It was July 2020 when Alicia Richardson, Founder of Black Create Connect was scrolling through Linkedin and noticed she had worked her way through 10 pages of search without seeing a Black candidate.

“I was confused. It’s either black professionals don’t know how to optimise their profiles to be seen or Linkedin algorithms that are off,” says Richardson.

After George Floyd’s murder in 2020 and the Black Lives Matter protests picked up speed, the stories of the Black community’s experiences in the workplace finally came into the spotlight. Richardson was inspired to create Black Create Connect, a community serving the Black community, to create opportunities to better connect the community with employers.

Prising open doors

In her experience working in recruitment, Richardson was no stranger to some of the barriers to entry that Black people face. “I noticed that when I was hiring the more mid to senior level roles, sometimes there was a role available and the next minute someone was hired,” she explains. She continues that the person who was subsequently hired was “always a friend of a friend or somewhat they had previously worked with, and that person was never really a person of colour.”

Nepotism was such a constant hiring force that Richardson shares she began to push against it. “[If an organisation asked for a relative or friend] I would say no it has to be fair or we are feeding into the cycle of unfair hiring,” she explains.

On top of the usual workplace problems and barriers to entry, the advertising industry also comes with its own unique set of challenges. In particular, Richardson highlights the industry’s need for diversity both on and off-screen which can lead to internal laziness. Client relationships can cause an internal hierarchy where a lack of respect is brushed over when the client is regarded too highly. While the industry’s more ‘casual’ approach has created hidden cultural codes that can work to alienate people not ‘in-the-know’.

“There’s a lot of assumptions about people that don't speak a certain way, don't act a certain way and don’t do certain things, so naturally they will feel excluded. Naturally, that’s limiting for people of colour in particular. There are more barriers in place for them to progress because they have to prove themselves more, they don't have these relationships or they don't speak or act a certain way,” explains Richardson.

As she notes the industry’s cries to ‘bring your whole self to work’ are actually silently followed by; ‘... but not that part’.

The importance of community

Setting up Black Create Connect came out of the need to establish better community, connections and support, to tackle some of these barriers to entry.

“I thought ‘where can I have immediate impact right now on this’” says Richardson. She explains: “I put out a message saying if anyone wants to join a WhatsApp group give me your number so I can share jobs with you and you can share it with your network. Over the years the group has grown to about 850 now and we have an additional community outside of that.”

“We grew from word of mouth, when I talk to people at our events and ask how they found out about it they say my friend came, my friend got a job or recommended the safe space. For a black creative and a black professional, the reason they would probably want to join Black Create Connect is because they are able to access opportunities that they know are probably safe for them. They know that a company has made an effort to work with this organisation which means they actually want me in the business” she adds.

Richardson has helped professionals to network be it through events, mentoring, coaching, new friendships or paid opportunities. She encourages the community to help one another to grow.

Black Create Connect works with influencers to promote companies or job postings to share recommendations from trusted sources and has a podcast that gives people an opportunity to share their lived experiences of the workplace or specific organisations. They also work with other communities such as Word on the Curb, the Black Recruiters Network, and Girls Talk London to support others with the same values and maximise impact.

“Being the minority in workplaces can be tiring and a bit discouraging, especially if you’re the only one with a particular type of view or if you're the only one who might experience certain things. If you have a community outside of work that you can share those experiences with, you feel validated, you feel heard, you feel seen, you feel stronger, you feel more powerful. It enables you to rise,” says Richardson.

Creating space where people want to stay

As well as barriers to entry, the advertising industry also faces huge issues with retaining Black talent. Recent Kantar data shows Black (30%), Non-white (28%) and Muslim (28%) groups are more likely to leave their company in the next 12 months than the average (21%)

For Richardson, the answer lies in flexibility, open communication and in building a culture in which people will want to stay.

“It's beyond race too, I was having a conversation with a neurodiverse candidate who said they wish their company would allow them to flex their working hours to come in a bit earlier or later and work for shorter time periods in the office. There are a lot of other employees that feel the same but don’t want to vocalise it,” she says.

Richardson urges companies to consider their internal training resources and learning and development offerings. “Have equitable programmes for underrepresented groups. For example, someone who hasn’t been to Ad School might be on the backfoot compared to people who have. Maybe that person might benefit from a mentor or a coach”

She continues: “I think it expands over to benefits too, one of the key things I always advise upon, is it is really important to provide mental health support for different types of people in the organisation.”

Ultimately, it comes down to empathetic and emotionally intelligent leadership. Leaders that are able to dedicate time to talent and are open to understanding the experiences of others even if they haven’t had the same lived experiences are the ones most likely to create an environment where talent feels valued.

Improving representation in the C-Suite

Building this culture of empathetic leaders requires creating a more diverse, inclusive C-Suite.

“A lack of representation in the C-Suite is something I’ve noticed across industries but the reason why it's so important is because when you have representation at the top you’re able to effectively influence decision-making for the organisation overall,” says Richardson.

She urges the advertising industry to consider hiring from other sectors to help remedy this lack of representation at the top and consider the importance of transferable skills. Beyond experience within a specific sector, for leaders good people skills, being able to motivate a team and understand wider business objectives can be even more important.

“A leader is a leader,” says Richardson. “I’ve hired people from education or finance and it worked. It's been completely different but sometimes even better because they can bring in a different lens and a different value from their industry experience,” she adds,

“Also be open to creating roles” advises Richardson, “and potentially having leadership positions with a three to four-year run where everyone has to re-apply for their roles so it gives people an opportunity to step in. Otherwise, there won’t be many changes in the company.”

Maintaining the pace of change

In an election year where the cost of living crisis and inflation have caused businesses to tighten their purse strings. Richardson shares that cutting budgets will pose a significant challenge for diversity and inclusion efforts. Relying on pro bono and passion is simply not enough to see positive change. Companies must continue to invest and work on robust diversity strategies or risk sacrificing talent with the diversity of thought that drives business success long term.

“I see a lot of companies doing random DEI activities, like an International Women's Day event, Pride event or one-off unconscious bias training. They might do things in isolation but it doesn't tie into an overarching DEI strategy, which is problematic because you then look back at the end of the year thinking you’ve done all these things but haven't had an impact,” says Richardson.

She continues: “Companies need to look at the overall impact they’d like to have, look inward and address the cultural imbalances that they have. A lot of companies again won't spend time and money on that.”

It is with long-term commitment and finding key milestones that companies will start to see their DEI efforts pay off. Keeping open communication with staff, seeking feedback on initiatives to find what is working and what isn't and measuring what they treasure to make real, significant progress.

On an individual level, Richardson says that listening is the easiest thing you can do. “I try my best to be as curious, respectful and as open-minded as possible as an individual, if we had a world full of those individuals it would be an easier world,” she says.

Understanding, sharing experiences, learning and finding commonalities means that people can work together to drive forward an organisation. Acknowledging that there is no quick fix and that progress takes time, Richardson’s work underlines the importance of community and sharing opportunities to challenge the status quo and rally for positive change.

To find out more about Black Create Connect, please click here.