'We've moved away from hiring being linked to time served'

Britain’s most renowned broadcaster, the BBC has been on a drive to best represent its audience, and that starts within by having a diverse talent pool creating content that delivers value for all.

A big part of this is creating a place that attracts the best people and enables them to do their best work. Zoë Baker, People Director, BBC Nations has led the charge for the Nations division, with a diversity and inclusion plan that started with inclusive hiring practices and challenging expectations that you have earned career progression via time spent in a role.

Zoë Baker

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People Director, BBC Nations

Baker is the People Director for the 4,600 people split across 50 bases in the UK. Attaining the BBC’s goal for greater diversity and inclusion is no mean feat and she is proud of the team of specialists from Talent Acquisition, Leadership Development, Diversity & Inclusion and HR business partnering for being recognised for their positive impact on diversity and inclusion – with the Wales team recently scooping the Diversity & Inclusion award at the HR in Wales awards.

A big part of winning was the ground-breaking work the team have done as part of the whole BBC’s aim to diversify its workforce and make progress towards it’s 2026 goal of 50% gender parity, 20% Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff and 12% disabled representation, which has recently increased to 14% to take into account deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent staff.

“This award recognised that in our Wales office a number of our initiatives have come together to complement one another in both building an inclusive culture and diversifying the workforce,” says Baker.

“We take into account the relevant demographics of a region for our diversity goals so that they’re meaningful as opposed to having the same goal everywhere.”

BBC Extend is part of the drive for greater inclusivity

A number of jobs at the BBC are advertised through ‘BBC Extend’- a positive action employment programme for people who are deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent, in line with the Equality Act. In Wales the number of roles advertised through the Extend recruitment approach has doubled since June 2024. “In Nations we have hired over fifty people through the programme into vacancies since June last year,” says Baker. She adds that there has also been restructuring across the organisation which has seen some roles close. “We’ve been able to mitigate the impact of disabled staff deciding to leave through the restructuring by the use of BBC Extend to ensure we continue our progress towards best representing and portraying the many diverse communities across the UK."

“We want to build a BBC that is representative of all the audiences we serve,” she says. There are some stipulations around whether a role is suitable for the recruitment programme – Baker explains that it may not be selected if someone has been on secondment into that role or if it’s a short term contract.

Importantly, all appointments through BBC Extend are made on merit, skills and experience. If no suitable candidate is found in the initial process, the role is re-advertised so that both disabled and non-disabled applicants can apply. This ensures we always hire the best person for the job.

With a greater focus on casting the net wider and out to groups who may not have considered the BBC to be for them, Baker admits that the team have had to invest in support for hiring managers to build and use new talent pools. “Myth busting has played a part in changing perceptions and testing assumptions and we’ve had support in place for managers to make hiring as inclusive as possible, ensuring hiring and onboarding adjustments meet particular individual needs – from providing access and support services to ensuring the right technology and tools are in place so each candidate can shine.”