There are many benefits of maintaining a diverse workforce including higher revenue, better job performance, a more recognizable and trusted employer brand, and a growing customer base.
Furthermore, 67% of active and passive job seekers have indicated that having a diverse workplace is important when evaluating job offers (Glassdoor). The biggest question employers have today is how do we recruit and maintain a diverse workforce?
While there are many challenges in building a workforce that is rich in diversity, there are several ways to overcome many of these obstacles through the recruitment process by being mindful of the current state of affairs and making an effort to market to those who are not represented equally in the workforce.
Alter Your Language to Source for Diverse Candidates
Many existing job titles and descriptions are considerably masculine which can cause women to be averse to applying to your company. For example, “determined” is perceived positively by men, where “dedicated” is more positively received by women. While you may be thinking that you want to diversify, but not discourage men from applying, don’t worry. It has been shown that the language used in job ads that are appealing to women had virtually no influence on a man’s decision to apply.
By doing a bit of keyword research, optimizing and testing using ads on LinkedIn that provide detailed analytical data, and paying attention to trends in the workforce you can source diverse candidates appropriately.
Partner with Diverse Colleges and Universities
Post-secondary educational institutions have always been a great source for recruiting candidates. Diversity statistics for schools are publically available and should be considered when forming partnerships with schools for recruiting purposes. Furthermore, by recruiting from diverse schools you will diversify your workforce by having a younger applicant pool who can be more easily trained to fulfill the needs of your company. This helps balance out the more experienced workers who can act as mentors to new hires.
Remove Your Candidate Bias During the Recruitment Process
In a perfect world, no one would have a bias toward one candidate or another based on human traits out of the candidate’s control. In reality, people unintentionally have these biases due to societal rules and expectations that have been established over years and years of misguidedness. While removing a recruiting bias seems a bit daunting, there are ways that you can effectively incorporate new recruiting methods to help negate these problems.
- Consider blind interviewing candidates by having them complete projects prior to the interview process. This contest-like approach allows the candidate to remain anonymous and your recruiting team to pick the candidates who create the best work.
- Try a non-verbal interview process that does not disclose names. The company Bytemark has done this by requiring early candidates to attend a two-step interview process done completely through instant messaging tools. No names are used, no photos are seen, and no voices are heard. This allows the employer to evaluate the candidate without bias. Only if the candidate passes these interviews will they be brought in for an in-person interview.
Reinforce a Culture of Diversity in the Workplace
One of the biggest challenges employers face is nurturing a culture of diversity within their company. Many companies state that a diverse workforce is important to them, but the acceptance within the workforce is not supported in practice. We know this is true because of trends seen in non-diverse industries (such as the tech industry). In fact, 27% of employees surveyed reported discrimination related to gender, race, ethnicity, or sexuality as the reason for quitting their tech jobs. Even more shocking, is that 87% stated they would never return to the tech industry because of it. By discriminating, even unintentionally, you hurt the potential value of your workforce. You can fix this problem by incorporating the following tips:
- Implement a diversity training program
- Train employees to catch unconscious bias before it does damage
- Make leadership the example to follow
- Showcase the investment you are making in diversity initiatives
Even the best recruitment for diversity efforts can be thwarted if the internal culture is not accepting of diversity, so make it a priority. Otherwise, your recruiting efforts will all be for nothing.
By focusing your employer brand on showcasing your diverse culture, using language that appeals to diverse candidates, partnering with diverse groups, and underscoring the importance of diversity in your company culture, you will start to see a shift in the type of qualified candidates your receive. Hiring for diversity is not an easy part of the recruitment process but is important for the future success of the company.
