How to recruit diverse candidates and improve your work culture.
The majority of recruiters and executives agree that having a diverse team helps boost productivity and even revenue. If your team is lacking in diversity, there are several steps you can take to create a more diverse team in 2020. Read our tips to learn how to recruit diverse candidates and improve your work culture.
What is diversity in the workplace?
Before learning how to recruit diverse candidates, it helps to define and explore workplace diversity. The basic definition of diversity is the inclusion of a variety of people. Put another way, diversity is anything that sets one person apart from another.
In the workplace, a diverse team is made up of team members of different races, ages, and ethnicities. They should also have different skillsets, opinions, backgrounds, cultures, and thought processes.
When it comes to creating a diverse work environment, there are two types of diversity to understand.
- Inherent diversity: This type of diversity zones in on demographics, such as race, gender, and age, or characteristics that are inherited or natural to the person.
- Acquired Diversity: Acquired diversity characteristics are developed over time, such as education, experience, values, skills, and knowledge.
Many employers focus more on inherent diversity. But acquired diversity is equally important. Several benefits associated with making diversity a priority during the hiring process. First, working with team members with unique opinions and thought processes helps everyone be more creative and innovative. Diversity can also positively influence revenue. Research by boost productivity and even revenue shows diverse companies report 19% more revenue than their competition.
4 Tips on how to recruit diverse candidates
Whether you’ve only been focused on one type of diversity or you’ve been avoiding the topic all together, learning how to recruit diverse candidates is one of the best steps you can take towards improving your work culture.
1| Focus on diversity from the inside out
Measure the diversity of your current team. Remember to look past the physical differences and zone in on different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. Could your team benefit from someone with more sales experience? Would someone with a different educational background be an asset to your team? Evaluate where you are today. Set a goal of where you want to be. Start working towards making your vision a reality.
2| Use an Applicant Tracking System
Applicant Tracking System software is a great tool for recruiting diverse candidates. The software collects and stores resumes in a database that makes it simple to search by specific skill sets, different backgrounds, and unique previous job descriptions. Applicant Tracking Systems remove human error and bias from the process as well, providing recruiters with a pool of both qualified and diverse candidates.
3| Re-word your job postings
Examine your job postings and see what you can do to connect to a wider range of candidates by examining every sentence to see if it’s attracting or discouraging. For example, avoid gender-specific pronouns. Replace sentences like, “Successful candidate will be able to prove his ability to…” to “Successful candidate will be able to prove their ability to…”
4| Diversify your sourcing methods
One of the most effective ways to diversify your talent pool is to source candidates from several locations. Avoid sticking to one job posting platform that might limit your target market. Instead, submit your posting to several online platforms. Don’t be afraid to take the job search off the internet as well. Ask for in-house referrals or head to a local job fair to meet candidates in person.
Knowing how to recruit diverse candidates is important for the future of your company. Diversity is no longer an option, but a requirement in today’s culture. Improve your workplace, brand, and productivity levels by employing a team that’s both diverse and qualified.
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