Recruiters and managers across the world have started realizing the benefits of hiring a diverse team. And those benefits go beyond the usual ones of having an innovative workforce handy. Diversity hiring helps organizations in bettering their overall performance by a significant margin. And there’s no need to even look at any statistics to arrive at this conclusion. It’s something that recruiters and managers know from experience. When a team is made up of people that come from different backgrounds and have a unique perspective of looking at things, it gives organizations different ways to drive innovation and solve problems. This is one of the reasons that organizations across the world are making necessary modifications to their diversity hiring policies, and others that are yet to develop.
However, organizations need to understand that there is lots more to diversity hiring than just business performance and success. Firstly, it is a noble approach to hiring that every company is supposed to follow, no matter how big or small it is. When organizations build a team of people, irrespective of their religion, colour, race, gender, region, or sexual orientation, they are taking a huge step towards achieving equality in the workplace. Organizations need to examine their diversity hiring policies first and see if they are required to shift the dial on them.
But, what exactly is diversity hiring or recruiting? Diversity in the workplace aims to imitate the surrounding world in its true essence. Organizations should look to hire employees that come from different backgrounds and have different experiences to share. These are two categories that most of the diversity characteristics fall in. Firstly, there is inherent diversity that is related to demographics. It has everything to do with what a person naturally inherits – religion, gender, race, colour, and other such factors. And then there is acquired diversity that a person earns or develops over a period of time. It could be affected by what a person does in life – education, skills, knowledge, values, experience, and other things that take time to develop.
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Considering this definition, diversity hiring policies are those that aim at hiring people by following an approach that’s clear of any prejudice or bias against any person or group on the basis of their original or acquired identity. But, hiring diverse people doesn’t at all mean that recruiters can compromise on the quality of candidates that they are looking for to fill a position. Merit should always be at the heart of recruitment. What diversity hiring policies aim to do is provide equal opportunity to all the candidates, regardless of their background or experience.
Once it is clear for organizations what a diversity hiring strategy is all about, they then need to understand why they need to implement it. Diversity in the workplace is a global trend that has seen tremendous acceptance in recent years. It is indeed a morally satisfying thing for organizations to do but that doesn’t take away from the tangible benefits that they can get out of it. With diversity hiring, companies not only have people from different backgrounds and experiences but also people with different skill sets. Having people that come from different backgrounds and speak different languages can help organizations in creating teams that are culturally aware and accepting. The candidate pool that they have at their disposal to choose from is also large and diverse. Once they understand the benefits of having a diversity recruitment strategy in place, companies need to implement it properly to make the most out of it.
Referral bonuses can hinder diversity hiring efforts. Companies that want to experience the benefits that diversity hiring brings need to eliminate these bonuses once and for all. Referral bonus schemes don’t benefit every employee equally. In a survey conducted by Payscale, it was found that white men benefitted the most out of referral programs. And the worst performing in this survey were women of colour. It is easy to understand how referral bonuses can make diversity suffer.
Another thing that organizations can do is diversify the ways they use to hire people. This includes looking for newer ways to not only identify but also hire candidates. If organizations follow diverse hiring practices, they will have a larger and diverse pool of candidates to choose from. What organizations can do to follow this path is turn to underrepresented talent pools more often to fill open positions. Also, they can have diverse representation in the interview panel.
Actions speak louder than words. Organizations need to back the stands they take on social media by taking actions to give underrepresented communities equal opportunities. What they post on social media will be considered nothing less than empty promises that lack weight. They need to let their actions do all the talking. Whether it is using bias-free recruitment policies and practices or financially supporting causes that matter to underrepresented people, or giving equal opportunity to everyone to represent the company as leaders, there is a lot that needs to be done.
Organizations also need to help diverse employees move ahead in their respective careers. Steps should be taken to ensure that there is real potential for growth for every employee that joins the organization, irrespective of the position. When equal growth opportunities are provided to everyone, especially those from underrepresented groups, it is a huge step to drive innovation across the organization. And this also presents organizations as the right destination for all those who are looking out for options that can help them advance their careers and build their future.
References:
- 6 Simple Hiring Policies That Will Boost Diversity |Glassdoor | Marielle Leon | September 24, 2020
- 12 ways to improve your diversity recruiting strategy |Recruitee | Brendan McConnell | July 25, 2020
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