Inclusion and diversity are highly systemic problems that plague organizations. These problems marginalize authentic talent, contribute to group think, and encourage hiring decisions that prefer a homogenous applicant pool.
Creating a diverse and unstoppable team starts with inclusive hiring practices. Great candidates can get skipped over during the application process if you are not acknowledging and protecting against biases at every stage. Fortunately there are a few easy ways to start bias-proofing your hiring process and get the best candidates in the door.
Start with the job description
While job listings should be targeted to your audience, job listings should be relatively neutral and you should avoid sensational language that will encourage the candidate to opt out of applying. Titles like “rockstar” are overly masculine and tend to prevent women and non-binary applicants from applying, which actively works against your inclusion and diversity strategy.
Also ensure that there is a list of essential skills or competencies for the role prior to writing the posting. More often than not, this list is significantly longer than necessary with upwards of 10 qualifications needed. That’s more required qualifications than NASA has posted for a rocket scientist.
If your role isn’t rocket science, it probably doesn’t need more than 5-6 for the average role. Studies have shown that for a list of 10 qualifications, women will tend to only apply to jobs when they meet 100% of the qualifications. Men generally apply if they meet only 60%.
Keeping the list to the minimum not only encourages a more diverse applicant pool, but will also increase the number of collaborative T-shaped candidates on your team. Studies have shown that collaboration and diversity of thought are better predictors for performance and ROI.
Have a consistent interview process
Everybody has different conversational styles for building rapport and fostering a positive experience. Without a vetted question list, this can result in a skewed and inconsistent review of applicants. Another key touch point is the communication between your team and candidates. Make sure that even your emails aren’t using sensational, gendered, or biased language in your inclusion and diversity strategy.
What may not be taken into consideration is that a style, or even a team with many of a similar style, may be better for some candidates than others. Another risk you run into is missing an opportunity to ask the most critical questions to assess candidates, meaning that you’re not making the most informed decision possible. Period.
We’ve made developing a consistent and efficient interview process easy with our interview process tool.
Have trained recruiters
Put your company out there as a safe space that is committed to providing a culture friendly to diversity. For this to work, you’ll need to invest in your recruitment processes. A big part of attracting and retaining talent is creating a culture and environment that is safe and friendly for all people.
If you’re a smaller business without the infrastructure for an HR team, get some help recruiting the right people by insourcing highly trained recruiters. By continuing to promote diversity in hiring and job marketing, you’ll not only improve retention but you will also attract other great candidates.
Assess your employer brand
Your employer brand is a critical asset in recruiting, engaging, and retaining talent. 71% of recruiters agree that the employer branding plays a big part in who decides to apply. That is a critical difference for inclusion and diversity. Having an employer brand that doesn’t skew towards a singular group of people is a way to make your brand more relatable to wider audiences.
Assessing areas where the employer brand is succeeding and falling flat with talent is a great place to start. A great strategy here is to actively use Glassdoor to monitor your employer brand. It’s as simple as starting to ask candidates to review you on Glassdoor at the footer of your follow up emails. Get an audit on your employer brand and candidate experience to find out where you are falling short on the market.
Get help
Attracting and retaining the best people is critical to your ability to build for the long term. Are you struggling to implement better strategies or have an overwhelmed team? Get help with your employer brand and people strategy to start designing an inclusive candidate and employee experience.
Have industry experts in employer branding and inclusive recruiting practices — like us — to get you unstuck in old recruiting practices.
Ready to level up your candidate experience? Start with our Candidate Experience Audit Tool today!
Our Candidate Experience Audit Tool provides you with opportunities, tips, and insights to create a simple and effective hiring process. With the right roadmap, you will be on your way to creating more inclusive talent experiences!