Building a diverse workforce can offer many benefits to an organization, but success begins with inclusive recruitment. In recognition of Pride Month, we’ve collected some top tips from senior executives on how to reduce bias in the hiring process.

The business case for diversity and inclusion in the workplace is overwhelming. McKinsey & Company report that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability.

Meanwhile, Great Place to Work found that businesses that rank highly for inclusion record 5.4 times higher employee retention – which greatly reduces the financial and time cost associated with hiring replacement team members.

Building diverse teams and fostering inclusivity in the workplace starts with reducing bias among hiring managers and interviewers in the recruitment process, to ensure every candidate receives the same opportunity.

“The first step is to acknowledge that bias exists, and it is therefore critical to create awareness and tools for effectively managing it during the hiring process,” explains Laura Montagu, VP HR EMEA & India at Crocs, Inc., who was previously Senior Director HR EMEA at Under Armour in Amsterdam.

We have collected some top tips from our Executive Interviews series for leaders looking to reduce bias in their hiring processes to build diversity and inclusion across their organizations:

1. Training for hiring managers

Identifying potential bias isn’t always straightforward – especially when it’s implicit. Implicit bias refers to attitudes or stereotypes that unconsciously affect how we perceive others.

To challenge this behavior, Under Armour provides mandatory training before each hiring process, Laura says. It’s designed to “build the skills and capabilities to recognize and mitigate potential biases”.

Katja Meeuwsen-Nass, the Vice President of Human Resources at ASICS, shares a similar model: “Our recruitment staff and managers are trained to be aware of and recognize unconscious bias.”

Using an external training provider can mitigate any unconscious bias that exists across the wider organization. EMEA Recruitment works with Coco Consulting & Coaching to provide regular Equity, Diversity & Inclusion training to all employees, which strengthens our service offering to clients.

2. Competency-based interviews

Competency-based interviews assess candidates based on a prearranged set of skills, ensuring that all prospective employees are evaluated in the same way and that any unconscious bias during the process is reduced.

Laura explains how this works at Under Armour: “Interviewers determine a score for each candidate against set competencies using a numerical system. It helps us keep our feedback more fact-based, balanced, and fair.”

ASICS also introduced a scorecard to “assess skills and quantify values, to allow for accurate reflection,” says Katja.

Aryuna McGloin, the Financial Planning & Analysis Director at Spryker, emphasizes the importance of finding a cultural fit with the candidate: “For every role across the company, we have a list of specific DNA traits that we look for. That way, we can be sure we’re making a cultural fit, regardless of their background or experience.”

3. Diverse interview panels

“We insist on diverse interview panels to help ensure a broad range of perspectives,” says Laura. “It helps mitigate bias if you are hearing ideas, thoughts, and challenges from different sources.”

At ASICS, a diverse hiring committee includes people of different genders and ethnicities, “but also diverse minds to allow for different perspectives and challenges,” explains Katja.

Spryker created a final stage to its hiring process, “whereby we ask someone who sits outside the hiring function to assess objectively candidates’ future potential, leadership skills, etc. to ensure we continue raising the bar with the people we bring on board”, Aryuna adds.

Diverse interview panels not only generate a “higher quality interview”, according to Katja, but Laura also highlights the benefits to potential employees: “Candidates get a deeper and more transparent insight into our culture and feel a greater sense of belonging.”

It’s something that may go a long way in fostering inclusivity once someone joins the business, which could improve retention rates.

We can support you in reducing bias during the hiring process by ensuring your job advertisements include inclusive language and by building diverse talent shortlists for your roles.

We act as a neutral third part in the recruitment process, basing our candidate searches on skills and experience. If you’d like to learn more about our approach to ED&I, please get in touch: www.emearecruitment.com/pages/contact-us

Creating diverse teams is a strategic imperative for businesses, from driving financial performance to encouraging innovation. To celebrate Pride Month, we’re sharing key insights from senior executives on how to build diverse teams and foster inclusivity in the workplace.

Laura Montagu, the VP HR EMEA & India at Crocs, Inc., who was previously Senior Director HR EMEA at Under Armour in Amsterdam, explains why diversity is not enough: “It’s about building diverse teams and helping them thrive by creating a strong sense of belonging, while – at the same time – allowing our teammates to feel appreciated for their own uniqueness.”

Organizations with inclusive cultures are twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets as those without, three times as likely to be high-performing, six times more likely to be innovative and agile, and eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes, according to a 2024 study by Deloitte.

We take a look at the five steps leaders should take to create diverse teams and foster inclusivity:

1. Act as role models

Diversity initiatives can’t rely on policies alone – they should be championed from the top. When leaders embody these principles, they send a clear message to their teams that diversity is a core value of the organization.

“A fundamental starting point is that our leaders act as role models,” says Laura.  

It’s a sentiment mirrored by Cristina Stefan, Corporate Business Planning & Performance, Head of Global Opex and HQ Business Control at Wavin, a business group within Orbia: “You need open-minded leaders in place who truly and authentically believe in the power of diversity.”

2. Nurture inclusivity

Hiring diverse talent without inclusion can lead to tokenism.

By nurturing diversity of thought, Laura was able to build an inclusive and collaborative community across the entire business at Under Armour, by seeking out different voices and encouraging input and ideas from all levels.

Cristina agrees: “Inclusion is the fuel that powers the diversity engine. It’s how we encourage our minority groups to collaborate and develop, feel valued, respected and empowered.”

At Wavin, one example is creating equal opportunities and flexible working options for mothers returning to work after maternity leave, “so they feel supported and able to thrive”.

3. Implement your values

In fact, embracing diversity is a core value at Wavin, which is embedded in everything the business does and – importantly – is constantly evolving.

The organization measures diversity by looking at the gender of those in top positions, how many people with disabilities are hired, what the ethnicity split is, LGBTQ+ representation, and more, explains Cristina.

Alongside recording workforce demographics, businesses can also measure certain hiring metrics, such as the percentage of diverse candidates in the recruitment pipeline and the source of hire, which tracks whether the organization is utilizing inclusive talent pools.

While Laura accepts the data that highlights the impact of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion on a business, she argues that it’s “also just the right thing to do”.

Under Armour reflects this through its policy of providing 40 hours of paid time off for employees to give back to causes they are passionate about. In 2023, the team clocked up more than 6,000 hours.

The business also rolls out regular training for leaders to “build cultural competency and create inclusive environments”.

4. Drive diversity initiatives

Orbia has developed projects to target its goal of increasing the representation of women and other underrepresented groups throughout its five business groups (including Wavin) and leadership pipeline.

Cristina explains how this looks in practice: “The company has developed initiatives from talent acquisition guidelines to our Orbia Women’s Network (OWN) mentorship program, which is helping to accelerate the development and visibility of female talent in what tends to be a very male-dominated industry.

“It’s a good example of inclusion in action, because it encourages people to speak up, to turn challenges into opportunities with a positive mindset, show empathy, and benefit from different perspectives.”

Cristina summarizes her experiences for other leaders: “That blend of diversity and inclusion is how you create strong, brave teams and a working environment where everyone can perform at their best.”

5. Review hiring processes

An essential step for leaders looking to create diverse teams and foster inclusivity within the organization is to review your current hiring policies.

By tracking diversity metrics within the recruitment process, you will be in a better position to understand any areas you can address and improve. It is also important to reduce bias during candidate selection and interviews, by ensuring your requirements are competency-based.

At EMEA Recruitment, we act as a neutral third party in the recruitment process, basing our candidate searches on skills and experience. We also utilize Inclusive Linguistics principles in all communications with prospective employees to encourage applications from a diverse pool of professionals.

If you need any support with building diverse talent shortlists, please contact us to find out how we can help.

We’re proud to be the ED&I recruiter of choice for some of the most prestigious businesses across Europe.

With years of experience recruiting for global businesses all over Europe, our Shared Service Center recruitment specialists support organizations setting up operations in a new country or scaling their existing teams across the world.

Maciej Juszczyński and Lidia Zawistowska are Recruitment Consultants in our office in Wrocław, a major Shared Service Center hub in Poland.

“It’s a city that’s always alive,” says Maciej. As one of the biggest student and SSC cities in Poland, there are lots of opportunities for professional development, as well as many cultural and sporting events.

With good commuter links and proximity to Germany, Wrocław has “a real international vibe,” says Lidia, but isn’t as big as major cities such as Warsaw or London.

The importance of communication

Before joining EMEA Recruitment, both Maciej and Lidia worked in employment markets across Europe, including Romania, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, and the UK. Lidia’s knowledge of different communication styles helps her understand the needs of multi-cultural organizations.

“Even in a Shared Service Center, the personal part is still important,” she explains.

Maciej himself once worked on a recruitment process outsourcing basis for a large Shared Service Center in Poland, which taught him how these operations work. “Every position and company I’ve worked for have given me knowledge that I can use today,” he says.

An employers’ market

Over their careers, Maciej and Lidia have seen significant shifts in the employment market.

“Poland was always an employees’ market; candidates would be in three processes at one time, receive three offers, and employers had to fight for the best talent,” Maciej explains. “Now, it’s the opposite. Employers have become fussy again; they know that candidates need opportunities.”

Lidia has also seen companies putting more energy into finding the right people. At the same time, “people are more careful when changing jobs,” she says. For example, job seekers may want to research the financial situation of the business and ask questions around why they’re hiring.

Shared Service Center culture

Hiring into a Shared Service Center does present its own set of challenges.

Lidia explains: “When recruiting for a business’ head office, you need to understand the culture of the company to make a good match. But when recruiting for a Shared Service Center, you also need to understand the specific culture of the SSC.”

Despite often requiring large volumes of candidates at any one time, Shared Service Center recruitment also needs a personal touch to find the right fit. With multi-cultural stakeholders and various timezones to consider, Lidia brings her experience of working in global markets to find the ideal candidate profile.

“For example, I recruited for a company that was headquartered in the Netherlands, but I was searching for people to be based in the Polish office, who would be reporting to a Finance Director in the Nordics,” she explains. “I understand how Nordic people communicate and what’s most important to them.”

Maciej always tries to be himself when working with job seekers and employers, so that he can be open and manage their expectations. Lidia agrees: “When I’m transparent, candidates understand that we’re not like other agencies.”

Shared Services of the future

So, what does the future of the global Shared Services model look like?

“The focus is moving towards quality over cost,” observes Maciej. He references businesses like Heineken and Ecolab moving their operations to Krakow.

Lidia is curious as to how AI will change our way of working. For instance, we’re increasingly seeing automation in financial reporting, or the use of chatbots in employee services. With so much to learn and adapt to, she advises job seekers to “be ready for changes to their responsibilities”.

“New employees are increasingly responsible for introducing change, such as new tools,” she adds.

It’s a sentiment mirrored by Matt Foster, who leads our Shared Services recruitment team, when he recently reflected on his 20-year career in the SSC sector.

If you’re looking to learn more about trends in the Shared Service Center market, please get in touch with Matt, who will put you in touch with the right specialist: [email protected]

With over 20 years’ experience leading HR teams across diverse industries in Europe, Armand Sohet has hired many HR professionals. Here’s why he compares it to pairing cheese and wine…

Armand Sohet is the Chief Sustainability, HR and Communications Officer at AkzoNobel in Amsterdam. His experience ranges the automotive, pharmaceutical, software, defence, and energy sectors.

“A question people very often ask me is: What is it about recruiting and assessing HR people?” Armand says.

Pairing cheese and wine

An image came to him while presenting to a Swiss-German audience – it’s like pairing cheese and wine.

“Imagine you buy a fabulous bottle of Petrus or Cheval Blanc - a very expensive, €1,000 bottle. You’re thrilled, thinking, this is going to be an experience of a lifetime! So, you grab a camembert (because it’s French and it feels like the right pairing for a fine French wine), but then you try them together, and - let’s be honest - it’s terrible. You wouldn’t admit it, of course, because it’s such an expensive bottle, so you convince yourself it’s good. 

“But it’s awful, because the lactic acid in the camembert will always clash with the Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot in the wine, leaving a metallic taste that’s just unpleasant. I tested this with people who didn’t believe me, and they agreed. So, I said, “Instead of spending €1,000 on this wine, why not just get a €7 bottle of cider to go with the camembert, or maybe a ten or 15-year-old champagne? The bubbles in the champagne will help balance the lactic acid, and it’ll actually be a great experience.” 

How does this apply to HR professionals?

In his personal life, Armand enjoys finding the perfect wine and cheese combination, but it’s much harder to find the best match between people and a company, he believes.

“Imagine the cheese is your company and the wine is the person you’ve brought into it,” Armand explains. “You’ve hired the bottle of wine, because it’s prestigious and expensive, but it doesn’t fit. It’s not necessarily a good match, even if it costs a lot.”

So, what is he looking for in his team?

“Sometimes, people are like Swiss wines – a red that goes well with nearly anything,” he shares. “They don’t always stand out as the best, but they fit in well with a lot of different settings.”

Whether you’re looking for a Petrus or a Sauvignon blanc, our HR recruitment specialists are committed to finding the perfect match for your team.

From large-scale restructuring to building teams from scratch, EMEA Recruitment has experts with a wealth of experience in HR who can help – get in touch through our website: https://www.emearecruitment.com/pages/human-resources

Armand spoke to Katie Insley, Director in our HR recruitment division, as part of our Executive Interviews series in April 2025.

Matt Foster, Associate Director, has specialized in Shared Service Center recruitment for over 20 years, with experience across Central Eastern Europe.

He explains what excites him about the market, how he expects Shared Service Centers to evolve in the future, and the unique experience of living in Budapest.  

What inspired you to specialize in Shared Service Center recruitment?

While living and working in Budapest, I set up a new Shared Service Center team to serve multi-lingual needs. Whether it was a Finance or IT role, the multi-lingual aspect was more important than technical skills. We had lots of inbound calls; it was client driven, like most good specialisms.

People becoming what I call career SSC employees was a new phenomenon. They were moving from one Shared Service Center to the other, moving up the hierarchy.

It also satisfied my need of providing not just people, but imaginative, creative recruitment solutions. Shared Service Center recruitment isn’t a transactional occurrence; it’s not uncommon to face the challenge of sourcing a high volume of multi-lingual talent into a small, sometimes remote, location.

For example, I worked in tandem with clients to solve the problem of getting 30 languages into a small village in northeastern Hungary. Beyond having a dedicated team and conducing continuous research, we liaised with local universities and their Language departments to spread the word. They promoted the opportunities by emailing students and advertising on their physical and virtual job boards.

We also utilized references and referrals, for instance, if a student spoke Dutch, we’d ask them who else in the class speaks Dutch…

How has the global Shared Services market evolved over the past 20 years?

Unrecognizably. The Shared Service Center model began as a way to save money; putting your shared services into one center was the number one driver to save money. Looking for a low-cost location was a secondary by-product; you’d decided to create a Shared Service Center, so you chose a cheap country.

There is now a focus on digitization and service levels with Shared Service Centers – specifically, how to reduce the gap in service quality that customers may perceive. There’s also been growth in the type of functions that you can outsource to an SSC. 20 years ago, strategic functions would not have been considered. Now, you have people with 20 years’ experience working in SSCs rising to high levels in the organization. I’m sure senior SSC managers will be on the boards of FTSE companies in the future.

I’ve seen the whole lifecycle – SSCs are now relocating back to expensive countries to satisfy the ever-increasing desire for quality over cost. There’s a perceived service level relative to the cost of operating in each country. Think of it as tiers of quality versus cost. For example, India tends to be at the lower end, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the middle, and Western countries at the top. There’s a perceived value of customer satisfaction closer to the top, which is the result of a higher educated workforce, and better alignment with the languages spoken in non-SSC departments and divisions.

Timezones play a role, too. It’s the reason why Vodaphone has a Shared Service Center in Newbury and not New Delhi. Companies have to find that balance.

How do you expect the Shared Service Center market to evolve in the future?

With the move towards working from home, the traditional model has had to evolve over the last few years. Maybe we’ll see virtual SSCs, or they might move to town centers in the future.

My personal experience is in Central Eastern Europe, but India and Central America are large markets. What they all have in common is that governments have actively pursued tax incentives for multi-national organizations to set up offices there.

We could see even less developed countries pitching themselves as players in the SSC market. With so many digital nomads disrupting the traditional way of working, maybe island nations, such as in the Pacific Islands, could be on the rise.

I’m also looking forward to how SSCs will adopt AI in beneficial way.

Why did you move to Budapest specifically?

I decided my career was going to involve international business a long time ago.

I was the Country Manager of an online job board in Prague. The CEO asked if I wanted to do the same in Hungary – I didn’t even know where it was!

My degree was in International Business & French, so I was excited to use my languages and learn Hungarian. Hungary joined the EU while I was there, but it still felt like the wild east.

It was great to network with other expats, and had an emerging economy and market. We could introduce proven western techniques very quickly and work across the rest of Eastern Europe from there.

After a year, I was given ten more countries to look after. Recruiting in Central Eastern Europe gave me a lot more than a very stale UK market and economy.  

What did you enjoy about living in Budapest?

I networked with like-minded people and met CEOs of FTSE 100 organizations, as well as being invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday party.

I learned a lot and challenged myself. I was exposed to different cultures and languages, so I made loads of cultural mistakes; I declined vodka at breakfast with a CEO in Tallinn and the meeting ended suddenly…  

I made mini mistakes daily, but these resulted in real cultural improvements in my professional working abilities.

What are you excited about in the world of SSC recruitment?

Everything. Mostly our position; we get seats at the top table in organizations looking at new countries to set up in.

We make a big difference to people’s lives. People I placed 20 years ago are now in senior positions in Shared Service Centers, so it’s incredibly satisfying. The depth of our connections across this sector is of huge value to our clients and candidates.

If you’re setting up a new Shared Service Center or are expanding your SSC team, Matt can support you with strategic talent acquisition processes and an active database around the world.

Get in touch with him today: [email protected]

Although the market for HR professionals in the Netherlands remained cautious in quarter one, strategic hiring drove the market with a number of critical skillsets in demand.  

As the financial year ends, professionals begin considering new career opportunities, making April and May particularly busy months.

While companies have been cautious, due to macroeconomic factors, an increase in Talent Acquisition requirements suggests that they are beginning to hire again.

Growth in Technology & Transformation roles, particularly those related to AI, is also expected to continue.

Meanwhile, more organizations are relocating roles to lower-cost regions. While transactional roles have traditionally been affected, higher-skilled positions are now being moved.

The Return-to-Office Debate

The return-to-office debate intensified in quarter one, with more companies issuing blanket return-to-work statements.

A shift toward more in-office presence continued, with many organizations moving to a four days in the office, one day from home model. Conversations shifted from work-life balance to work-life integration, which we anticipate will continue to evolve. 

Within the HR team, leaders are telling us that togetherness and spontaneous interactions are increasingly valued, where gauging company sentiment and fostering a strong workplace culture is essential. Building a digital culture and infrastructure is also becoming more of a growing trend in the Dutch market.

Shifting Skillsets

While AI and data-driven roles remain a key topic, businesses are still in the early stages of their technology journeys. Companies are working to understand how they can best leverage AI, and while this will be a long-term trend, it has yet to fully take off.

To best support those in our network trying to manage these shifts, we have strengthened our partnerships with HR leaders, particularly those new to their roles, over the past quarter. It often takes around three months for HR Directors to assess an organization’s success, and we have been actively supporting them in their transition by providing market insights and staying abreast of the latest trends.

As we move progess into the next quarter, we remain committed to supporting our network with insights, guidance, and career opportunities. If you’d like to discuss hiring trends or explore new opportunities, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Katie Insley, Director in our HR recruitment team in the Netherlands.