Diversity hiring isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s the smartest thing to do.
Hiring people from different backgrounds, genders, ages, experiences, and nationalities offers an organization the opportunity to be more innovative and profitable. In contrast to that, companies without a diverse pipeline tend to continue hiring the same group of people. Thus hampering their growth and progression.
A McKinsey & Company report suggests, “Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 33 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.”
Similarly, a research study conducted by Northwestern University revealed that teams made up of students from varying social groups performed better at solving problems than those from the same fraternities.
What is Diversity Recruitment?
Think of diversity hiring like building a colorful ice cream sundae. Imagine you’re at an ice cream shop, and you want to create the best sundae ever. Instead of just picking one flavor of ice cream, you decide to mix it up and choose different scoops. You add chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and even some unique flavors like mint chocolate chip and mango.
Now, diversity hiring is a bit like that. When you’re a recruiter, it means you’re not just looking for the same old ice cream scoops (candidates who all look and think the same). You’re actively looking for different flavors (people with various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives). Just like our colorful sundae, diverse candidates bring unique qualities to the team.
6 Tips to Attract and Hire Diverse Candidates in 2023
Diversity and inclusion in 2023 is likely to get more serious. While many organizations have made remarkable progress over the last decade, it’s time to accelerate the momentum.
So how do you go about attracting diverse candidates?
Here are 6 tips organizations MUST follow to achieve its diversity hiring goals in 2023
1. Advertise jobs through diverse channels
There are multiple platforms to post job listings, but if you always stick to the same ones (for example, use only LinkedIn for posting), you might miss out on a huge portion of the talent market. It is always a good idea to choose several different spots and place your job ads on websites and forums where underrepresented groups or minorities drop by or ones especially dedicated to them.
2. Highlight diversity in your job postings
One of the first things potential candidates see when considering to work for a company is their job posting. Unfortunately, it’s common for employers to write non-inclusive job postings that imply a certain type of candidate is preferred over another, deterring diverse individuals from applying.
In fact, studies show that the language you use in your job description helps to encourage or turn off diverse candidates from applying to your open position.
So, be mindful of how you write your job listings and make sure there is no bias involved in the form of gender, racial or ethnic-coded words. Don’t leave it on people to guess if your company prioritizes diversity or not; say it from the beginning.
Plus, merely conveying that you’re an equal-opportunity employer won’t suffice. You should take it a step further by emphasizing why it matters to you.
3. Get referrals from minority employees
Employee referrals not only expose you to a diverse talent pool, they also make hiring 55% faster. This is because when a position opens up, employees can quickly contact their diverse and unique network built up over the years.
Generally, people’s social and professional networks are comprised of people who are demographically similar. Therefore, a great way to attract diverse candidates is by encouraging minority employees to make referrals as they are more likely to refer members of their community.
You may also offer referral bonuses to employees who recommend individuals from underrepresented groups in your organization.
4. Use an AI-powered recruitment system
Artificial intelligence (AI) has a positive impact on reducing hiring bias and building a more diverse candidate pipeline. This technology can be employed to invite people to apply for a job, notify them of new opportunities, and engage with them in brief conversations.
In case your diversity hiring audit indicates a leakage in your candidate pipeline, you can try a couple of great tools. AI-driven tools used for pre-screening, such as gamified assessments, not only speed up your hiring process, they also argument your diversity recruitment efforts, increasing gender, racial and ethnic diversity.
The usual criteria for candidate screening such as their educational qualification, personal connection, or their prior company often decreases the diversity of the candidate pipeline. However, AI-powered gamified assessments provide a level playing field, giving all candidates an equal opportunity to land their dream job.
5. Develop a diverse and inclusive employer brand
A workforce made up of diverse employees helps to build a more attractive employer brand, which is essentially an organization’s reputation as an employer. On the other hand, an employer brand that demonstrates organizational values, showcases diversity and encourages participation works like a strong magnet that helps attract diverse candidates, making them feel welcomed and accepted.
For example, if your organization is comprised of young white males, a middle-aged female of Asian origin who fully qualifies for the job role will think she has no chance of getting selected. If she were to be successful, she’d feel out of place. Without an inclusive employer brand that embraces global diversity, you run the risk of losing exceptional leadership talent who could otherwise bring a positive change to your organization.
6. Have a diverse interview panel for new hires
An effective way to illustrate your organization takes the issue of diversity seriously is by making underrepresented minorities a part of the interview process. When a variety of backgrounds, viewpoints and opinions are combined, the result is better, more diverse hires.
In 2014, after Intel made it mandatory that a panel for any new hire must include at least two women and/or members of underrepresented minorities, the technology company saw a dramatic increase in its diversity numbers.
A diverse interview panel for new hires leaves a massive impact on prospective candidates. Lenora Billings-Harris, Greensboro, NC-based diversity strategist and author, says, “It really telegraphs to the people you’re interviewing that you are serious about diversity and inclusion and that you are open-minded to that diversity of thought the panel would bring forward.”
Conclusion
Clearly, if you want to build a diverse talent pipeline for your company, then you really have to innovate your hiring process. There are many ways recruiters and hiring managers can use to boost the diversity of their talent pipeline. From changing the way they use language to addressing their own hiring biases, ensuring diverse recruitment is even though difficult but not an impossible task.
Most importantly, recruiters need to understand that by using HR technology, they can reach out to more candidates from different demographics. Plus, they can leverage HR technology to keep their unconscious biases aside, ensuring diversity in their talent pool. As a result, the quality of your new hires remains unmatched.
