The term 'social mobility' is commonly used in relation to politics and the workplace, although many people often misunderstand or under-appreciate this phrase.

In fact, social mobility is the movement of individuals, families and households (and potentially other categories of people), while it marks a change in social status relative to an individual or group's currency location within a particular society.

It's also a term that's not lost on Squire Patton Boggs, which recently ranked highly in the Social Mobility Employer Index for 2021. But how exactly did the brand fare, and what does the index tell us about listed companies?

How Squire Patton Boggs Improved its Social Mobility Performance

Squire Patton Boggs was recently ranked 15th in the 2021 Social Mobility Employer Index, improving on its 2020 ranking of 46th in the process.

This marks the brand's clear commitment to social mobility in the workplace and society as a whole, while also offering an insight into just how far Squire Patton Boggs has come in this regard in recent times.

This year saw 203 businesses and public sector organisations reviewed as part of the Social Mobility Employer Index, with these entities (which collectively employ around 1.35 million people on these shores) answering around 100 questions to gauge their approach to social mobility.

According to partner Rob Elvin, who leads the firm's Social Mobility Resource Group, this is an issue that Squire Patton Boggs takes incredibly seriously. "To have made such tremendous progress after entering the index for the first time last year underlines how hard we have worked", he went on to say, "not only to address barriers to recruitment, but to also improve mobility within the firm".

To illustrate this further, the firm ranked above big hitters such as Santander, Legal & General and even the BBC.

What is the Social Mobility Employer Index?

The Social Mobility Employer Index comprises two key elements; namely the questions aimed at employers themselves and a separate, independent survey.

Employers are currently evaluated across seven areas; their work with young people, routes into work, the attraction of staff, recruitment and selection, data collation, progression of employees and experienced hires and advocacy.

Squire Patton Boggs scored well across each of these metrics, suggesting that they've worked hard to recognise the challenges in relation to social mobility and taken practical steps to tackle these directly over the course of the last 12 months.

The index itself was created by the UK charity the Social Mobility Foundation back in 2017, and has sought to forensically examine how companies are driving social mobility in their workplaces ever since.