As we examined in our recent blog about taking a strategic approach to increasing diversity in your leadership team, many of the organisations we collaborate with find it challenging to boost representation. One of the key steps in building a strategy to address this issue not only at the highest level, but at all levels, is training your hiring managers to be more inclusive.
While helping our hiring managers understand their bias and how it shows up during the recruitment process is crucial to increasing diversity, it is only one factor. For greater, lasting impact, we need to consider a deliberate approach to diversity, equity and inclusion across the recruitment process as a whole.
Getting this right is vital for a number of reasons.
- The responsibility we have. As organisations and individuals, we need to provide a fair opportunity for everyone to access roles.
- The business opportunities it provides. It’s no secret that having a diverse and inclusive workforce has numerous benefits, from increased creativity and innovation to a better understanding of different customer demographics.
- The need to avoid risk. There are very real legal and financial risks associated with discrimination (even unintentionally) showing up in hiring processes.
We see many organisations try to “fix” the people involved in recruitment, forgetting that bias and exclusion can also be ingrained in our processes and systems.
If we can address issues earlier by embedding inclusive practices into the overall recruitment structure itself, scaling the change at a hiring manager level becomes an easier task.
So how do we think about creating an inclusive recruitment process?
What to consider when developing a more inclusive recruitment process
Our starting point is defining the process we want to create. We use this opportunity to think broadly – yes, DEI is part of it. But if we are going to take the time to look at our recruitment process, let’s consider all factors. We aim for a process that:
- Recruits the best talent
- Provides a great, inclusive candidate experience
- Drives organisational diversity
- Is clear and efficient
The next stage is to evaluate your existing process to uncover areas of bias, inefficiencies and exclusion. Consider people, culture and the systems we use (e.g. technology).
Once we understand our current state, we can start brainstorming interventions to help overcome these challenges.
Of course, we then have to go through a rigorous process to prioritise and plan where to focus our team’s time based on effort to deliver and the impact these interventions can have.
Potential starting points
Here are some high impact interventions that could be a great place for you to start your transformation:
Set future targets
Provide clear guidance for hiring managers on what the expectations are around diversity of their teams, and therefore hiring. This helps them break out of default behaviour and puts processes around ensuring we are recruiting the most diverse teams. Clear targets and transparent measurement also help create a sense of accountability and ownership.
Challenge your role design and job descriptions
Job descriptions have a nasty habit of simply being copy-pasted without challenging some of the fundamental assumptions about role requirements. This often misses an opportunity to attract a more diverse candidate pool.
For example, women will typically only apply for a role when they meet most of the stated requirements, whereas men will apply when they meet only a fraction. So be clear on what are must-haves vs nice-to-haves.
You may also want to consider flexibility in hours and work location, which are very attractive to people such as caregivers and those with a disability. Other potential improvements include using gender-neutral language (which you can check using free online gender decoder tools) and emphasising the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Expand your recruiting efforts
Don’t limit your search to the usual job boards or referrals. Try reaching out to organisations that represent diverse communities or host job fairs that cater to a broad range of applicants. Work180 and Ability Jobs are two great examples. Also, ensure your recruiters and agencies are clear on your diversity targets.
Reduce bias from CVs
CVs are full of opportunities to spark our bias. Names and photos have been shown to significantly impact response rates. Affinity bias (preferencing people who are similar to us) from attending similar schools or having similar qualifications can be a major contributing factor. So, too, can stereotypes about certain groups or characteristics.
Learn more about this in our podcast episode with Rhiam about algorithmic bias.
Evaluate using objective indicators of performance
For example, the number one factor correlated with success in a role during the recruitment process is work samples according to BeApplied. This is because they test actual ability to deliver the role.
These samples can look like a presentation for a sales role, a data review or a piece of graphic design. It’s also useful, where possible, to evaluate anonymised work samples to reduce the influence of bias so the work truly speaks for itself.
Establish diverse interview panels
A diverse panel from different backgrounds demonstrates the company’s commitment to diversity and ensures fair and objective evaluation. Panels should also structure interview questions for consistency and to help remove bias.
Provide ongoing DEI learning and development
Continued training is crucial not only for hiring managers, but for all employees. This helps build an inclusive culture for new and existing team members. This is especially important if you’re moving from a historically demographically and cognitively homogenous organisation.
Note that bringing people from underrepresented groups into non-inclusive environments can create a negative, even harmful experience for new starters and existing employees, so it’s important to prepare the environment for those entering – and those already there.
Hiring the best candidates goes far beyond our hiring managers themselves. It requires a holistic review of our recruitment processes – one that looks not just at training our people but also at the environment they are working in.
Getting this right can have enormous positive benefits across our organisations. We attract better talent, have a more diverse candidate pool, reduce legal risk and create a more inclusive culture.
