One of the keys to a successful recruitment strategy is to ensure you attract diverse talent. Diversity recruiting is the practice of hiring candidates using a process that is free from biases for or against any individual or group of candidates. Diversity can come in many forms including but not limited to: ableism, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, socio-economic status, race and ethnicity.
When you leverage diversity and inclusion in your recruitment strategy, you will gain:
- Larger and more diverse candidate pools
- A broader range of skills and experience within a team
- An increase in both language and cultural awareness
Additionally, workforce diversity provides many business benefits such as productivity and performance, innovation, and overall growth. It's no wonder it has become a fast-growing trend!
Top 4 Recruitment Tips from a Certified Diversity Recruiter
As a Certified Diversity Recruiter and Certified Military Veteran Recruiter, I provide a holistic view to help my clients increase their diversity and inclusion efforts for long-term growth. Here are some of my secrets to success below.
1) Diversity in Sourcing
To hire a diverse range of people, you must make sure there is diversity in who is applying to begin with. Constantly relying on the same sources will always result in a talent pool of similar candidates that lack diversity. First, you should:
- Audit your past job recruitment ads to see where you can make changes to reach a broader range of candidates.
- Be sure to use inclusive language that will attract candidates from different backgrounds.
- You may also create job ads to target specific demographics.
2) Employee Referrals
Want to hire more of a specific group of people? Try reaching out to employees on your team who are already part of that demographic. An employee referral program is a fantastic way to tap into the networks of your diverse employees. Encourage them to help promote the company's open positions by sharing job ads with their networks. Not only will this aid in your diversity efforts, but it will also exhibit that your company values different backgrounds and ideas.
3) Reduce Bias in Recruitment Process
It is common for hiring managers to get a gut feeling and hire for “fit” based on that. Perhaps the candidate is similar to them. We have to be mindful because whether conscious or unconscious, bias can hinder a clear view of all qualified candidates. My colleague wrote an article that I encourage you to read about regarding bias in the hiring process which can often derail diversity recruitment efforts. Training and score cards are two ways you can proactively begin to address that challenge.
4) Employer Brand
An employer brand should showcase your diversity. It will display how the company values people and opinions from all walks of life. Those values should become engrained within your company culture to make it an inclusive environment.
Discuss with your team the importance of diversity and the benefits that come along with it. Employers often will recruit diverse team members, but then fail to make sure they feel like they belong. A compilation of employee stories is a great way to display your corporate personality, which can aid in promoting your employer brand and commitment to being an inclusive workplace.
Corporate policies and benefits are also reflected in your employer brand. It is very important to implement policies that will appeal to diverse candidates. This can be done by changing time off and scheduling policies to include more religious holidays, for example. Actively promoting these types of benefits in your sourcing will be meaningful to diverse talent and increase their interest in becoming apart of your team.
A study by ZipRecruiter found that over 86% of job seekers say workplace diversity is an important factor when looking for a job.
These tips will help you to broaden your talent pool and attract diverse candidates as an inclusive employer. For additional guidance or support, you can always feel free to reach out to my team and I at Helios HR. We are certified diversity recruiters who help clients ensure they hire the best talent for their teams.
