How to Tell If an Employer Actually Means It | EVPeasy #12

Every employer says the right things about inclusion now. The statements are on the careers page, the badges are in the footer. So how do you work out which ones are real before you accept the job?

Tiger de Souza MBE has spent twenty years leading people and culture across NSPCC, the National Trust, Samaritans and now Macmillan Cancer Support. On episode 12 of EVPeasy, he gave two practical tests.

Ask the question at interview. Not "are you an inclusive employer", which has only one answer. Try something closer to: you say you want to build an inclusive culture, can you tell me how that is showing up well, and where you are still finding it difficult?

Then listen to how they answer it. His point is that the content matters less than the delivery. Are they energised by it or reciting it? Do they admit what is not working yet? A hiring manager who says they know they are not there and would like your help getting there is telling you more than one with a flawless answer.

He offers a third signal you can check before you apply. Most employers invite candidates to say what adjustments they need. Tiger argues the better employers do it the other way round: they publish what is already in place, then ask if anything is missing. One asks you to go first, at the exact moment you are weighing whether disclosure costs you the job. The other has already done the thinking.

His broader test is simple enough. An inclusive organisation is one where a manager checks in when something outside work has landed badly, and where a colleague feels safe raising it first. You cannot see that from a careers page. You can sometimes hear it in how someone answers a difficult question.