Companies are missing out on top talent by failing to understand the job-hunting habits of minority groups, according to a study published by the Chartered Management Institute, the Department of Work and Pensions and the Institute for Employment Studies.
The research into managers of under-represented groups found that 81% used newspaper recruitment, 76% used online searches and 67% turned to personal networks or professional bodies respectively.
Press adverts are more popular among the black community, it added, with online searches preferred by Asian managers and personal networking favoured by white managers.
But the research claims companies may be restricting their chances of finding employees from such backgrounds because of their method of recruitment. For example, 76% of Asian managers looked online for work but only 11% could find suitable jobs in their sector on the internet.
The survey also suggested that many applicants from minority backgrounds feel they have to overcome racial prejudice when applying for a job. One in three Asian managers and 20% of black managers said this had been a barrier to career progression, compared with just 10% of those with mixed ethnicity and 1% of white managers.
"Despite increasing demands for openness and transparency many of the barriers to achieving greater diversity at a senior management level persist," said Jo Causon, director, marketing and corporate affairs, at the Chartered Management Institute.
"It should be a key concern for employers because they run the risk of wasting a talent pool that already exists."
The survey also highlighted a perceived lack of opportunity for career progression among all managers, with 77% saying they took their current job because of future opportunities but only 45% believing their employer has developed their skills "impressively" or "well".
Ethnic minority groups feel particularly let down, with more Asian (24%) and black (22%) managers reporting "inadequate" or "very inadequate" development compared to 16% of white managers.
"If organisations want management talent at the top, it's there, and in an ethnically diverse pool," said Hülya Hooker, IES research fellow and author of the report. "Recruitment approaches must recognise that managers from different ethnic groups are attracted by different benefits.
"What this talent has in common, though, is a drive to be challenged, to grow, and to achieve. And if the challenge and opportunity goes, so will they."
