Improving Diversity Recruiting Practices

Achieving diversity within an organization can be difficult. When companies look to recruit and hire new employees, it can be difficult to draw in job seekers from a more diverse pool of applicants. It is no secret that people are drawn to others similar to themselves. It is crucial that organizations make a conscious effort to go outside their comfort zone to recruit employees with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

1. Make Job Advertisements Inclusive

 

a) Examine the language in your job posts

One major way to impact the diversification of your workforce is to consider the language you are using for your job ads and postings. Begin by determining what requirements are listed for the position. Ask yourself: Is a minimum job qualification list absolutely required?

Many organizations list far too many skills that are required. A long list often scares off quality job seekers because they believe they cannot fulfill many of the items. Studies show that women and non-white people tend to only apply when they feel they can meet all of the qualifications.

b) Don’t exclude individuals with disabilities

Look at your job listings to make sure they don’t unintentionally exclude individuals with disabilities (IWD). Are you including physical job requirements that are not necessary? For example, if the majority of the work is intellectual, such as with a job in marketing, being able to perform physical tasks is not essential.
 

c) Accept equivalent experience

Are you accepting equivalent experience? This is a significant way to attract veterans. Look for ways to match a transferable skill from military work to civilian work. For example, consider this job posting that states: Experience managing a team of five or more people in an office setting. While a veteran will likely not have that office experience, they may have led a team in the field and have the same skills necessary to succeed. Adding or equivalent military experience to the job listing will expand the applicant base.

d) Convey an inclusive workplace

Avoid cultural or gender-specific language. Numerous studies show that women are less likely to apply when aggressive language or perceived masculinity is conveyed. For example, words like “assertive,” “outspoken,” and “analytical” have tended to dissuade women from applying.

Culturally, terms that appear to exclude minority cultures or religious/political views could cause hesitation. Also, remember that different benefits will appeal to various demographics, so expand the benefits listed to be inclusive of various groups. For example, a recent college graduate may be more interested in bonuses, while flex time may be more appealing to a working parent.

2. Eliminate Unconscious Bias in Candidate Screening

a) Remove names

Recruiters reviewing resumes may subconsciously discriminate based on stereotypes or other perceptions. To avoid this, remove or cover names on initial resumes. Names can indicate if a person is male or female and may also give insight into a person’s race or ethnicity. However, what you see may not fit your perception. The focus should only be on what the applicant brings in terms of skills, qualifications, and experience.

b) Be careful about social media

Encourage recruiters to be cautious about social media use because anything they see online may affect their judgment. Do not evaluate a candidate based on a person’s appearance or judge based on other photos or information found unrelated to the position or your company.

3. Get Everyone on Board

To increase diversity, everyone at your organization needs to be on the same page, including sourcers, recruiters and managers.

a) Encourage sourcers to diversify resources and outreach efforts

They can promote diversity in branding, online content, and on social media. Also, they need to establish connections with diversity groups in colleges and universities.

b) Motivate recruiters to develop a pipeline of diverse candidates

Encourage them to be active in areas that are outside their normal recruitment groups. Teach recruiters how to spot stereotypes and avoid them in their recruitment.

c) Educate hiring managers on their role in the process

Work with them to review the hiring process and identify issues. If you are getting diverse applicants but not hiring them, examine why.

4. Source Diverse Candidates

In order to source diverse candidates, you need to start by building a diverse candidate pool. Here is how:

a) Utilize a database of outreach organizations

Look for databases that have representation across a wide range of demographic groups, especially those that are most critical to your needs. Use it to locate and connect with local diversity groups. Circa provides the opportunity to connect with and automatically distribute your jobs to 15,500+ community-based organizations to amplify your workforce while connecting with local diversity groups.

b) Leverage technology to improve outreach

Use a system that allows you to track and save all of your communications and interactions. Having that information in one central location is an important feature, so you can easily review, evaluate, and report on your diversity outreach effort. The right system will automatically send your jobs to outreach organizations, target your outreach, proactively connect you to candidates and build relationships.

c) Employ multiple strategies

It is important to invest time to develop an interactive and ongoing relationship with your contacts. You can do that by inviting your contacts to an informational meeting, facility tour, or an open house. The more they understand what your needs are, the greater the likelihood they will be able to refer qualified applicants.  Also, seek out diversity career fairs and other events hosted by associations or student organizations that serve your target demographic.

d) Hire community outreach coordinators

Assign a person specifically responsible for community outreach. They may be responsible for all outreach or focus on target groups, such as veterans, individuals with disabilities, minorities, women, or LGBTQIA+.

The Bottom Line

when looking to develop and employ a recruitment strategy, the best approach is a multi-pronged one that also includes valuing diversity, say our recruiting experts. This approach not only impacts the bottom line but also ensures that your business is representative of your employees, clients and vendors – culturally diverse.

Author Bio

Katie Coleman is Product Marketing Manager at Circa. Visit https://circaworks.com/ Connect Katie Coleman