One of the biggest challenges facing any business recruitment policy today is maintaining diversity and equality within their work environment. Inclusivity is often talked about, and frequently legislated for, and businesses have a moral obligation to do all they can to deliver that as they build teams.
But what does it really mean to have an inclusive recruitment process, and why does it matter for any business?
Inclusiveness in the workplace
Diversity, equality, inclusiveness. These are words you will often see used when discussing workplace culture, both by business managers and leaders as well as politicians and experts. They all describe the creation of a workplace culture that embraces people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, gender, sexual orientation, whether able bodies or disabled, and provides equal opportunities for all.
This is obviously a moral approach to business, looking at people for the value and skills they bring, but an inclusive hiring process also makes sense in pure business terms. Studies across the world have shown that a diverse, inclusive work culture with equality at its heart delivers:
- Increased productivity
- Improved morale
- Higher retention
- Enhanced customer insight
- Greater profitability
So, with so much to gain, as well as in many countries having a legal obligation to seek inclusivity, how do businesses shape their recruitment strategy to deliver on that diversity and equality goal?
1. Understand your business
The first step in achieving an inclusive workplace culture is to know where you are right now. Assess your current workforce makeup in terms of gender, ethnicity, age and so on. Breakdown positions of authority, wages and so on in terms of gender and ethnicity too. This will help you understand how successful your current recruitment solution is in delivering the diversity you are looking for.
Once you have a clear picture of your current situation, then analyze how you got there. Begin with where you advertise new positions, see where your recent hires have come from and assess if they are delivering the diverse range of candidates that you are looking for.
Here, inclusiveness benefits business again, by seeking a more diverse range of candidates, you naturally grow the pool of talent you are searching within, meaning more people with the skills you need.
2. Bring your leadership on board
An inclusive culture is encouraged from the top down, this applies to senior management when assessing your day-to-day business activities, but also for all involved with the recruitment process. The recruitment leadership must ensure a level playing field for all, without this any recruitment solution put in place will never deliver the results required.
Educational training and other onboarding processes can be used to create the right approach among key recruitment stakeholders.
3. Job Descriptions and Adverts
The recruitment journey for any new hire begins with seeing a position advertised, whether at a recruitment agency, bulletin board or elsewhere. Think about the job description itself, and focus on the behavioral needs, avoiding biased language, and never include statements about diversity or cultural compatibility.
You should always be specific about the job too, including a defined, non-negotiable salary that applies whoever is hired. Talk about specific benefits, and wherever it is practical, ensure that flexible working is part of the job.
4. Broadening your talent pool
One of the key ways in which a recruitment strategy can fail to deliver diversity is by restricting the pool of talent actually applying for the job in the first place. This is usually not intentional, but a by-product of the way recruitment is carried out.
In addition to your normal advertising strategy, look for new platforms that are more likely to reach marginalized applicants. Encourage your recruitment team to focus on these areas for any outreach efforts to ensure that you are speaking to the broadest pool of candidates possible.
5. Refining the application process
The goal of an inclusive hiring process is to ensure every applicant is judged fairly and equally on what they bring to the business, not their backgrounds or other differentiators. The biggest change to the recruitment process that can be made to achieve this is by anonymizing applications.
The entire hiring experience should also have very clear expectations for each candidate in terms of timeline for submitting applications, communications and so on. The recruitment team should be proactive in asking candidates if they require adjustments to the arrangements to meet specific needs throughout the hiring process.
6. Selecting Candidates
Candidate selection is a crucial part of the recruitment process, and today is often carried out by automated algorithms. It is crucial that these algorithms are tested for bias and refined to offer a more balanced approach to candidate selection.
Once selected, ensure that candidates selected for interview are offered flexible, easily accessed options, such as remote interviews via video platforms to make sure accessibility is maintained for all. Skill based assessments focus on what people can do, rather than who they are, and when combined with a structured interview process, help to remove any unconscious bias from the recruitment team.
Candidate evaluation should be based on these results, with hiring choices defined by data to maintain an equal experience for all.7. Assessing Performance
Once any recruitment process is completed, collate all data to maintain accurate records of decision making. This will form part of the long-term analysis of including hiring processes and how successful they have been. Targets for diversity should be set, and regular reviews of progress made, enabling each recruitment team to refine their approach to achieve the desired outcomes over time.
Conclusion
Diversity and equality deliver improved outcomes for business, and are increasingly a legislative requirement for any organization. Inclusive hiring doesn’t require major changes to most recruitment processes, but instead seeks to expand the candidate pool and remove any potential unconscious bias from the decision makers.
