How Hays are Helping for your tomorrow

Hays has always been committed to helping people in the communities in which we are based.  However, a year ago we formalised our activities under a global programme called Hays Helps. We wanted to align all of our global volunteering and fundraising activities and focus on the aim of helping people who may not have the same opportunities as others in the world of work, as this is where our core skills lie.

As a result, we gave every one of our employees globally the ability to take at least one paid Volunteering Day per year. Our employees are using their days to help people enhance their employability, for example through increasing their education or helping with CV writing or interview skills.

Hays is about working in partnership and solving work issues for a better future. That is why, going forward, Hays Helps will now be known as Helping for your tomorrow – we want to help people who are disadvantaged in the world of work today, so that they can have a better tomorrow.  

Under our global programme, we have focused our activity on the following six sectors of society:

• Workers living with disabilities
• Ethnic minorities
• Members of LGBTQ+ communities
• Underutilised talent
• The mature-aged workforce
• Youth engagement

Why have we chosen these society sectors?

We acknowledge that many people in these sectors enjoy successful and rewarding careers. However, sadly, research shows that many tend to achieve poorer labour market outcomes than other sectors of society. There is evidence that, for a number of reasons, it is more difficult for the people within these groups to enter the workplace and, having done so, reach their full potential.

To explain more about the issues that certain members of these society sectors may encounter, Hays commissioned and has released a new report, titled: ‘Focusing on employment inequity: how we can help’. The report, which is available here, explores the disadvantages that some of these people face in the world of work and delivers a call to action on how we can tackle any potential issues.

What does our report show?

For example, our report finds that many members of these groups are more likely to be out of work for a longer period of time. As well as being a problem for them in the present and immediate future, this could also affect their chances to find work later on in life, creating a cycle that can be hard to break.

In relation to this, we also concluded from the research that some members of these groups are more likely to be underutilised and instead fill roles outside their areas of expertise, leading to fewer opportunities for career progression and, often, a lower salary.

All of this means that many people within these groups are less likely to fulfil their potential. This not only affects them personally, but also results in organisations and economies missing out on their valuable contributions and talent.

The COVID pandemic has also created additional financial or emotional health problems and other disparities in certain groups. It is therefore even more important for Hays to direct our volunteering and charity work into ensuring that everybody can benefit from a diverse and inclusive workplace.

In addition, and in line with our commitment to be a net carbon zero business, we also wanted to use our volunteering efforts to protect the environments in the locations where we work and live, to help create a more sustainable future world.   

What have we achieved through Helping for your tomorrow?

Over the last year we have set up charity partnerships in each of the countries in which we are based so that we can work with like-minded professional organisations to reach the people we would like to help.

As mentioned above, all our employees globally have been given at least one paid Volunteering Day per year and over 1,000 days have been taken since we set up the programme 12 months ago. We are very proud of everyone’s efforts as many countries were still in various stages of lockdown due to the ongoing COVID pandemic and volunteering opportunities were not always easy. A few examples of what we have done are shown below:

• In the USA, Hays employees volunteered their time to work with Inspiredu, an organisation that helps underserved youth in the Greater Atlanta Area to develop the skills needed for education and career success through technology‐based learning tools and engagement activities. Hays employees helped to prepare old laptops which were then donated to underprivileged children. Inspiredu had this to say on the accomplishment, “With your powerhouse work, you have helped us to increase our productivity by 200%. The team is so grateful for your hard work and contribution to Inspiredu’s mission, and we cannot thank you enough”.

• In ANZ, Hays employeesare building a partnership with a local organisation called Youth Up Front. The organisation run a range of programmes to prepare young people for the workplace, including Aboriginal and Torres strait islanders, disadvantaged groups, and women in trades. Hays employees have started running ‘Job Seeking’ workshops, which includes working with participants to create their first resume, prepare for interviews and attending mock interviews.

• In Hong Kong SAR, Hays employees have been heavily engaged with youth engagement over the last year, including running several workshops alongside ‘Project We Can’, a charity initiative which provides disadvantaged students with learning opportunities through businesses. Hays employees hold a bi-monthly ‘career day’ with between 300 and 400 students, preparing them for the jobs market through training. The workshops are designed to illustrate the skills students will need to secure their first jobs in industry and how they can demonstrate those skills to potential employers.

• Early this year, in the UK we announced an 18-month partnership with the charity Trees for Cities. Through the partnership we will donate hundreds of trees per month to be planted in cities across the UK. Hays employees also have the opportunity to use their Hays Helps volunteering days by planting trees, pruning edible playgrounds in schools, and supporting local community gardens and projects. So far, nearly 40 Hays staff have taken part in tree planting days as part of the Hays Helps initiative in Blackpool, Hull, Ramsgate, East London, and Edinburgh and over the 8,000 trees have been donated.

• In LATAM we created a regional collaboration with the Special Olympics, aiming to foster inclusive work environments through different virtual experiences with participating athletes, including a series of webinars on inclusion and professional courses. The Special Olympics creates a new understanding of leadership inspired by the athletes and highlights the potential for leadership in people of all abilities. The partnership aims to change attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities and raise awareness, as well as positively change perspectives on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the world of work and society.

These are just a few of the stories about what our employees have achieved and during the next year we will be publishing more of them.

Looking forward

Over the next year we want to continue to build momentum and increase our volunteering efforts so we can reach more people and help them to have better opportunities in the world of work. Fulfilling potential and gaining decent work enables someone to have self-respect, to support themselves and those they care about, brings their talent into the marketplace, and contributes towards the economies in which they live. This is the important impact we want to achieve.

If you would like to help us – for example by offering work-placements – then please get in touch.