11 Ways to Be More Proactive About Your DEI Hiring Efforts
Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment market questions to the experts and share their answers!
Today’s Question: What’s one way companies can be more proactive about their DEI recruiting and hiring efforts ? What impact does this have?
These answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization composed of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs.
1. Be More Transparent
Create content like social media posts and landing pages that are tailored to your efforts. This lets new hires and people at your company believe that you are actually putting your money where your mouth is. This also allows others to be part of the conversation (whether it be internal or external people), which will overall help you improve your efforts. —Ryan D Matzner, Fueled
2. Collaborate with the Right Organizations
Businesses that are serious about DEI need to collaborate with the right organizations. For example, there are consultancies that maintain a database of skilled candidates with disabilities. Such consultancies can make finding more diverse candidates easier. They also provide training on sensitizing employees, which makes your DEI efforts more successful. — Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
3. Rethink Company Policies
If you want to ensure that your recruitment policy is a more diverse and inclusive one, you need to create company policies that appeal to diverse candidates. Consider changing your time off policies to include more regional holidays from across the world. Be more flexible with your timings so that people from different time zones are encouraged to apply. — Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
4. Look Beyond the Usual Job Posting Sites
It’s not enough to go to the usual places. If you’re going to be proactive, it’s important to branch out and look for opportunities to reach candidates with different backgrounds and experiences. Try making relationships with associations or educational institutions that can bring highly qualified individuals from various walks of life. — Maria Thimothy, OneIMS
5. Consider Informal Qualifications
If you want to make your DEI efforts more impactful, consider recruiting people with non-formal or informal qualifications. Many businesses hurt themselves by only looking at certifications and degrees. Instead, be open to workers who have experience and skills but who may lack a certificate that showcases their abilities. You’ll widen your hiring pool and be more inclusive. — Blair Williams, MemberPress
6. Build Relationships with Underrepresented Communities
Expand recruiting in creative ways. To do this, try to reach out to underrepresented communities, especially those that are underrepresented in your workforce. Try to build relationships with neighborhood associations, schools and other community organizations. You could also host or attend job fairs in different locations than you usually do. — Shu Saito, SpiroPure
7. Stay Informed of the Social and Cultural Environment
The best way to be proactive about DEI is to stay informed of the current social and cultural environment around your business. This is not something you can passively engage in; your involvement is necessary to prevent you from making well-intentioned mistakes that could be counterintuitive to building a truly equitable and diverse work environment. — Bryce Welker, Real Estate Schooler
8. Look in Nontraditional Locations
One of the better ways to be more active in seeking out good DEI candidates is to look for talent in nontraditional locations. Look to bring on those from various education or work backgrounds, especially those who have achieved success in similar positions across less standard industries. Diverse hiring practices like these will bring more unique voices, ideas, and styles to your brand. — Salvador Ordorica, The Spanish Group LLC
9. Diversify Your Employer Branding
Creating an inclusive and diverse company culture is fundamental to your company’s ongoing success. To attract desirable candidates from a variety of backgrounds, take a close look at your employer branding. How does your company look to potential hires on Glassdoor and LinkedIn? Are there changes you can make to let job seekers know you value diversity? — Mark Stallings, Casely, Inc.
10. Expand Your Networking Efforts
Leaders can make an effort to build relationships with organizations and people to bake in inclusive practices. For example, make regular efforts to build relationships with historically black colleges and become an ally for people of color. The more leaders diversify who they speak with, volunteer with and support, the more our networks become less homogeneous. — Libby Rothschild, Dietitian Boss
11. Consult a Professional
Consult a DEI professional with experience in hiring best practices. If your company is committed to DEI goals, then you should seek the expertise of qualified professionals who know how to eliminate bias in the hiring process, ask culturally sensitive interview questions and generally foster a more inclusive climate in the workplace. This requires individualized consulting, in my opinion. — Tyler Gallagher, Regal Assets
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