Diversity and pluralism have been a building block of our society, Thanks to pluralism our societies have been flourishing, this same concept also implies to the working of an organization. Most recruiters and managers would support this statement that a diverse group of teams in a company would result in more innovative, creative and better outcomes. To achieve that, recruiters tend to hire a diversified set of employees and for that, a well-made Diversity recruiting strategy is needed to be applied.
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It is unsurprising that many companies around the globe have been emphasizing on diverse workplace and has been working on improving their diversity recruiting strategy. Team members from different backgrounds tend to have a very distinct perspective that could result in a contribution of new ideas for problem-solving. This is one of many reasons why diversity in a workplace gets outstanding results.
A good Diversity recruiting strategy is required to conduct a successful diversity recruiting. Factors such as race, gender, geographical background, sexual orientation and many others are taken into account for well-balanced and diversified recruitment. It can be a bit lengthy and complicated process that is why Diversity recruiting strategy must be designed and implemented to speed up the process and hire most suitable candidates.
Several diversity recruiting strategy best practices are needed to be implemented to get the desired results. These practices are applied at different stages in the hiring process to ensure that a diverse group of employees get hired.
Following are some of the diversity recruiting strategy best practices to improve your diversity recruiting strategy,
Before applying a Diversity recruiting strategy, you also need to find diversity gaps in your organization. Examine your current employees’ ratio by various factors such as gender, race, age, experience, status, etc and identify the gaps first. Surprising, this small process can reveal very useful insights such as whether your organization needs more female representation, more experienced people in executive leadership for better decision making, or maybe, your organization would have very few young employees who are in their 20s.
Once you identify the gaps and, you can work to determine which diversity goals would be more important and can hire accordingly. It will also save a lot of time in selecting candidates that check all boxes and select the most talented ones from them. You can also mention specific requirements as preference in your postings to attract specific candidates, it could surely boost your diversity recruiting strategy and let your target candidates know that they are wanted.
For a successful recruitment process, a diversified group of potential candidates are required to be applying for the job. If the same group of people end up applying for the position, it means that your job post is only welcoming them and not others. One of the first steps in improving your Diversity recruiting strategy should be to analyse your job postings. It should include all the previous ad postings as well along with the candidates that applied through them.
If Your previous hiring did not have any noticeable pattern or similarities between them then it is a positive thing but if you notice a trend, candidates from same backgrounds were hired that your job postings are not effective enough to attract more people. After pinpointing the trend, alter your new job postings to be able to attract candidates from different backgrounds. It is one of best diversity recruiting strategy tips as it sets you on the right path at the start of your recruiting diversity strategy implementation.
Another way to attract a diversified audience could be through job posting on platforms that already have a bigger audience where your post would reach to a substantial diverse group, it is among some diversity recruiting strategy best practices.
For instance, there are numerous forums online that consist of hardcore java developers from different corners of the world varying in experience, background, skills, gender with only thing common that is their interest in Java technology. Such a platform could be a gold mine to find a diverse group of talented Java developers. It also would be a great source to meet and connect with high calibre java developers directly, instead of waiting for them to find you.
Platforms like Indeed, LinkedIn and Glassdoor can be good examples as well social media platforms can also prove to be very efficient for job postings due to a huge audience and great analytics tools present to measure the reach of posts.
A good diversity recruiting strategy must include several platforms to the target audience. Depending on a single or a handful of platforms could seem fine at first but in a long turn, you will eventually start getting the candidates from the same group.
Discover more platforms, target social media platforms, recruiting sites, post vacancies on your career portal. If you have remote positions, you can target freelance sites as well. All these platforms could result in a range of diverse candidates.
You can also take a direct approach and offer internships to a specific group of candidates that you need in your organization. It might seem odd but surprisingly it is one of diversity recruiting strategy best practices. Many companies have been offering internal diversity programs where they offer an internship to candidates from specific backgrounds. A good practice would be to mention your background requirements as preferences so that others with required skills would also apply who can be added to your talent pool.
To accomplish this, you can conduct recruitment drives at universities, post online on relevant social media platforms. Encourage your existing employees from a similar background to spread the word.
Company’s culture plays a major role in the decision of a candidate whether he would apply for a position there or not. Candidates from different backgrounds or a minority seek a more friendly and diverse culture as it would help them fit in. To welcome talented individuals from different backgrounds, it is important to proactively implement company policies that appeal to diverse candidates.
Policies like more religious holidays, community events and flexible work hours can be a welcoming gesture for diverse employees as it will allow candidates to continue being involved with their communities while working for your company.
Employees should also be encouraged to speak up if they think certain policies are obstructing diversity. Individual biasedness cannot be eliminated, it will always be a factor in how an employee perceives the workplace but these policies can make them feel more comfortable. Implementation of such policies and actively promoting them can be a significant improvement in your recruiting diversity strategy.
It is very much likely that your present diverse employees will have networks of people with similar backgrounds to them. A diverse candidate referral program is a great way to boost your Diversity recruiting strategy as it will encourage your employees to refer to talented individuals in return of incentives, It will not only save the cost of recruitment drives but will also improve the brand perception for existing as well as potential employees. They both will feel that your company values them and their contribution, which is great for overall team morale and results.
The most effective way to attract diversified candidates is to transform your brand image. It will be a long process but it will surely improve your Diversity recruiting strategy to a great extend. You need to create an impression that your organization is people-oriented and it is proactive towards the betterment of its employees.
Such an image of a brand attracts people from around the world to be part of your organization thus increasing the diversity. Diverse candidates often seek out companies who truly value their people. It will take time but gradually your company’s brand will be known for valuing diversity.
When recruiters are asked to hire for an important position at urgent basis, the skills and experience level are the priority in terms of shortlisting candidates but at such crucial point if diversity is not taken into account it would defeat the purpose of a Diversity recruiting strategy. A person from different background at an important position would not only improve the morale of other employees but he or she will also bring much more to the table.
To get a diverse candidate in a short time, you must have some talented individuals from the targeted background in your talent pool so that you can first approach them for the position before looking elsewhere.
Many employees leave the organization frequently whether they resign, retire or laid off. It would change the ratio of the diversity in the organization which is why it is important to monitor the diversity in the organization as well. A diversity recruiting strategy would be useless if you do not monitor the diversity in the organization. It is among diversity recruiting strategy best practices to continuously monitor whether the diversity increases or decreases as employees leave.
Use analytics to keep track of diversity ratios. Keep monitoring gender, ethnicity, religion etc after certain intervals so that the gap can be identified earlier and when hiring is done, these requirements are considered.
After all the efforts, you may still lose a great candidate at the interviewing phase. A diverse interview panel must be part of your Diversity recruiting strategy to keep the interviews unbiased and all factors would be considered before rejecting a candidate. It does not need to be complicated, just start with simple rules like refrain from the all-male panel, they all must be of different ages etc.
A diversified panel can perform a better assessment as all interviewers would be focusing on different aspects after assuring that the candidate is qualified enough for the position. They all can reflect on different factors in deciding whether he or she will be most suitable for the position or not.
This is extremely important to eliminate any biasness during the interviews. It is crucial that the recruitment decision is never made based on factors like the attitude of the candidate or if he or she is the most charismatic. Such factors also matter but it must not be affecting the hiring decision.
One of Diversity recruiting strategy tips for such case would be to using a well-structured interview process with a certain order, different modules, clear questions so that every candidate can be assessed on the same criteria. It will also satisfy candidates that they all were assessed on the same level without any biases.
Skills assessment is the most important part of hiring. It also holds the same importance in a Diversity recruiting strategy as a candidate would never be recruited if he lacks the required skills for the role. All the diversity aspects are considered after checking the skillset of every candidate that is why it makes sense to first assess the skills of every candidate and he will be assessed further only if he is qualified for the position.
See Also: Inbound Recruiting: What is it? And How to Get You Started?
The trend of workforce diversity has been rapidly growing in the tech industry. In addition to being beneficial for performance, creativity, and productivity, diversity in the workplace also offers some more advantages, like an Increased language and cultural awareness among employees, a larger candidate pool and soft skills development. Diversity allows team members to discuss different methods for solving a problem so they could conclude with the best option thanks to a much wider range of information. Teams consisting of qualified candidates regardless of their background, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation is long overdue and can be a step towards true equality in the workplace.
Shaharyar Lalani is a developer with a strong interest in business analysis, project management, and UX design. He writes and teaches extensively on themes current in the world of web and app development, especially in Java technology.
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