How do we attract and keep more diverse talent — when recruitment starts long before the advert?
Inclusive recruitment is just recruitment done right.
Watch · the keynote trailer
Fairer, stronger recruitment as modern best practice — bias designed out across attraction, shortlisting and interview; a wider talent pool; candidate experience that retains.
Conference keynote · Leadership away-day · All-hands
About this keynote
Recruitment doesn’t begin with a job advert, and inclusion doesn’t begin at interview. This practical, thought-provoking session reframes inclusive recruitment as modern recruitment best practice — not a standalone Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiative. Because inclusive recruitment is just recruitment done right.
Designed for talent, HR, recruitment and people leaders, it explores how employer brand, culture, candidate experience, process design and bias all shape who applies, who progresses, and who stays. If you’re struggling to attract diverse applicants, the answer often lies well before the advert goes live.
What we explore
From attraction to retention. Many organisations focus on attracting talent, yet far fewer ask the harder question: what happens once people arrive? We follow the full journey — employer brand and visible values, candidate communication, assessment design — and how the wider culture around a role shapes the outcome.
Inclusive recruitment as best practice. This isn’t box-ticking or a narrow agenda. When you reduce friction, clarify expectations, examine bias and improve candidate experience, you don’t lower standards — you strengthen them. More people get a fair chance, and you identify and retain stronger talent.
Where bias really shows up. Rarely in one dramatic moment — usually in the accumulated small decisions: the wording of an advert, the assumptions behind “culture fit”, the channels you promote through, the design of application forms, interview scoring, and instinct trusted over structure. Drawing on real-world examples and lived experience, we make those patterns visible.
Interactive peer learning. Not a passive lecture — keynote input plus structured discussion, so a room of corporates, global brands and smaller employers can compare practice and learn from each other. Attendees leave with practical tools they can apply, with optional follow-up resources (a concise playbook and getting-started guide).
Think, feel and act differently
Think differently — recruitment is a joined-up people experience, not a narrow hiring activity; attraction, assessment, inclusion and retention are connected.
Feel differently — motivated rather than defensive: better hiring is a craft you can sharpen, not an accusation.
Act differently — review your recruitment touchpoints, challenge assumptions, improve candidate experience and design more structured, consistent processes.
Who this is for
Talent, HR, recruitment and people leaders — from major corporates and global brands to smaller, more agile organisations — who want fairer, stronger recruitment that widens the talent they attract and keep.
Go deeper
Bespoke to your audience — but well-trodden. Delivered for LEGO · NHS England · Unilever · John Lewis · lululemon.
“Joanne presented as part of our Annual Employment Conference, delivering the final session of the event. Not only was the content and delivery captivating, but she also included comments from the previous presentations to bring it all together — a very intelligent presenter who gauges her audience perfectly and delivers in a professional and engaging style. The best leaders don't have all the right answers, they facilitate the team to come up with them!”