Diversity and inclusion in hiring are becoming increasingly important to businesses of all sizes. The move towards a more inclusive workforce means that organizations want to create a culture in which everyone feels valued, regardless of race, gender identity, or background.
In the current climate, diversity in hiring isn’t simply an ethical necessity — research has found that diverse teams result in better business performance across all sectors. Diversity recruiting involves utilizing a non-discriminatory process to hire qualified job seekers, prioritizing their skills and experience over any biases.
“Having a diverse workforce is as important as ROI; it should become a priority for all organizations. Gartner Inc. predicts that by 2022, 75% of companies with diverse and inclusive decision-making teams will exceed their financial targets. ”
– source: https://www.kapitaldata.com/blog/why-companies-need-to-diversify-their-hiring-process
Companies that value workplace diversity benefit from increased creativity, productivity, innovation, and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, organizations committed to increasing diversity enjoy better financial returns than those who don’t, as talent from a wide range of backgrounds brings different perspectives and experiences, which helps develop new ideas and methods of working.
So, what does it mean for companies to diversify their hiring process?
It goes beyond just recruiting candidates from different demographic groups — it means creating an environment where the company actively seeks out talent from different backgrounds and ensures that their recruitment efforts are fair and accessible for all candidates.
WAYS TO DIVERSIFY YOUR HIRING PROCESS
- Update job descriptions and job ads to help showcase a more diverse approach.
- Use blind resumes – removing or filtering personal information like names, schools, dates of birth, and other features that can contribute to an unconscious biased assessment of the candidate.
- Candidate Reach: Make sure your job postings reach a variety of job seekers, including those from minority groups or those with disabilities. Create a candidate pipeline and network.
- Create mentorships, internships and training programs within the organization that offer opportunities to candidates from specific backgrounds. Nurture communities and relationships.
- Use diverse recruiting sources: Reach out to job boards, colleges, alumni associations, and other organizations that cater to underrepresented communities in order to find applicants from more diverse backgrounds.
- Provide transparency on pay scales, and share company policies that appeal to diverse candidates. This can give candidates an understanding of the value they would bring to the company, knowing what the organization is looking for from this role. It also helps to ensure fair wages across all jobs within the organization, which not only promotes diversity but also ensures that wage inequality is addressed.
- Set goals, measure success and conduct audits. Having a clear goal can help craft a clear path to achieve it.
The focus needs to be on eliminating bias at every step of the recruitment process while improving accessibility so potential hires don’t feel excluded due to their age, racial background, gender identity or any other factor outside of their qualifications or experience.
CONCLUSION
By taking proactive measures such as these, companies send a clear message that they are invested in building a workforce reflective of the wider community — one that values everyone’s contributions regardless of personal characteristics. In addition, it also helps build trust with customers who know they can expect unbiased service when engaging with an organization that prioritizes diversity in its operations.
