Talent acquisition and workplace solutions business, Guidant Global, has launched a new US-focused initiative; the INfluence Workforce Consortium promises to “help employers put diversity into action across contingent workforces.”
The initiative will involve “strategic partnerships” with D&I experts across contingent recruitment, where Guidant “will work with members of the Consortium to drive further inclusion across non-employee workforces” including freelancers, independent contractors, and consultants “and expand members’ reach to increase the volume of diverse talent across Guidant Global’s client MSP programmes.”
Consortium members include businesses whose missions are embedded in diversity and inclusion. These include The MOM Project, “a digital marketplace dedicated to building a better workplace for women, families, and the businesses they support”; Primary Talent Partners, a women-owned staffing and executive firm helping organisations find IT, engineering, corporate professional, and life sciences talent by “utilising programmes designed to support Black STEM students into employment” and Pyramid Consulting, described as a “Minority Business Enterprise, (MBE) that promotes being intentionally inclusive and supports the next generation of tech talent by uncovering hidden talent within diverse, female, and veteran candidates.”
This new initiative follows Guidant Global’s previous “INfluence Supplier Diversity Program”, described as “an initiative which nurtured more Diverse-Certified and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) to become approved vendors supplying talent into Guidant programmes.” This saw “10 strategic suppliers” complete “a two-year diverse supplier programme in December 2020.”
Beth Armesto, Senior Director, Supplier Relationship Management at Guidant Global, said: “The diversity, equality, and inclusion agenda has truly taken centre stage in the last year but driving this in the flexible workforce has proven particularly challenging for some organisations. By partnering with the most innovative and experienced DE&I suppliers in our network, we are paving the way for positive change and increasing diverse representation in our clients’ workforces. We have selected these firms as part of our Influence Workforce Consortium because they are driving positive, meaningful change, and together we can open more doors for under-represented talent across our clients’ contingent workforce.”
Allison Robinson, CEO & Founder of The Mom Project, added: “Guidant Global and The Mom Project have been partners since 2019, and being part of the INfluence Workforce Consortium is an exciting evolution of our partnership. Our mission is to see more of the talented moms, dads, and allies across the US remain in the workforce and thrive in opportunities that work best for them. Guidant is playing a proactive role in supporting that mission while helping clients meet their DE&I goals.”
Namita Tirath, Co-founder and COO at Pyramid Consulting, commented: “Investing time and money in being more welcoming, opening the door wider for more people to enter and screening ‘in’ rather than screening ‘out’ is foundational to our commitment to building a more diverse workforce.”
