Diversity is not just a buzzword, it’s the law. Companies cannot discriminate, and if you contract work through the government, you are legally obligated to prove you hire for diversity. However, diversity recruiting is a challenge for many companies. How do you attract a more diverse candidate pool and cultivate a diverse workforce without showing preferential treatment towards a group, or potentially alienating another? It is a fine ethical line that plagues many HR departments today.
Clearly Communicate Expectations
Every job posting you place should include the necessary skills and qualifications for any applicant. They should be directly related to the job itself and should not ever give the implication that you wish to exclude a group of people. Additionally, all members of the hiring team working to fill a specific position should be clear about what is expected of them as representatives of the company. They should understand the requirements of the job, the skills and experience they need to see in a candidate, and they should know the evaluation criteria by which candidates will be evaluated.
Reinforce Your Commitment To Diversity
Many postings will tout EOE commitment, but that line can go without notice. Feel free to go a step further and include a statement that describes the company’s commitment to diversity. Make sure that the statement reflects the current state of the organization or department. Don’t, for example, say that you are a diverse workforce if 95% of your team is of the same race, gender and age. Instead, say, “ABC Corp is committed to building a diverse workforce.”
Reply Consistently
In order to ensure the candidate selection process does not even give the appearance of impropriety, commit to consistency in every interaction with applicants. Set up an autoresponder for the job’s email inbox that lets applicants know their documents have been received and selected candidates will be notified by phone. Candidates that are eliminated throughout the hiring process should be notified by mail with a respectful letter letting them know that they were not selected, but their information will be kept on file. Whatever specific process your organization uses, it must be consistently applied across the candidate pool.
Stick To the Script
The interview process itself should also be consistent in order to create an equal experience for all candidates. Stick to a pre-approved script of questions that must be asked in all interviews and give the same amount of time to each candidate. Every interview will have its own unique flow, but a standardized approach ensures a baseline for fairness.
Diversify Your Outreach
In order to attract a diverse candidate pool, you have to diversify your methods for advertising jobs, connecting with passive talent and creating a pipeline. Don’t limit yourself to posting on the same job boards over and over again. Get involved with local organizations, participate in community events, recruit on university campuses and continually reinforce your company’s commitment to diversity.
Balancing the fine line that is ethical diversity recruiting isn’t always easy. It takes commitment and diligence to ensure fairness and to help the company achieve desired results. If you are looking to improve recruiting diversity or if you are seeking talented HR professionals with a proven track record in diversity outreach, reach out to the HR recruiting experts at Contemporary Staffing Solutions today.