“If You Don’t Have a Diverse Pipeline, You’re Not Going to Have a Diverse Workforce”: How Working with myGwork has Changed Pearson

It’s been six months since myGwork and Pearson first started working together. You may wonder what can really be changed in just half a year, but it turns out quite a lot. Kevin Lyons, Pearson’s senior HR manager, spoke to myGwork, about how they measure success, the importance of a diverse talent pool, and why diversity, equity and inclusion should focus on building community.

To begin with, Pearson approached myGwork as a hiring tool, to help them reach out to LGBTQ+ talent around the world so they could, in turn, create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Since then, Kevin explains, they have realized that was just the tip of the iceberg of the potential the partnership could bring them. He shares how impressed they have been by the communications and media tools they can utilize. He’s also been delighted to see so many of his colleagues creating profiles on the platform, increasing the visibility of their LGBTQ+ colleagues and allies. And perhaps most importantly, the sense of community that the partnership has given them.

“At the beginning of the partnership, we were eager to diversify our talent pool,” says Kevin. “We wanted to widen the pipeline. So, we wanted to have a partnership where we could effectively reach out to LGBTQ+ people who would like to work for us. And we see this as a fundamental way that we can widen our talent pool. We’re reaching out to say that we are a highly diverse, equitable, and inclusive employer, and we really want you to join us.”

In just six months of working with myGwork, Pearson has recruited over 250 people from across the world through the platform. Although success can be measured in many ways, having data that clearly demonstrates your achievements has been vital for Kevin and his team at Pearson.

“Data is key to measuring success,” Kevin explains. “Being able to demonstrate who has joined us through myGwork has been fundamental to understanding the success of the partnership. Then there’s another illustration of success because it’s also about the growth of the community. We are demonstrating our eminence as a diverse and inclusive employer and sharing that we are a community. And that we are an accepting and inclusive employer that wants everyone to flourish in terms of their talent.”

The community aspect of the partnership may be slightly harder to quantify with data, yet Kevin emphasizes that this is just as vital to their diversity and inclusion journey. Through the partnership, they have been able to reach out to and join the myGwork LGBTQ+ professional community. And by joining the conversation they have connected with experts who have then helped to further facilitate conversation and discussion within Pearson. “It’s about participating in the community,” says Kevin. “It’s about being visible and featuring in key initiatives and events. And it’s also being able to say, proudly, that we support diversity and inclusion.”

As a worldwide organization, Pearson was drawn into the globality of myGwork. Kevin shared how the potential for the partnership to involve all of their offices around the world – from Europe to the Americas, Australia, the Middle East, and further – was critical. And their team in Spain have benefited from this, with their LGBTQ+ network in its beginning stages, they linked up with the myGwork team in Madrid who were able to offer support. Then, on the other side of the world, their Asia Pacific and Australia Network are joining in the conversation by taking part in campaigns and events. By working with a global platform such as myGwork, they were able to ensure the impact wasn’t just felt by one office, but that everyone benefited no matter where they were based.

As an HR expert with decades of experience, Kevin truly understands the importance of widening your talent pool if you are to create a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. This is why Pearson has made recruitment a pillar of their efforts in ensuring they are a place where everyone can be themselves, and they know that this, in turn, makes them a more successful business. Kevin also knows that recruiting a diverse workforce is only the beginning, that it then takes purposeful effort to foster and grow the talent you hire.

“The focus on recruitment is central to progressing an organization’s diversity and inclusion journey. Because if you can effectively widen your talent pipeline, then you’ve got the best chance of ensuring that you have a diverse workforce. And then that’s just the start. There are other initiatives and approaches that are important throughout the journey of a person’s employment, but recruitment is absolutely fundamental. If you don’t have a diverse pipeline, you’re not going to have a diverse workforce. If you’re always recruiting from the same place, you’re going to largely establish a homogenous population. So, we’ve put this at the center of our diversity, inclusion, and equity journey.”

It may have only been six months, but the impact of myGwork on Pearson employees around the world is already being felt. And the most exciting part may be that this is just the beginning, with both the Pearson and myGwork teams dedicated to pushing diversity and inclusion the potential of what happens next is immense.

“Going forward, the pace of diversity, equity, and inclusion is not going to slow. I think it’s going to increase and that more and more people in society will want to be who they are, live as they want to, and flourish as themselves. I think organizations will need to ensure that they continue to look at such partnerships to enable them to be able to reach out to communities and to ensure that they have the best chance of having a diverse workforce, which reflects society, but also gives organizations the best opportunity to recruit the very best people.”