In a recruitment climate affected by the Great Resignation, it’s more important—and more possible—than ever to hire a diverse workforce. Recruiting diverse candidates boosts revenue and innovation, meaning diverse recruiting is just plain good for business.
With that in mind, here are five tips for fast-tracking your DEI recruiting:
Expand Your Network
In its publication “Recruiting for Diversity,” Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences suggests diversifying the reach of your business networks to “make connections to the diverse communities from which potential staff may be identified.” Even simply expanding the reach of your current network on sites such as LinkedIn or Facebook can have an immediate impact. Within your social networks, Harvard suggests “joining online groups relevant to your department and taking an active part in them,” to “increase your networking opportunities. (Search for the women and minority subgroups within these professional social media sites, for optimal diversity outreach.)”
Edit Your Job Posting
When your job posting is too narrow, you can drive away many qualified candidates. Harvard advises, “Avoid describing the job so narrowly that all but a small group of job-seekers will view it as attainable.” In the same vein, a Hewlett-Packard internal report, described in the Harvard Business Review, found that most women will only apply for a job if they meet 100 percent of the qualifications, whereas most men will apply if they only meet 60 percent. Craft your job posting to appeal to the broadest candidate pool possible to increase the diversity of your hiring pool.
Not sure where to start? Textio looks at your recruitment ads and suggests edits to increase inclusivity.
Adjust Your Slate
At the interview stage, make sure your slate of candidates reflects your diversity goals. In another study published by the Harvard Business Review, women were 79 times more likely to be hired if there were at least two women on the slate of candidates. For BIPoC, it’s 194 times more likely.
The same study found that a lone woman or BIPoC candidate in a candidate pool had a near zero chance of being hired. The simple act of interviewing a more diverse panel can have an immediate impact on diverse recruiting.
Widen Your Net
Referrals and personal networks have long been favored recruitment tools, but these networks are limited. Personal networks are often not diverse and relying on them will likely ensure that your workforce stays demographically stagnant. Beyond diversifying your personal network, Forbes recommends “investing in tools that source qualified candidates across all backgrounds, which will result in a more diverse slate of passive candidates.” Consider AbilityLinks, a site that connects recruiters to qualified candidates with disabilities, or Out & Equal, a job board for LGBTQ+ candidates.
Diversify Your Panel
Much like your slate of candidates, the diversity of your interview panel can have a direct effect, not only on the candidates you offer positions to, but on the candidates who accept those offers. Diverse candidates seek a diverse workplace, one in which they see themselves in their coworkers. Having a diverse interview panel makes diverse candidates feel more comfortable, allowing them to perform better in the interview process and making them more likely to accept an offer.
Recruiting for diversity can be hard work, but these simple steps make it easier. The most important thing for diversity recruiting, though, is creating an inclusive workplace. As Forbes says, “All of your good work creating an inclusive recruitment process will be for naught if your company does not have an inclusive work environment. Diverse candidates pay attention to the reputation of companies as it relates to an inclusive culture. If you have a poor reputation, you will be hard-pressed to attract diverse talent to your company.” On the other hand, when candidates research companies for culture fit, they will be drawn to companies with a reputation for inclusivity. If you foster an inclusive workplace, you’ll attract diverse hires.