Informed
Those involved in the selection process, including hiring managers, senior leaders and HR were refreshed on our commitments to D&I and the inclusive behaviours we expect to be consistently demonstrated. This was supported in the form of briefings and dialogues on how to safeguard diversity and foster inclusion, as well as D&I dashboards designed to highlight key diversity insights. All employees and hiring managers were also kept informed and reminded of our D&I commitments through various platforms, including:
- A “Think Differently: Hiring for Our Future” video – this shed light on common biases we are all prone to and practical tips to overcome these biases in resourcing decisions. In partnership with our employee networks and Global Resourcing team, this was led by members of the Employee Advisory Board to the D&I Council for Race, who focus on increasing representation of employees to reflect the communities in which we work and draw talent from and taking proactive steps to improve inclusion.
- A dedicated D&I section on the Shell intranet – summarising key D&I activities and updates for all Shell employees, including leaders sharing lessons learned as hiring managers and tips on selecting the best candidates.
- “The Future. Yours to Make” portal – resources in this portal aimed to support and empower employees to navigate their career, including application tips, support to move to a new role, and planning personal and professional development.
Considered
Information and documentation, such as job descriptions and guidelines, were prepared with full consideration of inclusive language and accessibility needs. This included:
- Ensuring job descriptions used gender-neutral language and encouraging employees to share specific flexible working requirements.
- Launching the Accessibility Helpline, a platform created to support employees with accessibility needs and concerns during resourcing rounds such as navigation assistance, finding the right resources, and non-physical adjustments.
- In the UK, our enABLE (disability) Network, HR, Global D&I and Shell Health team hosted a webcast on the support available for people with disabilities. This covered the different places employees can get support, including the Workplace Accessibility portal, Accessibility Helpline and support offered by our Shell Health team, as well as how line managers can ensure people with disabilities are equipped to perform at their best.
- Ensuring the application process allowed employees to share information about their disability, adjustment needs or any other personal or mitigating circumstances if they felt comfortable doing so.
Merit Based
Hiring managers were required to review and select all applicants using the selection criteria of professional skills and experience, continued performance and capabilities, leadership qualities and an employee’s individual preferences for roles they had applied to.
Complementary to this, we worked with our D&I employee networks to support the fostering of inclusion, by hosting regular engagements with employee network representatives to understand their perspectives and created a “Breaking the Bias in Resourcing” training session for hiring managers. Our D&I employee networks played a pivotal role in ensuring the voices of under-represented groups were heard and considered by decision makers.
Structured
Frequent checks were performed by business leaders to ensure standards were adhered to, with all outcomes being reviewed and signed off at a senior (Executive Vice President) level. We also monitored and reported our diversity demographics before and after selections were made to demonstrate transparency, safeguard our organisational diversity, and assess impact to representation with both a gender and race and ethnicity lens.
