"I was delighted that RMIT has been awarded Disability Confident Recruiter accreditation from the Australian Network of Disability. This is an important step in our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace for all staff and students." Dionne Higgins, Chief Operating Officer.
RMIT University has secured its commitment to inclusive recruitment as the first Australian university to become a Disability Confident Recruiter (DCR).
The Disability Confident Recruiter (DCR) program builds an organisation's confidence and capability to attract and support candidates with disability. Gaining DCR status was an important next step in furthering RMIT's commitment to its Accessibility Action Plan 2016-2020 and to reflect the University's core values in its recruitment processes.
Through reviewing their online recruitment processes, RMIT's Talent Director proudly saw many existing accessibility measures as well as the passion of the team.
As a direct result of completing the DCR program, RMIT has seen numerous changes to the way it practices recruitment. DCR encouraged the Talent Acquisition team to redesign the end-to-end recruitment process to remove technological, cultural and physical barriers. The team also created a recruitment guide, as they felt they were very important resources for staff.
Some examples of changes in RMIT's recruitment include:
- Changes to the language used in job advertisements to be more welcoming of people with disability.
- At every touch point, candidates will be asked if they require any adjustments such as interview location, time and room that suits their needs.
- Candidates will be provided with relevant information upfront to ensure they can prepare and plan their journey accordingly.
Speaking to RMIT staff, many commented that the DCR program was an eye-opener to unconscious bias and central to shaping a more inclusive and diverse university.
"We need to assess every part of the student and employee life cycle, and our front door needs to be wide open to seek the greatest diversity of talent we can attract. RMIT benefits from unique, experiences, skills perspectives - it makes us a better employer and educational provider" Nicola Harrison, Talent Director.
"Gaining Disability Confident Recruiter status was a key step in RMIT's Accessibility Action Plan, which aims to enable a diverse and inclusive workplace for all staff and students. This large program of work has encouraged us to rethink and redesign our entire talent process. With the removal of technological, cultural and physical barriers it has inevitably made it a more equitable process for applicants with disabilities. The feedback from our candidates and hiring community has been extremely positive so far however we see this as the start…there is more to do." Gabrielle Bassett, Executive Talent Acquisition Manager
