Recruitment & Hiring

A step-by-step approach to ensuring your recruitment processes are supporting your EDI ambitions

Having a strong approach in place when it comes to recruitment and hiring is vital for your overall EDI strategy. This means being intentional and proactive in creating a more diverse and inclusive team. Building more diverse and inclusive teams starts at the recruitment and hiring stage. Having highlighted a positive workplace culture, this is the next step on your EDI journey. Here are some tips to help you get started:

Review and revise your job descriptions: the first step to creating an inclusive recruitment process is to review and revise your job descriptions. Make sure your job descriptions are written in a way that does not discourage anyone from applying, regardless of their background. Avoid using gendered language or industry jargon that may exclude certain candidates. You may also want to consider using tools like Textio or Gender Decoder to help you write more inclusive job descriptions.

Broaden your recruitment channels: To attract a more diverse pool of candidates, it’s important to broaden your recruitment channels beyond the traditional ones. You may want to consider partnering with universities and colleges that have diverse student populations, attending career fairs that cater to underrepresented groups, or posting your job listings on websites and job boards that are dedicated to particular groups. You could also consider using social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter to reach out to potential candidates from different backgrounds.

Use blind screening techniques: Unconscious bias can be a major barrier to creating a more diverse and inclusive team. To reduce the impact of bias in your recruitment process, consider using blind screening techniques. This involves removing personal information such as name, age, gender, and address from resumes and cover letters before they are reviewed. This way, you can focus solely on the candidate’s skills and experience.

Create a diverse hiring panel: Having a diverse hiring panel is essential for ensuring that your recruitment process is fair and inclusive. Make sure that your hiring panel includes individuals from different backgrounds, including underrepresented groups. This can help to reduce the impact of unconscious bias and ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.

Offer diversity and inclusion training to your recruitment team: Provide your recruitment team with training on diversity and inclusion to help them understand the importance of creating an inclusive hiring process. This can include training on unconscious bias, cultural awareness, and sensitivity, as well as other topics that promote diversity and inclusion. This training can help to ensure that your hiring team is equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to create a more diverse and inclusive team.

Focus on skills and potential: When evaluating candidates, it’s important to focus on their skills and potential rather than their background or identity. This means looking beyond traditional markers of success, such as degrees or work experience, and considering candidates who may have gained their skills through non-traditional routes, such as online courses or self-taught skills. This can help you to identify candidates who may have the potential to excel in the role, regardless of their background.

Monitor and evaluate your recruitment process: To ensure that your recruitment process is truly inclusive, it’s important to monitor and evaluate your progress regularly. This means tracking data on the diversity of your applicant pool, shortlist, and hires, and using this data to identify areas where you need to improve. You can also solicit feedback from candidates who have gone through your recruitment process to get a better understanding of their experiences and any areas for improvement.

Creating a diverse and inclusive team is an ongoing process that requires commitment and effort. By continuing to learn, grow, and adapt your approach, you can create a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported.