In 2015 RICS launched the Inclusive Employer Quality Mark (IEQM) as a response to the sector being behind other professions in moving towards a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

183 companies (of all sizes) have since signed up to the IEQM, representing a workforce of over 300,000.

Following feedback provided by professionals and firms across the sector, we have revised the IEQM to ensure that this is a worthwhile quality mark that carries both esteem and value for signatories.

The IEQM is based on 4 clear, key principles:

1. Leadership - demonstrable commitment at the highest level to increasing the diversity of the workforce
2. Recruitment - engage and attract new people to the industry from under-represented groups; best practice recruitment methods
3. Culture - an inclusive culture where all staff engage with developing, delivering, monitoring and assessing diversity and inclusivity
4. Development - training and promotion policies that offer equal access to career progression to all members of the workforce

RICS has been committed to raising the awareness of surveying and the ambition for the profession to be more diverse, however, this is only possible if a more inclusive culture exists, there must be a measurement of this specifically to determine how inclusive an organisation is.

How will the IEQM benefit my business?

• A revised, streamlined self-assessment survey will give businesses/organisations a clear indication of how they are performing in terms of diversity and inclusion, across the principles above.
• It will help businesses/organisations of all sizes have frank discussions regarding pay gap reporting, for those organisations that will be required by law to report on gender pay gap reporting, the same is likely to be the case for ethnicity pay gap reporting (expected to become law by 2021) and disability pay gap reporting in the future.
• Increasingly procurement tenders contain questions related to businesses diversity and inclusion policies and procedures, requiring evidence of this in practice. By being a signatory to the IEQM and by carrying out the self-assessment survey businesses can confidently approach these questions and improve their competitive advantage by demonstrating a diverse and inclusive approach to business.
• The next generation of surveyors, and those recently qualified belong to generations that understand diversity and inclusion and wish to work for organisations that demonstrate a positive approach to this. In winning the war for talent, it is essential to not only attract the best talent, but to provide a working environment and culture which will meet their needs. By being a signatory to the IEQM, businesses can position themselves as being a progressive employer, committed to diversity and inclusion and enabling their people to bring their whole selves to work.