Case Study: AB Agri attracts a more diverse candidate pool with Develop Diverse

Building a more diverse workforce by attracting a wider candidate pool

AB Agri, the agricultural division of Associated British Foods, sought to build a more diverse workforce and talent pipeline. The challenge was to attract applicants from underrepresented backgrounds and ensure fair career progression by removing unintentional bias from their recruitment language. To address this, they partnered with vendor Develop Diverse and implemented its inclusive writing software to analyse and improve their job descriptions.

By using Develop Diverse's tool, AB Agri educated their recruitment teams and hiring managers on the impact of language. The software identified and suggested changes for biases related to gender, age, neurodivergence, ethnicity, and disability. This solution led to measurable results, including a 35% increase in female applicants, a 17% increase in applicants from minority ethnic groups, and a 3% increase in applications from people with disabilities. Additionally, AB Agri reduced its average time to fill a vacancy from 119 days to just 44 days, crediting Develop Diverse as a key contributor to this progress.

AB Agri

Matt Cannon

Head of Talent Acquisition and Diversity & Inclusion