Inclusive Recruitment & Selection Training for EDI Champions on Interview Panels
This course equips EDI Champions with the confidence, knowledge, and practical tools to actively promote fairness, inclusion, and equity when sitting on recruitment and selection panels.
It focuses on recognising and challenging bias, ensuring lawful and inclusive practice, and strengthening decision-making so that appointments are based on merit, evidence, and equity.
Course Overview
Interviewing is a skill not just a matter of judgment. Interview panels need to implement the equality and diversity elements of the Equality Act in recruitment and selection. This session is a practical one to enable interview panels to get the most out of your candidates and make fair and equitable selection decisions.
Two significant factors can be seen to be having a continuing impact on the nature of the workforce in the UK, both with implications for recruitment and selection activities: demographic change, and the use of more flexible less traditional working patterns, including the growth in outsourcing.
Course Aims
This course aims to show delegates how to::
- understand their role and responsibility in ensuring fair and inclusive recruitment.
- develop the confidence to challenge bias and poor practice appropriately during panel discussions.
- apply an equity-focused lens to shortlisting, interviewing, and decision-making.
- ensure recruitment processes align with UK equality legislation and best practice.
- act as constructive allies and advocates for under-represented groups within recruitment.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Explain the legal and ethical framework underpinning fair recruitment in the UK.
- Identify how conscious and unconscious bias can influence recruitment decisions.
- Apply inclusive principles to job descriptions, shortlisting, and interview questions.
- Use structured, evidence-based approaches to scoring and decision-making.
- Intervene confidently and appropriately when bias or exclusionary practice arises.
- Support fair outcomes without compromising panel relationships or professionalism.
- Reflect on their own positionality, privilege, and influence as an EDI Champion.
Course Content
The Role of the EDI Champion in Recruitment
- What it means to sit on a panel as an EDI Champion
- Balancing influence, challenge, and collaboration
- Equality vs equity in recruitment decisions
- The impact of inclusive recruitment on organisational culture and outcomes
Legal Context & Accountability
- Overview of the Equality Act 2010
- Protected characteristics
- Direct and indirect discrimination
- Harassment and victimisation
- Positive action vs positive discrimination
- Reasonable adjustments in recruitment
- Panel accountability and record-keeping
Inclusive Interviewing in Practice
- Structuring interviews for fairness
- Inclusive questioning techniques
- Avoiding “off-script” bias
- Supporting reasonable adjustments during interview
- Ensuring all candidates are assessed against the same standards
Inclusive Shortlisting
- Reviewing job descriptions and person specifications through an equity lens
- Essential vs desirable criteria – who gets excluded?
- Avoiding credentialism and gatekeeping
- Fair shortlisting practices
- Challenging inconsistent application of criteria
Understanding Bias in Recruitment
- What is bias? (conscious, unconscious, affinity, confirmation bias)
- Common recruitment myths:
- “Best fit”
- “Cultural fit”
- “They just didn’t feel right”
- How bias shows up:
- Accents, names, education, appearance
- Neurodivergence, disability, age, race, gender
- Micro-inequities in questioning and scoring
Scoring, Decision-Making & Challenge
- Evidence-based scoring vs “gut feeling”
- Managing disagreement on panels
- How to challenge bias safely and professionally
- Language to use when raising concerns:
- “Can we evidence that against the criteria?”
- “Are we holding all candidates to the same standard?”
- When and how to escalate concerns
After the Interview – Reflection & Learning
- Reviewing outcomes for patterns and disparities
- Reflective practice for EDI Champions
- Learning from recruitment data
- Feeding back into organisational policy and practice
Interactive Elements (Recommended)
- Bias reflection activity
- Shortlisting scenario exercise
- Interview panel role-play
- Case study discussion (realistic recruitment dilemmas)
- “What would you say?” challenge practice
Who is this course aimed at?
This course is primarily aimed at:
- EDI Champions
- Equality Leads
- Staff representatives on interview panels
- Managers supporting inclusive recruitment
- Trade union equality reps
The course can be tailored for:
- Local authorities
- Education settings
- NHS
- Public sector
- Voluntary & community sector
- Businesses
Cost
In House Course
Half Day: £595
Full Day: £895
Courses run via
Zoom, recommended maximum 10 delegates per session - up to 15 if required
Face to Face courses: maximum 20 delegates per session
Travel costs are in addition for face to face courses. Please see our Costs and Agreement
More info
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