Ensuring your recruitment process is genuinely unbiased and inclusive helps you hire the best possible candidates for your company. But besides being beneficial for your company’s recruitment prospects, inclusivity helps to create a diverse workplace.
Inclusivity is important. Over 75% of job seekers are aiming for a more diverse company to invest their time and talents in. And your recruitment process needs to support a diverse workplace.
But are you just talking about inclusive hiring, or are you genuinely implementing unbiased hiring processes?
Whether you answered yes or no, it doesn’t matter. Because here’s the real question: How can you hire the best possible candidates while genuinely being inclusive and unbiased?
In this article, we’ve outlined a step by step guide for increasing inclusivity in the hiring process, as well as both the importance and the benefits. While there are many benefits available for a company that embraces diversity, it’s also simply the right thing to do.
Currently, only 57% of hiring teams have already implemented more strategic inclusivity in the recruitment process. This means that many more companies will be looking for strategies to improve their inclusivity.
Quick Tip: A Diverse Recruitment Shortcut
But how easy is it? While it should be fairly simple, most companies struggle to do it alone and need hiring tools to help. That’s where a platform like VideoCV can help. Not only can you find the best candidates in a short period of time, but you can also curate a recruitment process geared towards inclusivity with screening tools and other power hiring features.
Why is inclusivity difficult?
When we look at companies that still lack a diverse workplace, the excuse often rests with pipeline issues. But is this blame-shifting or are there deeper unconscious bias at work? For a truly inclusive recruitment process, hiring teams need to first understand the importance of inclusivity, and then accept that there will likely always be unconscious bias directing decision making when left unchecked.
Take a look at these top tips for creating a more diverse workplace, starting from the ground up with a more inclusive recruitment process.
What is a Diverse Workplace?
There are many ways to describe a diverse workplace, but the simplest and most universal would be that the working environment should be an accurate reflection of society.
But what does this concept look like in a practical workplace application?
For a workplace to be truly diverse, the workforce should be made up of a wide range of individuals that form the same tapestry that we see when we take a look at society.
This looks like a diverse range of employees- with varying races, religions, cultures languages, gender, and all the other factors that make us unique.
The workplace culture needs to reflect these accepting values. This benefits both the company as well as the staff. The company has access to all employees- especially the best possible candidates as they are not left out of the recruitment process due to bias.
Furthermore, it enhances the overall working environment for employees. A more supportive workplace can lead to an astounding increasing in revenue. An in-depth study found that a more diverse gender workforce accounts for a $599.1 million increase in annual sale revenue when compared to workplaces with less gender diversity.
Is Diversity in the Workplace just a Concept?
One of the most important reasons for focusing on increasing diversity amongst staff is that history paints a starkly different picture to chasing diversity. There are many companies that not only lost out on the potential stellar staff members due to bias, but this caused a lasting negative impact on society as a whole. And if we’ve learnt anything as humans beings, it should be that we have a profound responsibility to increase and enhance society for the better. Workplace diversity, inclusivity and equality are steps in that direction.
At first glance, most people consider diversity to simply be a matter of gender, age and race. But when we take a magnifying glass to the ins and outs of what creates the unique tapestry of society, we see that numerous factors are contributing to society. And all of these factors need to be taken into account if a company is looking towards a more inclusive and diverse future.
But to understand the complex concept we’ve laid it out into the two main categories:
Inherent Diversity
- Race
- Sex
- Age
- Demographics
Acquired Diversity
- Skills
- Knowledge
- Experience
- Education
Workplace diversity definition:
Diversity in the workplace is the understanding, the accepting, and the valuing of the differences between employees- as people, and not just as workers.
These differences are most commonly:
- Gender
- Age
- Race ethnicity
- Religion
- Disabilities
- Race
- Sexual orientation
- Personality differences
- Skillsets
- Knowledge
- Experience
Workplace diversity is defined as understanding, accepting, and valuing differences between people of different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, disabilities, and sexual orientations, as well as differences in personalities, skill sets, experiences, and knowledge bases.
The benefits of diversity in the workplace
Diversity has proven to be highly beneficial for the workplace, and there are many reasons why. Besides the moral high ground, there are practical benefits correlated with diverse talent acquisition:
- Internal innovation
- Overall business growth
- Drives creative performance for product development
- Enhances problem-solving: a study identified more diverse groups of problem solvers were more agile and effective than high rated problem solvers
- More diverse executive boards show 25% higher than average returns
- Stimulates workplace creativity
- Better employee experience and employee engagement
- An employee who feels supported in the work environment is more likely to be loyal and retain the position
The challenges of diversity in the workplace
There is a bit of a paradox to be found when diversity and inclusion at work are increased. Firstly, there are often arising conflicts in terms of perspectives when there are different social and cultural backgrounds working together. But the thing is, these challenges do not need to be negative, because, with proper diversity training, leadership, and management, benefits (such as increased creativity and innovation) arise from these conflicts.
So we see that instead of the problem being that certain conflicts arise from diversity, they only become real issues when management does not know how to manage them. Because with correct leadership, they do become benefits. Conflict resolution, a vital management skill, is a key component of how the challenges of diversity can impact a workplace.
Understanding the challenges of a more inclusive environment.
Acquired challenges are the result of a difference in skillset, knowledge, experience, etc.
Let’s take a look at how one of these challenges is transformed into a benefit:
Debate
Is debate necessarily a negative? No. constructive debate amongst a group of people can increase creative solutions and help employees to think ‘out of the box’.
Inherent diversity (differences such as gender, race, age, and demographics) can often instigate challenges that are more interpersonal and acquired. These interpersonal challenges can be tricky to navigate but can be resolved through proper communication and leadership. It’s not necessarily about convincing one party of a particular opinion- but of reaching a common understanding that supports all involved.
But if challenges are not managed with effective leadership, then they can result in decreased morale and poor performance
Other challenges could include:
- promoting inclusiveness
- combating stereotypes and discriminatory behaviour
- challenges of implementing diversity recruiting
- management and analysis of inclusion efforts
Workplace Inclusivity: Getting Started & Best Approaches
Companies with inclusive recruitment are 120% more likely to reach revenue goals. Use this guide to gearing your company for a more diverse landscape.
How to get started with workplace diversity
70% of job seekers are aiming for diverse companies that promote workplace equality and diversity. It’s time to stop overlooking candidates and tap into an unbiased talent pool.
Top Tips for increasing cultural diversity and inclusion in the workplace with job postings
- Use your job posting to attract diversity
The first step in opening a position for candidates is usually a job posting. So why not start there? Language is a curious thing, and it can be used to attract a diverse range of applicants, or repel them. Writing inclusive job descriptions are a simple way to get a diverse range of applicants that are a good fit for the job.
Have you been clear about the job and job requirements? Prospective applicants should have a clear idea of exactly what the role is and what the skill requirements are. Omit unnecessary jargon that may exclude some applicants from different backgrounds. Before you send the job posting into the world, you should be certain that the requirements and the role are as clear as day. The criteria should be straightforward with no room for confusion, clearly defining the competencies, skills and expectations.
- Check your workplace policies: do they encourage cultural diversity and inclusion in the workplace?
Even though some A-type personalities may fight it, flexibility is a key factor that comes into play when attracting diverse candidates- especially in workplace policies.
The times are changing, and gone are the days of worshipping those who have a poor work/life balance. PwC published statistics that most of us already knew- Millenials value a work/life balance more than the previous generations who put the 24/7 hustle on a pedestal. A work/life balance is important if you want to sustain a productive workforce and promote employee loyalty.
Flexibility is also key when it comes to working hours and the workplace itself. One of the main causes a company loses out on a valuable employee? A long commute. The world of the workplace has changed, and it’s time for your company to embrace flexible policies. Not only do flexible policies, such as work from home options and flexible schedules, help diversify employees, but it helps to lower over hiring costs by minimizing staff turnover.
Tip 3: Reap the benefits of personality assessments
There are a couple of criteria points that are standardized across the board for traditional candidate screening:
- Where did the candidate go to school?
- Who were the candidate’s previous employers?
- What benefit did the candidate offer previous employers?
While there’s nothing wrong with these, they could impact applicant diversity. Pairing it with a personality assessment helps to paint a broader picture of the candidate, instead of being reduced to the answers of where they went to school and where they worked before.
Personality tests are great for:
- Assessing a candidates personality traits
- Candidate’s current motivation and their future goals
- Candidate’s skills and strengths (not just their education)
Studies show that personality assessments do not have a wide disparity amongst different ethnic groups, thereby making them an inclusive and powerful tool to have at your disposal.
It comes as no surprise then that workplaces that have used personality assessment tools (whether through video candidate screening or traditional assessments) have a more diverse range of ethnicities in their staff members.
Tip 4: How do you source your candidate pipelines?
Does your company rely heavily on referrals? If so, you could be blocking your candidate pool’s diversity. Sure, referrals are important- but they cannot be the sole provider. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that a person’s referrals will be determined by demographics (among other factors), so it can also become a limiting factor as well.
Thanks to data from LinkedIn, we see that men rely more on network and referral than women, and women are therefore more active in third party job searches and job postings. Men, on the other hand, have a higher chance of relying solely on their network to find the next job position.
This is why you should advertise your job posting on third party sites as well as external boards- especially if you want to expand your applicant range.
Tip 5. Include more information about your company
A common error we see is companies don’t offer more information about the working environment and the company values. To attract a diverse range of candidates, and the right fit for your company, adding features like a company video can do wonders for your pool of applicants. Not only will it attract more diverse candidates, but will give candidates a clear picture of the type of workplace you are offering- therefore attracting candidates that are happy to slip in seamlessly and truly invest in the company vision. Using an online platform with a company video feature communicates your company’s overall culture and environment with ease and efficiency.
Tip 5: Strategise your pipelines
If you want gender and ethnic diversity, then the most effective method is ensuring there are at least two minority candidates or at least two female candidates in the pool as this increases the hiring odds by 194 times and 79 times respectively.
Now that you have your job description fine-tuned for attracting high potential diverse candidates, let’s take a look at how you can gear your job ad for the same result:
Top Tips for Job Ads to Attract Diverse Candidates
Broaden your search horizons by widening the applicant base
Consider where the job is being advertised.
Where is the ad placement? Analyse if the current job placements are accessible for all of the types of people you would like to include in the recruitment process.
All too often you hear that companies struggle with creating a diverse workforce because they simply don’t receive the application that enables them to hire a minority candidate. There is one small thing that could have a big impact on this statement (or excuse): are they being mindful of where they are placing the job ad?
Using third party recruitment tools and platforms helps to widen the applicant base. This can be done via a platform like VideoCV and also a social platform like LinkedIn.
Mould the application process for diversity, equity and inclusion
The application process can be malleable and made to suit your company’s needs. So, if you want to have a more inclusive recruitment process, then it’s in your power to do that:
- Avoid punitive languaging in the application form and instructions. Keep the process for applicants friendly yet informative, and always keep it simple.
- Make sure applicants are aware that your company’s diversity policy and focus on equal opportunity is clear. These are things that are often held in high esteem by minority candidates so be sure that it is clear enough and visible.
Designing an inclusive interview
Preparation is key when it comes to an unbiased recruitment process.
When hiring teams have questions ready and waiting for candidates, it decreases the chance of decisions based on subconsciously biased interview questions. Decisions will be made on evidence. There are clearly defined questions to source the best information out of an applicant to gauge whether or not they are the best candidate. Teams can then hire people that are the perfect fit for the job, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, or other cultural differences.
Tools to help
There’s one secret weapon that many hiring teams are using to ask the right questions and land the perfect candidate- video screening tools. Promoting diversity in the workplace through video interviews and video screening is highly effective.
Using a video screening tool to help guide the interview process is one of the most efficient and straightforward ways of making an unbiased decision to hire people based on detail orientated interview questions.
But how does a screening tool do that?
With an online platform like VideoCV, the candidate can upload video responses to questions set out by the hiring team. These video responses can be used to finalize the candidates for the interview round based on the broad sense of personality and motivation depicted by the responses. The candidate’s response videos help hiring teams to ask the right questions as they get a broader sense of the candidate’s personality, character, and motivation than they would from the traditional resume. What better way to understand the candidates beyond what is written on a CV than for hiring teams to see it for themselves?
Use video responses as the perfect backdrop for developing in-depth interview questions that cancel out subconscious bias.
Implement these tips to gear up for an efficient video interview recruitment process:
- Ensure the technology is suitable and efficient for both the panel and the candidate
- Before jumping straight into the questions, give the audio a final check to make sure the candidate is comfortable and has no trouble hearing the panel
- If there is a panel conducting the interview ensure each person’s roles are clearly defined. If too many panel members ask questions at once or offer conflicting instructions the candidate could get a cognitive overload, and that, coupled with nerves, is an unfair recipe for a flop.
- The hiring team should also be on the same page with the questions that will be asked, and in what order. Decide beforehand whether or not the panel will be asking supplementary questions based on answers.
Tools and platforms like VideoCV can dramatically boost hiring teams ability to tap into a highly eligible, more diverse range of candidates.
If you wish to make your first step in personality-based recruitment, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us
By choosing VideoCV, you’re contributing to a transparent and personality-based recruitment process and see firsthand how a surprisingly simple platform can give a powerful boost to your workplace inclusivity.
