From blind hiring to pioneering paid work experience initiatives, a commitment to inclusion and representation is woven into every step of the recruitment process at Bonnier Books UK. HR and people operation lead Erika Van Aken walks us through her working day.
I’m responsible for…
Managing the operational employee lifecycle and making the HR function and processes as efficient and effective as possible.
My typical day…
My typical day takes many forms, but a key part of my role is managing the end-to-end recruitment process and ensuring that the best people are selected for our roles. We operate a blind hiring recruitment policy as we continue to build on being an inclusive organisation. Blind hiring involves removing identifiable characteristics from a CV or application that are not related to the job itself. By removing certain characteristics like age, gender, ethnicity, or level of education, you can help mitigate different biases that may creep up when reading an application. Ultimately, blind hiring eliminates initial preconceived notions that we might have and helps us focus solely on the applicant’s qualifications and skills.
The first email I receive…
A message from my contact at Creative Access is often top of my inbox first thing in the morning. Creative Access is a leading and progressive recruiter at entry, junior and mid-levels for the creative industry in the UK. In 2019, we launched an internship programme in partnership with Creative Access, and this summer we successfully launched the Open Doors initiative, a new fully paid work experience programme. These programmes aim to open doors to candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and help them take their first steps to a career in publishing.
The tools of my trade…
We’re continuously exploring new initiatives and looking at ways in which we can be more inclusive and accessible as an employer. We’ve recently taken advantage of a new tool BookMachine has given us access to via Umbrella Data, designed to help publishers improve the ads they post on job boards. The tool gives a job posting an accessibility and inclusivity rating, and suggests improvements to the language used to help improve its readability for prospective job applicants. We’ve been running our ads through the software recently to help widen the pool of prospective candidates.
I’m currently working on…
The roll out of another work experience programme aimed at 16-to-18-year-olds, which will be available over the summer months. We’re working on a school partnership aimed at opening up opportunities for students from underrepresented groups and will be offering one-week placements with travel expenses covered.
Something you might not know…
Those on our intern programmes are always paid the equivalent to the London Living Wage.
