Following a recent Diversity & Inclusion training session for all EMEA Recruitment staff members regarding bias, we welcomed back our Ambassador, Valentina Coco, for more in-house D&I training.

In the previous session, Valentina focussed on bias, specifically, our own biases, and how these affect our lives.

In this follow-up session, we explored whether our clients are aware of internal biases and D&I, how to bring this topic up with them, and managing the most common pushbacks to D&I initiatives.

We explored how to introduce the subject in conversations with our external clients, and how to explain the benefits of a diverse workforce and inclusive culture for businesses.

Valentina explained the consequences of an employee or group of employees feeling excluded in the workplace.

We also discussed why diverse teams and inclusive environments foster higher performance, better decision-making and stronger growth.

Valentina acknowledged why it may not be easy to discuss and implement D&I practices, but explained that that’s why it works. If something is easy, it typically doesn’t challenge people or go to the next level.

Although differences can be hard to manage, they often spark creativity and innovation when you embrace them.

Due to the global focus on D&I, our Consultants are regularly having conversations with clients regarding building diverse workforces and creating an inclusive environment.

Some of these conversations can be difficult, so Valentina explored some common pushbacks and challenges that we may be faced with. As a group, we discussed why some clients might struggle with D&I and how to address any concerns or issues that may arise through such topics.

Valentina created an open environment for us to ask questions and raise discussion points throughout the training session. She will continue to deliver in-house D&I training on a regular basis for all EMEA Recruitment staff members.

Valentina Coco is an Ambassador of EMEA Recruitment, as well as the CEO and Founder of Coco Consulting & Coaching. She trains teams to develop an inclusive working environment.

An enthusiastic team of EMEA Recruitment fundraisers will soon be participating in a Colour Run, inspired by the Hindu festival of Holi, in honour of our podcast partner, Operation Smile.

On Saturday 10^th July 2021, Team EMEA will run, slide and crawl along a 5k (3.1-mile) obstacle course, to raise money for Operation Smile.

Operation Smile is an international medical charity that delivers free surgery to children and adults with cleft lip and palate.

For almost a year, Operation Smile has been the official partner of the EMEA Recruitment podcast. Through our partnership, we’re hoping to create 100 new smiles; it can take as little as 45 minutes and cost just €175, or 190CHF, to provide life-changing surgery on an Operation Smile medical mission.

We are delighted to have already raised money for this cause and are grateful to all those who have donated, but we want to continue on our journey of changing hundreds of children’s lives.

That’s why a brave team of EMEA Recruitment Consultants, Finance and support staff have committed to running a 5k obstacle course, complete with foam, music, a strobe tunnel and other, fun surprises.

One of the runners is our Founder, Paul Toms. The mission of Operation Smile is close to Paul’s heart, as he, too, was born with a cleft lip and palate.

“Although I can’t compare the challenges I faced with those of the young children Operation Smile help, I can say that I would not be the confident, happy person I am today without the dentists, surgeons, and support and care pre/post-operation,” explains Paul.

“I’m looking forward to getting together with some of my colleagues here at EMEA to enjoy the sunshine and hopefully raise lots of money for this special charity.”

If you’d like to support our Colour Runners, please donate through the donation box on our website – anything you can give will make a difference: emearecruitment.com/page/operation-smile

Earlier this month, we were pleased to welcome our very own Ambassador, Valentina Coco, to deliver virtual Diversity & Inclusion training for all EMEA Recruitment staff members.

This initial session focussed on bias, specifically, our own biases, and how these affect our personal and professional lives.

Valentina explained the harsh reality that, even if we don’t think we’re biased or aren’t sure whether we’re biased, everybody is biased in some way. In fact, bias was necessary for our ancestors and can still be useful today.

We explored the distinction between explicit and implicit bias, focussing on why implicit bias is often more difficult to spot.

With a series of exercises, Valentina highlighted the ways that our brains filter out most of the information it’s being fed, so that – in some cases – we’re left with what we want to see.

Using specific examples relating to the recruitment process, Valentina looked at the common biases that most people have, aside from the more common and obvious biases relating to gender, age, race and beauty.

We concentrated on the following biases, and how they can typically influence professional life and the recruitment process:

• Affinity bias – creating a bond with somebody that you like
• Conformity bias – looking for evidence based on what we think to be right
• Attribution bias – comparing our behaviour to others’, which can impact how we perceive them
• The contrast effect – comparing events sequentially, to unfairly judge people

After explaining these common biases in detail, Valentina discussed the ways they can impact us in day-to-day life:

• Our perceptions of others
• Our attitude towards others
• The way we behave around others
• The attention that we give to others
• Our listening skills
• The micro-affirmations we give to others

We were all given regular opportunities to ask questions and discuss our thoughts in an open, inclusive environment, before Valentina left us with seven steps to identify and address our implicit bias.

Valentina will also complete a follow-up session with all at EMEA Recruitment on how we engage with our clients and address their biases during the recruitment process in the near future.

Valentina Coco is the CEO and Founder of Coco Consulting & Coaching. She helps teams create a truly inclusive environment.

This International Women’s Day, we want to highlight the importance of supporting females every day. We’re using the hashtag #ItsNotJustADay to remind other organisations that championing strong women is an ongoing commitment.

We want to celebrate all the female leaders within our network that we have the pleasure of working with, through a snapshot of the past 12 months:

Read more about our fantastic events, as well as keeping up to date with future plans, here: https://www.emearecruitment.com/events

All past episodes of the EMEA Recruitment podcast are available here: https://www.emearecruitment.com/podcasts

You can also find out more about the wonderful members of our team through their profiles: https://www.emearecruitment.com/our-team-members

We’re also proud to reveal our latest initiative to promote Diversity & Inclusion in the workplace. We are supporting the Boardroom, an exclusive, members-only club for senior women leaders in Switzerland, founded by Diana Markaki.

According to a recent PwC report, Switzerland lags significantly behind the international field in terms of gender diversity; only 16% of board members at the 100 largest Swiss companies are women. the Boardroom hopes to create and cultivate an active pipeline of qualified female leaders to fill corporate board positions.

the Boardroom is a strong network that supports and encourages women to achieve their professional goals, enables companies to retain and promote senior female talent, and helps boards achieve gender parity.

Not only does the Boardroom help female leaders land a board seat, but it also helps them succeed when they get there.

Are you looking to promote gender equality in your organisation? Your female leaders could benefit from the education, coaching, networking and inspiration of the Boardroom. Please contact Diana Markaki to find out how to apply or to ask any questions you have: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-markaki/

If you have any questions or comments regarding Diversity & Inclusion, please contact Charlotte Cruise, our ED&I Ambassador.

We’re pleased to announce that Valentina Coco, a long-time associate of EMEA Recruitment, has joined as an Ambassador.

Valentina has a wealth of experience within the Finance sector across Switzerland, having worked with some of the most well-known and respectable organisations in Switzerland, such as Procter & Gamble, General Mills and Ecolab.

Our recruitment team will benefit from some fantastic in-house training supplied by Valentina.

Valentina, most recently lead the Equity vs. Equality training for employees at EMEA. During this training she presented us with four challenges: societal access, bias and tokenism, the pipeline gap, and the impact of COVID-19.

Alternatively, with her experience as a Financial Analyst, Finance Manager, Supply Chain S&OP Manager, Supply Chain Finance Business Partner and Senior Controller, she can provide valuable insights on the challenges and changes within the profession.

With a better practical understanding of their respective professional disciplines, our recruiters will benefit by being better prepared to match candidates to roles with our clients.

On behalf of EMEA Recruitment, Valentina will also regularly speak and engage with clients and candidates at networking and seminar functions.  

We regularly discuss the skills required for Finance professionals, including Finance business partners, in the changing world through the EMEA Recruitment podcast. To hear from leaders and experts in this industry, view our most recent episodes here: https://www.emearecruitment.com/podcasts

We are proud to have welcomed Valentina as our official Ambassador, to continue educating and engaging our staff, as well as our entire network.

With Valentina’s knowledge, we hope to bring you useful thought leadership on all things related to Finance & Accountancy. Look out for Valentina on the EMEA Recruitment LinkedIn company page, at our events and on our website's News & Insights feed.

We look forward to continuing our relationship with Valentina and welcome her to her new role.

EMEA Recruitment is proud to be working in collaboration with St. Gallen University’s Institute of Cognitive Automation to bridge the gap between humans and machines.

This research intervention is working with project leaders across Switzerland’s leading businesses, who want to help close the gap between automation and human augmentation.

We know that 70% of digital transformations within businesses fail, but the failure rate has actually increased with technology. St. Gallen University has found that 85% of Data Science projects add no value to a business.

We know that the Future of Work is not solved by one company. Therefore, St. Gallen University’s Cognitive Automation Institute has worked with us to find companies who want to optimise human augmentation.

Project leaders from these businesses are now participating in research to find out where and how they’re going wrong.

The project is broken down into two phases:

Phase 1: Structured Interviews

All participants will receive the critical human and machine teaming design criterion, using a method of inquiry to identify the design challenges in cognitive automation.

Phase 2: Empirical Study

For selected companies, a human and machine solution that addresses the criterion would be defined at a pragmatic level, e.g. process level or judgment level. To impact the company on the criterion identified.

We are delighted to be collaborating with St. Gallen University’s Dr. Chantelle Brandt Larsen on this research.

We look forward to supporting the Institute of Cognitive Automation and our partner businesses throughout this research project, and to working towards a human and machine solution to change the Future of Work.

You can read more about our ongoing partnerships here: https://www.emearecruitment.com/partnerships

If there is anything you’d like to discuss with us or for more information, please contact Mark Robinson in our Swiss recruitment team.