28 March 2025
B Corp Journey One Year On: Hunter’s Social Impact
Nearly four years ago we first considered becoming a B Corp
Although it took another three years to start the process, we knew from the moment we learned about the B Corp certification that it was the right fit for Hunter Selection. What we didn’t anticipate was finding the time to complete the journey, gather the necessary evidence, and bring the entire company on the journey with us.
We had explored various certifications and accreditations, seeking one that truly encapsulated our identity, our distinctiveness from other recruiters, and our core values—all in one iconic stamp of approval. Over the years, we consistently prioritised our employees and communities in our decision-making and had began to place greater emphasis on environmental considerations.
This positioned us well to start the B Corp journey. Even if you’re unsure of your starting point or thinking of starting a business, the B Lab B Impact Assessment can guide you on the steps to take.
It’s a free tool anyone can use to measure their starting point!
Have a look at our past blogs to learn more about the lessons we’ve learned on our journey to becoming a B Corp and what achieving the certification means for us.
We have achieved B Corp certification! – Hunter Selection
We started our journey a year ago with Business on Purpose, whose support was invaluable and wrote our first Annual Impact Report 2023.
In this report, we recognised our past efforts and outlined plans for 2024 to ensure we continued to make a positive social and environmental impact.
Although writing and publicising our commitments was daunting, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we had accomplished and the potential we could see. From attending PurposeFest last March it filled us with ideas, alongside this our employees, suppliers, and landlords contributed valuable insights when we shared the journey with them and explained their roles as stakeholders.
Reviewing our social impact plans for 2024
- We recognised that while we had an open culture where everyone could contribute ideas, we didn’t provide enough time and space for this. Improving this area would help us gain the
collective approach, buy-in, and momentum needed for B Corp certification—a win-win situation. - B Corp became a standing item on our monthly leadership meeting agenda and remains so.
- We organised a national B Corp launch day, where our survey results following the day showed that employees’ knowledge of B Corp increased from an average of 4/10 to 7/10. We kept everyone informed throughout the journey and continue to update and gather ideas at our biannual sales conferences. We developed marketing and training materials to support our B Corp story.
- We completed four internal surveys in total- one following B Corp day, and two on inclusion and employee satisfaction & engagement.
- From our employee survey on inclusion, only 55% of employees agreed that we provide training programs and resources to promote diversity and inclusion within the workplace. To address this, we introduced training on ED&I and sustainability to boost everyone’s confidence in discussing our social and environmental impact with clients, candidates, and other stakeholders. Our unique position in the supply chain allows us to engage with many people about B Corp.
Some of the results:
“ I love the autonomy of working for Hunter. I love the fact that we are listened to and that we are agile enough to be able to make changes quickly. And I love the fact that the management team are all people who I trust and who are in the business for the right reasons”
“An open minded approach to the ways we could possibly work across the board & the development of always trying to grow & improve.”
“Motivated by the breadth of what is covered under B Corp”
“I thought it was great to know what the company is doing behind the scenes and publicly to strive to be better and obtain the B Corp Status.”
“I value the foundation of ethics and the moral focus of the company. They are supportive, and help everyone to achieve their goals. Hunter maintains the mission statements and company values above everything else, which I really believe in, and I value the most.”
- The fourth was a diversity survey, allowing us to understand how our employees identify themselves in their own words, measure the impact of our initiatives, and track changes in employee perceptions and experiences over time. We will do the surveys annually to ensure we are retaining good communication and transparency internally.
- During sales conference this January, we gathered ideas from all employees to help formulate our plans for 2025. We also focused on how we could celebrate and recognise our 20th anniversary in 2025 while balancing our commitment to people and the planet.
- We also sent surveys to our three landlords and suppliers. These surveys examined their social and environmental practices as part of our supply chain. This process helped us improve our purchasing policies and our criteria for partnering with landlords.
- We will continue to conduct these surveys annually to monitor progress.
- As we collaborate more with these stakeholders to achieve our goals, we can learn more about their practices and enhance our partnerships moving forward.
Aligned with our community values and commitment to enhancing our social impact, every employee receives an annual, fully paid ‘Give Back Day’ to volunteer for charity, which also supports the personal growth of our employees. For the past three years, we hadn’t measured the impact or value of these days. This year, we assessed the impact and gathered testimonials from our staff and the organisations we supported, highlighting what these contributions mean to them:
Read all about our Give Back Days in 2024 in our round-up blog here
On social impact we also…
- Opened an ethical bank account with The Charity Bank.
- Produced our first impact report, starting to measure and monitor everything.
- Engaged The HR Dept services to ensure we were implementing the best possible practices.
- Amended our Articles of Association to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders and developed a new mission statement.
- Introduced a probation period for new starters to formalise our onboarding process and increase transparency.
- Began a partnership with Diversity Jobs Recruit (10 targeted job boards), providing further confidence that we are accessing the widest possible talent pool for our clients. While we can’t guarantee a diverse shortlist, we can ensure our processes are inclusive and equitable.
- Upgraded to Cyber Essentials Plus from Cyber Essentials for increased cyber security protection.
- We donated 261 days to Teach The Unreached which increased from 124 days in 2023. Read more about this in our Give Back Day blog.
- For the fourth year running, voted by our employees, we ranked in the The Job Crowd “Top 50 companies for graduates to work for’, with an overall ranking of 4 of 5, the highest scoring categories were; Training, Colleagues, and Company Culture.
Have a read of our next blog where we look at the B Corp journey for our Environmental impact
If you are looking to learn more about becoming a B Corp, or working with a B Corp recruiter on your job search or next recruitment project then please do get in touch
01275 371981