Establishing better standards for hiring: Our accessible and inclusive recruitment process

Tilting the Lens is a strategic accessibility consultancy committed to creating equitable, human-centred system change, it is vital to us that we move beyond merely being compliant when it comes to accessibility and disability inclusion. As a disability-led organisation with a majority-Disabled team, we are deeply invested in ensuring our own hiring practices reflect our core values, and maintain a deep commitment to accessible hiring and working practices.

Below, we lay out some of the ways we build accessibility and inclusion into each step of a recruitment journey:

1. Valuing diverse and lived experience

Tilting the Lens actively seeks out a wide range of lived and professional experiences. We encourage applications from people with a variety of backgrounds, including those with non-traditional work histories or who have experienced barriers to employment.

We place high value on professional, life, and lived experience, meaning we have no expectation of specific education or degree qualifications for roles. We recognise that the path to being the right fit for any role doesn’t always follow a conventional route. We actively welcome applications from Disabled candidates and people often underrepresented in the industries and sectors we work with.

This intentional call out is an example of the sort of language we use in our job descriptions.

2. Offering a transparent, rounded package with key added supports and benefits

Alongside a competitive salary relevant to the role that meets Living Wage parameters, Tilting the Lens assigns resources to provide enhanced sick and disability leave, and enhanced annual leave. Acknowledging that our team may require upskilling or other supports, we also offer an annual education allowance, and monthly wellbeing allowance. The team works remotely and flexibly. 

Laying out a clear and bulleted section of all the compensation and benefits of a role, high up in the job description, we hope to demonstrate early our clear intention of supporting people into the role. This also meets the upcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive which will be transposed into law in 2026. 

3. Being clear in what is expected of a role

Rather than an exhaustive list of tasks, or a broad sweep of soft and hard skills, we try to focus on identifying the key responsibilities of a role, and who the person might be. This might include some statements about what they are experienced doing, what they are highly confident in, and what they have practice in.  

4. Eliminating barriers in the application process

We ensure that the application stage is flexible and accessible by removing rigid format requirements. Candidates are welcome to submit applications in multiple formats, including:

• Written documents (CVs, cover letters)
• Audio or video recordings
• Slides or visual portfolios

When applying for roles, we ask candidates to send their CV and a brief cover letter or expression of interest, which can also be provided in written, audio, or video format.

We also try to hire through our own website, giving potential candidates a specific email address if they need accessibility support. This ensures that there is a personal approach to the process. 

5. Removing the distraction of the algorithm

Another barrier Tilting the Lens seeks to remove is the inherent bias of the algorithms. When the application period closes, we take a breath and think again about what the key attributes we’re looking for in the candidate for a role. We then read all the applications ourselves, never via AI, seeking out the candidates that might get missed otherwise. 

6. Comprehensive commitment to access accommodations

Tilting the Lens explicitly states its commitment to ensuring the recruitment processes are as accessible as possible. The team recognises that access requirements vary and is committed to making adjustments at any stage of the process.

This includes adjustments related to:

• How information is shared.
• How interviews are conducted.
• How assessments (if any) are approached.

Candidates who wish to discuss access needs or require support completing their application are invited to contact the dedicated accessibility email address.

7. Transparency and preparation for interviews

A cornerstone of the accessible interview process is full transparency. When applicants are invited to an interview with us, they are asked at that stage if there are any access accommodations they need to support their success during the meeting. Interviews are typically conducted online, to ensure that people have the access accommodations they need, and can be comfortable, and not flustered or exhausted from travel when we meet. 

Before the interview, Tilting the Lens sends a full brief containing essential preparatory information. This brief includes:

• The meeting link and log-in details.
• Information on who the candidate will meet.
• All proposed interview questions.

Sharing the questions in advance is provided as an explicit access accommodation, designed to allow candidates to think about the conversation beforehand and consider the experience and skills they would most like to present on the day. Furthermore, if the preparatory document is inaccessible in any way, the team commits to sending it in a different format.

Giving the questions in advance supports both the applicant to prepare for the interview, but we also find it helps get to the quality content more quickly, and allows us to fairly compare the candidates. 

For the virtual meetings, the interviews are proposed via the Zoom platform, which includes captioning and transcription support. If Zoom is not accessible to a candidate, Tilting the Lens will support an alternative platform that is.

8. Over-communicating rather than under-communicating

We all get anxious when we have a vacuum of information. Tilting the Lens communicates with all candidates at each step of the process, so you know we have received your application, what stage we’re at in our deliberations, and crucially, if we’re going to take a bit longer to get back to you.

9. Inclusion beyond hiring: working practices

The commitment to inclusion extends past the recruitment stage and into the role itself. Tilting the Lens offers ongoing accessibility accommodation support for employees, including access to assistive technology or adjustments as needed.

By designing a recruitment process that is deeply transparent and committed to individual access needs and diverse experience, Tilting the Lens models the equitable and human-centred systems we champion to our clients, and we attract a more diverse and rich pool of skilled and committed candidates.