that they recruit.

Join the Opening Doors Campaign

60+ employers have committed to the Opening Doors campaign.

1.1M jobs are now more inclusive as a result of Opening Doors.

600 actions have been taken by the employers involved in the campaign.

Five Keys to Inclusive Recruitment

BITC has created a simple framework to guide businesses through their inclusive recruitment journey. It identifies 25 actions grouped into the 5 keys to inclusive recruitment. Businesses are asked to identify at least three actions that they will implement during the campaign.

Find out more about the five keys

The business benefits of inclusive recruitment

Attract talent: Nearly three-quarters of jobseekers report that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers¹.

Fill vacancies: 51% of private sector employers report having hard-to-fill vacancies².

Improve business performance: diverse companies earn 2.5 times higher cash flow per employee, and inclusive teams are more productive by over 35%³.

Why become an Opening Doors employer?

When you sign up to Opening Doors, you get access to a range of benefits, including:

Support to achieve your inclusive recruitment ambitions: the BITC campaign team and your Relationship Manager can signpost you to relevant content, events and advisory support to help you implement your commitments.

Peer support: Attend biannual peer learning forums, which focus on topical inclusive recruitment issues. You will also have access to a closed LinkedIn group where you can ask questions and share information with your peers between the forums.

Celebration of your success: Use BITC platforms including our content, events, and social media channels to get recognition for the impact you have made through the campaign.

The barriers facing diverse talent

55% of employers would not hire someone with a conviction.

35% of employers wouldn't hire a refugee.

58% say being homeless would have a negative impact on prospective employment application.

Resources

Opening Doors Employers

View the current list of employers who have already committed to the Opening Doors campaign.

Midpoint Insights

At the midpoint of the campaign, we undertook some analysis of employer commitments and their progress towards them.

Recruitment Factsheet

This factsheet considers how anonymous recruitment can help businesses eliminate unconscious bias during the hiring process.

Opening Doors member spotlight

Each month we celebrate the impact that an Opening Doors employer has had through the campaign. View all case studies here.

Ban the Box Campaign

Ban the Box calls on all UK employers to give people with criminal convictions a fair chance to compete for jobs by removing the tick box from application forms that ask about criminal convictions. The campaign now covers more than one million jobs, thanks to a growing movement of employers.

Find out more about Ban the Box

Register your interest by completing the below form

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here to view our full list of FAQ’s.

I have a particular interest in opening doors for refugees. How can I do this?

The process is similar to expressing interest in the Opening Doors campaign. Navigate to the form on the link below. Complete and submit, and a team member will contact you to discuss next steps.

Express your interest and commitment at
Opening Doors for Refugees

Are there resources available to help my organisation take action?

BITC members benefit from a range of support to help them achieve the campaign asks,
including the following:

Advisory services – topics include inclusion, partnerships & social impact
Employment programmes
● Job Coaching – (national)
● STEP programme supporting Refugees (Yorkshire & Humber, Bristol and
Coventry) Y&H – Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford
Content – Inclusive Employment toolkit, case studies and best practice guides
Events – webinars, peer learning forums, leadership roundtables
Regions & nations – connecting to partners & responding to local need
Don’t hesitate to contact your BITC Relationship Manager for more details.

For more information, please email the Opening Doors campaign team

How do I register my interest?

Complete and submit this form

Once you have submitted your expression of interest, a member of
the team at BITC will share the campaign sign-up form. You will be asked to tell us:

which actions you will be taking forward (minimum of three from across the five keys )
an estimate of the number of roles that will be impacted by each action
the anticipated date of completion.

We ask for this information so we can provide support to help you take action and track
progress towards our goal of two million roles influenced by the campaign.

References

¹Talent Diversity & Workplace Inclusion in 2024 | Talent Insight Group

² Labour Market Outlook: Winter 2023/24 (cipd.org)

³ DEI in the workplace: Unveiling employees’ attitudes in Great Britain (yougov.com)

⁴ More employers open to hiring people with convictions, but prejudice still rife | Working Chance

⁵ BITC and YouGov, 2020

⁶ Four out of 10 employers admit they would likely seek to terminate an employee’s contract if they were homeless | Crisis | Together we will end homelessness