The impacts of having a diverse workforce are huge. According to McKinsey, companies with the most gender-diverse executive teams had 51% higher profit margins and 65% better return on equity than those with male-only leadership. And yet, only about 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are female.
However, creating a diverse workforce can be challenging for hiring managers because they might not know where to start when it comes to recruiting candidates from underrepresented groups. But being inclusive in the hiring process doesn’t mean that you have to do more work or spend more time on recruitment — in fact, sometimes it could be just the opposite when you have a robust strategy in place.
What are the benefits of employing a Diverse Workforce?
The first step is understanding the importance of diversity in the workplace. Diversity can be defined as “the inclusion of different people or things within an organization”. This includes race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and many other factors. It also means having a variety of perspectives on how to solve problems that come up at work.
Hiring the best person for the job should always be priority number one, but there are many benefits to hiring people from different ethnic backgrounds or sexual orientations. Not only can diverse people provide your company with more creativity and ideas, but it also indicates strong positive values within your organization, which can only help attract the best talent.
A diversity of perspectives can also help you make better decisions about the products and services you offer, leading to increased revenue. We have some top tips below that you could follow to improve your hiring process and make it more inclusive.
What can you do to be Inclusive and Promote Diversity?
Make sure your job description is free from bias and includes all necessary qualifications and requirements. Job descriptions are designed to attract the best talent for the position and offer potential candidates all the information needed to understand if they have the right skills to apply for the job. Anything related to sex, sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity doesn’t belong in a job description.
Including a statement about diversity in the company’s mission statement is an excellent way to show your company is pro-equality and passionate about diversity and inclusion from the top down. Almost all candidates will check out a company’s website before interviewing there, which is a good way to create a great first impression.
Ensure that you have an equal ratio of men to women on your interview panel. It’s also worthwhile to have a mix of current employees at varying levels of seniority sit in on the interview, too. For example, someone who most recently did the job you’re hiring for or who has done it in the past, along with managers and other senior members of staff.
Consider all types of families when hiring, including single-parents, LGBTQ+ parents, carers, and guardians. Ask questions during interviews that allow candidates to talk about themselves and their families, ensuring to check yourself for conscious or unconscious bias as you go.
Alongside asking about family, you can ask candidates about their interests outside of work when interviewing them. By doing this, you’ll know if there is any common ground that could help build a rapport with them and create a sense of comfort when working together.
In general, be open-minded when interviewing people who don’t fit the “typical” mold for a particular position (e.g., someone with tattoos). Remember that a person’s “look” doesn’t define how well they can perform at a job. Their job history, interview presence, and professional references offer information you can use to assess their professional suitability.
To improve your hiring process using external sources, you could reach out to organizations like D&I Networking Group or The National Center for Women & Information Technology for help with making your hiring process more inclusive and diverse.
It’s also worth noting that now people are expecting a higher level of flexibility from future employers. Remote working, flexi-hours, and job share opportunities are also excellent ways to encourage people to apply who perhaps wouldn’t be able to work because of family or childcare commitments. By your company offering this flexibility, they can.
Finally…
If you want to create an atmosphere where your employees feel valued and supported, it starts with making sure that they can bring their whole selves into the workplace. Ensure that job postings are clear and unbiased regarding who is welcome (inclusive) and what type of person fits best for this role (diverse); this should be a priority when writing them.
This diversity can also be reflected in your company’s mission statement or values, as well as ensuring there is an equal ratio between men and women on interview panels if possible. Lastly, be open-minded when interviewing and consider all types of families when hiring — single-parent families, LGBTQ+ parents — by asking questions during interviews that allow candidates to talk about themselves which will help guide whether they would fit well within your organization and within the team itself.
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Originally published at upstack.co on Oct 1, 2021, by Joanna Blomfield.
