Have you had an interesting friend or peer that always made you think outside the box? They offered a different perspective and challenged your personal norm. Relationships with varying viewpoints create texture and creative insight into your organization. Take the time to create a culture of diversity and inclusion to achieve goals you never thought possible.
Introduce diversity hiring targets and goals
Setting a plan, target, and goal for diversity is the first step of the process. Set up a meeting with the hiring stakeholders, internal recruiters, and executive search firms to ensure everyone is on the same page. Establishing this consensus helps everyone to be (held) accountable for their part in the hiring process.
Put diversity and inclusion at the heart of your organization
Create company values and philosophies that magnify the importance of workplace inclusion. As the hiring manager or HR leader in the company, you have a responsibility to build and develop this inclusion into the heart of your organization. Diversity needs to be not only accepted but embraced among the team and direct reports. This ongoing shared value will ensure that the workplace diversity is not met with hostility and negative consequences on productivity and wellbeing.
Keep in mind diversity in your job descriptions
The language used in your job postings has a significant impact on who applies to your position. Words such as “fast-paced” and “competitive” typically speak well to men but discourage women from applying. Likewise, words such as “passionate” and “loyal” speak more to women than men. Avoid any of these “gender-coded words” to increase your likelihood of attracting diverse applicants. You can check out this article for a more detailed list of examples: http://gender-decoder.katmatfield.com/about
Take extra time
It takes extra time to find the diversity you may be seeking. If your recruiter is drawing from your typical well of candidates, you’ll get a fast hire but not necessarily a diverse hire. Reach out to professional associations, and ask around for referrals. Forget your existing network and your job descriptions. If you are only reaching out or taking referrals from your immediate network, you’ll likely find more candidates that look like you from a similar background.
Look beyond the culture fit
Track candidate sourcing by position to make sure you’re advertising in ways that will reach a larger pool of candidates.Check out job boards for the Urban League, Hispanic, Asian, Veterans, or disabled Americans websites or by hosting job fairs in typically overlooked communities. You can establish partnerships with schools and organizations that predominantly serve minority populations. Be open to creating the talent you need by empowering diverse candidates internally to take on stretch projects, investing in internships, or other training programs.
Offer remote working opportunities
Offering a flexible working policy will attract candidates who find it difficult to commit to a typical 9am-5pm position such as parents, carers of elderly parents, those with disabilities and mental health issues and millennials who are looking for better work-life balance.
