Recruitment isn’t just about getting job roles filled. Building an inclusive organisation should be a key consideration in any recruitment strategy and, though much progress has been made, there is still some way to go in all industries. Network Rail’s Matt Foote is working hard to address diversity in the Rail Industry and his efforts have earned him the Recruitment & Talent Acquisition Person Year Award.
Matt has taken the concept of diversity and inclusion and implemented genuine change across his team. He’s been prepared to look outside the normal recruitment pipeline, bringing people who are new to the railway into the role and investing in their training.
He recognises that successful teams and businesses are made up of a diverse range of employees, of all genders, ethnicities, cultures, and age, and is currently sponsoring a new local operations management apprenticeship scheme which will attract a varied audience.
On top of this, Matt is the model of a dedicated employee, wearing multiple hats and getting things done, along with leading, and supporting others in his team in a diverse range of interventions around positive recruitment and career development.
“Trying to attract, secure, retain, and appoint the best people in, in any business or any organisation is an obvious thing to do,” says Matt. “That just makes sense. And in the long term you get a better organisation by having good people and a good variety of people.
“I’ve worked in organisations before where people say ‘yes’ to new approaches, but then not much happens. I’d rather have an organisation which includes a variety of opinions and different energies that will challenge me and tell me what they think. Because we have a balanced team, we know that once we agree on something, it will definitely happen.”
Highly commended
Madeleine Phillips, Mott MacDonald
Alstom Advance TRS, Alstom & Advance TRS
