Recruitment & Diversity

June 2020

 

How Biased are you in your Recruitment?

 

Over recent weeks, companies and business leaders have made various public statements in reaction to the worldwide protests that have taken place. These protests have been widely linked to the shocking death of George Floyd in the United States.

What is clear and widely understood is that we still live and operate in a world that is rife with injustice and prejudice.

 

Companies need to put in place robust and actionable plans as well as structures that can directly address these issues, but like anything, real change is a collective journey. In order to address inequality within the workplace, this holistic process starts with recruitment, to source and embed a diverse team into the company.  

 

Recruiters are gatekeepers of the company, and in my observation, have widely forgotten that they represent the companies’ image at the first candidate interaction.

 

Does your recruitment team effuse the image of diversity and your company values?

 

Recruiters have a duty of care to potential candidates, making sure they are treated fairly in the process, no matter the race, religion, gender, disability etc.

 

This is a very powerful facet of the organization and its potential.

 

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Recruiters can transform the issue of inequality by making sure:

 

They Submit Diverse Shortlists – Based on skill i.e Only do this as long as candidates have the right skills and necessary experience.

 

Push For Diverse Interview Panels - Push for Interview Panels that are diverse, this reduces negative bias.

 

Education In The Workplace – Recruiters must work with line managers and the wider HR community to educate stakeholders on operationalizing diversity and Inclusivity.

 

Diversity Stats – Diversity in the workplace is an increasingly key factor for candidates when considering new jobs. (77% Women + 67% Men: Source: Accenture.com (2020))

Recruiters can build and start to leverage the use of company data to attract diverse candidates.

 

Succession Planning - Recruiters and HR leaders need to proactively source diverse candidates for leadership roles but based on merit across different backgrounds.

 

Employee Network & Affinity Groups – Work with these groups to develop programs that encourage the attraction, hiring and development of diverse candidates.

 

Referrals – Referral programs can be used to encourage the hiring of all diverse groups. It is not good enough to say there are no candidates out there. Leverage your existing employees of diverse backgrounds.

 

Employer Brand – A company’s employer brand messaging is key to defining the culture of the company. It is not good enough for companies to dig up a diverse candidate every year to promote the corporate branding video/brochure but in reality, the company does not have a true representation of diverse people across the business.

 

Mentoring – Work with the wider HR community to promote cross cultural/cross – racial mentoring and sponsoring for diverse candidates.

 

Work & Welfare Monitoring – Develop (initiate, engage, collect feedback and improve) onboarding initiatives that help to make sure new employees settle into the company as quickly as possible, so that they can focus on bringing their talents to life and perform.

 

It is clear that some companies are working on many of the above steps, however these companies fall into the minority. We have a collective responsibility to make sure:

  • “Equality” is a core tenet of the modern workplace.
  • The conversation on “Diversity” is a dedicated one i.e. “given a seat at the table”.
  • Inclusion is truly enabled (where everyone is encouraged to share their views and those views are listened to and given serious consideration.)
  • HR & Recruiters are empowered to be part and parcel of these Inclusive initiatives.
  • Leaders develop and manifest a true habit around inclusivity by advocating and taking action on the above points.