Our Ethos & Commitment To Diversity

Diversity ethos website page round image. Portrait of nonbinary autistic person wearing a rainbow shirt

We use a range of approaches to attract a diverse pool of appointable candidates.

You can see our diversity stats here.

We believe diversity strengthens organisations, and we view every recruitment project as a chance to identify and appoint future leaders who bring fresh perspectives and reflect the communities they serve. Our open recruitment processes are designed to be inclusive, and we work proactively to reach and engage a broad and diverse pool of candidates.

We recognise that truly inclusive recruitment is about more than simply encouraging applications from diverse groups; it requires deliberate action to ensure fairness at every stage. To achieve this, we have introduced a range of practices that reduce bias and highlight candidate potential. These can include blind application reviews, replacing traditional cover letters with skill-based questions, using competency-based assessments and interviews, and sharing interview questions in advance. Our recent trustee recruitment case study with Campaign for National Parks illustrates this approach in practice.

Now in its second year, our Action not Words programme, co-designed with Board Racial Diversity UK, was created to address the diversity and inclusion gap on charity boards. Through it, we provide free, personalised mentoring to aspiring Black and Asian trustees.

As professional recruiters, we work hard to focus on the potential to excel in a role and to challenge our biases, but there is always room for improvement.

Find out more about our charity recruitment services

Read what our clients say

Eastside People provided a very efficient and friendly recruitment service, which was an enormous help in finding a new chair for our charity.

Brian Burgess, Trustee

Suffolk Football Association

We are very pleased with the recruitment process managed by Eastside People. John and Bernice communicated excellently and felt like an extension of our own team. Despite a small candidate pool, they found strong candidates with understanding and knowledge of Modern Slavery and Exploitation and real demonstrable passion for social justice. We are thrilled that Fiona Dwyer will be joining us as our new Chair and working with us as we move forward with our new Strategic Plan. We would highly recommend Eastside People for their professional and effective approach to Trustee recruitment.

Helen Ball, CEO

Causeway

Working with Eastside People on our trustee recruitment helped to clarify the brief, extend our search and introduce us to candidates who truly understood our organisation and who brought a passion for good governance.

Adeela Warley, CEO

CharityComms

We really appreciated the organised and thorough commitment to understanding the needs of this role within our organisation, in order for the team at Eastside People to shortlist and manage inquiries. Melissa was perceptive and enthusiastic and we enjoyed working with her on this recruitment process.

Sharn Tomlinson, CEO

Mind in Mid Herts

Eastside People are committed professionals, who care about matching the right candidate to the hiring organisation. They take the time to understand the brief and work collaboratively through the process. It's been a pleasure to work with them!

Mary Suphi

British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS)

See Case Study

Recruiting Trustees can be difficult. I have worked with Eastside People twice now and both times they successfully recruited the candidates with the skills and qualities that we asked for. I would thoroughly recommend them.

Jane Simpson, Chief Executive Officer

Anglia Care Trust

Jane Simpson, Chief Executive Officer

Anglia Care Trust

A professional and personal service, Melissa built a great relationship with us by understanding our needs and adapting as required and provided high quality candidates - thank you for everything!

Nicola Smith, People & Culture Director

IAM Roadsmart

I would have no hesitation in recommending Eastside People. Bernice and Melissa were instrumental in assisting with our recruitment of a CEO and Head of Operations; they provided excellent advice as to the processes to be followed, the timelines that they recommended and the anticipated remuneration levels. They oversaw collating a strong list of candidates for both jobs, meeting all stated deadlines, and were just so supportive throughout. I would not hesitate to use Eastside again - i am just hoping though that I will not have to for a few years now that they have met our core requirements.

Gary Raven, Chair

South East and Central Essex Mind

Having taken care to manage our expectations, Eastside People then over delivered by helping us to appoint a very high quality candidate on a tight timeline and at a competitive cost. Highly recommended.

John Leach, Chairperson

Pursuing Independent Paths

Our ethos and commitment to diversity

We use a range of approaches to attract a diverse pool of appointable candidates.

Read what our clients say

Get in Touch

Our ethos and commitment to diversity

We use a range of approaches to attract a diverse pool of appointable candidates.

Read our diversity-related content

Read what our clients say

Get in Touch