Volunteer-based organization Allies for Recruiting (AIR) has joined the One Club for Creativity family, adding to the non-profit’s diversity offering. The move will afford AIR the resources to expand its infrastructure and increase its scope of growth.
AIR represents a collective of recruiters from a variety of disciplines, including advertising, marketing and technology, creating representation and a sense of belonging within the industry. That goes hand-in-hand with The One Club for Creativity’s purpose to cultivate talent—and celebrate global creative success on a variety of platforms.
Kevin Swanepoel, CEO of the One Club for Creativity, told Adweek that AIR “shares our focus on results-oriented programs that do more than just talk about the issue. They actually help get people hired.”
AIR’s recruitment practices are what allow its recruiters to best help individuals meet their potential and land their dream jobs. This includes diversifying its search queries and conducting ability-inclusive interviews.
“Through AIR pods, smaller groups of recruiters work together to create resources for our broader community. We identify new areas of focus, share talent acquisition and retention strategies—and equip our members to have difficult conversations with hiring teams,” Tyler DeBoard, AIR partner and global director, talent partnerships at WPP, told Adweek.
The One Club for Creativity has maintained its pillar of inclusion and diversity for nearly 15 years. It was one of the first within the industry to form a department dedicated to DEI, called One ID, in 2008.
It has since created programs such as its annual Where Are All The Black People (WAATBP) diversity conference and career fair, One School free portfolio program for Black creatives, One Production free food styling program for BIPOC students, Creative Boot Camps held around the world offering diverse students.
The One Club’s considerable focus in this area will now extend into new realms through AIR’s influence in the industry.
“There’s been lots of talk over the past few years about the need to increase diversity in the ad world. AIR stands out as an organization that actually does something tangible to address the problem: they exist for the purpose of getting diverse talent hired,” said Swanepoel.
In today’s socio-political climate, discussion and action surrounding diversity and inclusion have never been more pressing—according to many in the industry—and this new partnership hopes to continue DEI efforts in the advertising and marketing industries.
“We are invested and committed to intentionally raise awareness, train and educate recruiters on how they can embed inclusive practices at a systematic level in everything they do,” Daniela Herrera, AIR founding partner and director recruitment operations and ED&I at R/GA, told Adweek. “I can’t wait to get us started with this partnership and take on a more impactful and meaningful role when it comes to elevating, championing and supporting talent from historically and systematically excluded communities in our industry,” she said.
With a practical action plan, the partnership between The One Club for Creativity and AIR is making a step in the direction of impactful change.
“As our collective grows to include more allies across more of our industries, we hope that competition becomes collaboration in the push for a more equitable future,” said DeBoard.