Powered by purpose
The Group has a long history of giving back to the communities in which we operate. It’s part of our DNA and is evidenced by the passion of our people to give their time, energy and finances to champion local and global causes. Underpinned by our puporse to power people and organisations to fulfil their unique potential, we focus our efforts on the three areas where we think we can have the greatest impact:
- Delivering global impact through local action
- Investing in emerging talent across all sections of society
- Providing pathways to employment
Each year our people enthusiastically take part in a broad range of fundraising and volunteering initiatives from marathon walks, climbing mountains and sponsored runs, to hosting charity bake sales, karaoke competitions to painting wall murals, food donation drives and organising community clean-ups. Likewise, the Group supports a diverse group of charities and not-for-profit organisations in the UK, Kenya, India and beyond.
It’s our ambition to have a global impact through local action in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eliminate poverty and hunger, secure access to clean water, reduce inequalities and share our skills and expertise to help disadvantaged groups access good quality job opportunities. As we play our part in contributing towards the SDGs, we will see local communities transformed.
Our targets
£500k
Raised through Global Charity Day over the next three years (2023 to 2025).
100%
Percentage of countries participating in Global Charity Day
400k
Lives positively impacted by 2030 (using 2020 as the baseline year)
Global impact through local action
As purpose-led corporate citizens, we are passionate about powering the potential of the diverse individuals and communities we serve around the world by volunteering our time and expertise, partnering with charities and non-profits, and fundraising for causes close to our employees’ hearts.
Building sustainable futures with Global Angels
Since 2017, we've worked with the Global Angels Foundation, an international development organisation working with disadvantaged communities around the world to find sustainable solutions for the provision of safe drinking water, healthcare, education, sustainable energy and small business development.
For over five years we've supported the Itinyi Valley community in Tsavo, Kenya, working with Global Angels on the ground to empower the local community to build a sustainable future by putting critical infrastructure in place, establishing sustainable farming techniques, and providing access to live-giving clean drinking water. Each year, we send eight volunteers to Tsavo to work with the Itinyi Valley community on key projects.
Our annual Global Charity Day
The Robert Walters Group has always been proud to support the charities and organisations making a difference in our local communities and for the eleventh year, we successfully held another successful annual Global Charity Day in October 2022.
As we do each year, staff chose local charities to fundraise and volunteer for, raising a record £151,582 worldwide for organisations like Make a Wish (Netherlands), NSPCC and Mind (United Kingdom), Unicef (Belgium) and National Breast Cancel Foundation (Australia) — all through a combination of various in-person and virtual events, challenges and competitions.
Investing in emerging talent
We sponsor and support emerging talent in the arts, sports and culture, offering a platform for exposure and a springboard to help accelarate their career development whether that be helping the next generation of creative voices or the talented future sports stars of tomorrow.
Providing a platform for emerging artists
In 2019, we launched the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award, in collaboration with UK New Artists and the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London. The aim of the award is to discover and champion the work of exceptional new artists whose work and vision represents contemporary Britain.
2022 saw over 1,300 outstanding entries submitted for the award, with 10 exceptional finalists exhibiting their work at Saatchi Gallery, where the winners of the £10,000 first prize and £5,000 second prize were announced at the exhibition opening night. People were also able to visit our Digital Gallery and vote for the People's Choice Award.
Championing diversity and inclusion within the arts
The Robert Walters Group is proud to have been the Production Sponsor of The Old Vic's show Sylvia, a story celebrating the life of the Pankhurst family’s revolutionary role in the suffragette movement in the UK, starring Beverley Knight as Emmeline Pankhurst and onstage at the beginning of 2023.
Sylvia’s sensational retelling of a historic fight for equality received outstanding reviews and was described as ‘exhilarating’ by the BBC Front Row and ‘a storm of a show’ by The Guardian. The show was also recognised at the recent Olivier Awards, with Beverley Knight awarded Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical.
As a values-led organisation, The Old Vic is committed to serving the community, making theatre accessible to all and ensuring inclusive practice to diversify the talent pool within the creative industries, both on and off the stage.
The Robert Walters Group shares these values having a strong focus on giving back to our local communities and using our influence to champion a more diverse global workforce through our work with clients and candidates.
Pathways to employment
As an industry-leading global recruitment group, we are well placed to advocate and support individuals by providing pathways to employment. Around the world, we share our skills, expertise and knowledge to support social mobility and help secure meaningful employment and careers of purpose.
Advice and support for
people leaving prison
Following a successful pilot with UK charity StandOut in 2019, the Group launched our RE:START programme in 2020, through which staff volunteers provide 1-to-1 CV assistance and job interview skills training to people who are preparing to leave prison and re-enter the workforce.
Helping talent from diverse
backgrounds build careers in tech
We partner with organisations that are working to improve diversity within technology around the world. In Australia we support She Codes, helping women launch careers in coding, and in the UK we support Intertech, working to improve LGBTQ+ inclusion in the tech sector.
Supporting Ukraine
As the war in Ukraine continues, the region faces a humanitarian crisis as millions of people are forced to leave their country, many who are skilled professionals who want to work. And as a global recruitment firm we are able to help.
We are incredibly proud to support goodjob, a platform helping Ukrainians displaced by the war find new jobs, access mentoring, and connect to a community and network of global professionals. Co-founded by one of our own consultants, Dana Okomaniuk, based in Japan but originally from Ukraine, we are providing her with the time and resources she needs to focus on this important project, as well as support from our technology, innovation, communications and leadership teams. We have also engaged 11 Ukrainian professionals to work on our Technology & Transformation projects.
In addition, we have also donated to RefuAid, a charity that provides support and access to employment opportunities in the UK for refugees, through language tuition, education, finance and meaningful employment.
