The Black Lives Matter movement brought a renewed focus on diversity and equality and many organisations are looking afresh at their hiring processes. This means ensuring your recruiting is engaging and inclusive, so it attracts the widest possible group of people to be interested in your business.
Here are some hints and tips on how to make long-term changes to your recruitment process to ensure you build a more diverse workforce:
Must have criteria. If you define your job description too tightly, your application pool will be limited. We know the statistics – women will only apply for a role if they meet 100 per cent of the requirements, but if men meet 60% of the requirements, they’ll go for it. Keep your job description broad to reach the people you need.
Job advertisements. These should be written without biased language or inference and you should always use a wide range of channels to advertise your job. Sticking to the same media channels time and again and expecting a different result simply won’t work.
Video content. Candidates want to know: “Will I fit into the organisation and are these people like me?” Creating an engaging video for the role is key. Ask existing employees to appear in short film clips outlining why they enjoy working for the organisation. This will set the scene for the applicant.
Increase time to hire. Filling vacancies as quickly as possible may exacerbate bias. Investing more time in the process allows you to find more diverse people. On average, a candidate will read six company reviews before deciding whether or not to apply. If the job closing date is too tight, you’ll lose potential candidates.
Change your interview practices. Rigour in the selection and assessment process is key to ensuring fairness. Make sure more than one person participates in interviews, and try to get a diverse group across the interview panel. Your organisation should also be updating and training colleagues on how to spot and challenge unconscious bias. A recent piece of research, conducted by TMP, on the candidate experience shows that 93% of candidates are influenced by the person who interviews them.
Hold hiring managers and external suppliers to account. When hiring managers and external suppliers are involved in the recruitment process they need to be aligned with the organisation’s practices. They should also be held to account for ensuring diversity within the recruitment activities they are involved with.
Your organisation will be more profitable, successful and productive with diverse employees and an inclusive outlook.
Sandra Innes is client relationship director with TMP Worldwide
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