Embracing diversity, equity and inclusion is critical to unlocking talent. Diverse organizations not only outperform others, but they also make better decisions. Why? Because the greater the number of voices, opinions and insights involved, the better informed a decision will be. This is a topic of growing concern among employees and candidates alike. Monster research has shown that learning about a company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) efforts has consistently ranked as a top priority for candidates in the last three years.
Diversity in the Workplace: Look Forward First
The development and advancement of diverse employees are a key part of the puzzle. Sponsorship and mentorship programs can help—as can tracking diverse candidates at your organization, from the length of their tenure to their career development. Understanding where your diverse candidate life cycle needs improvement is step one.
Create More Inclusive Job Descriptions
As much as you need talent—and you need it now— it’s important to take time to craft the right message in your job postings. Your hiring criteria may be less universally appealing than you think. For instance, a posting requiring 10 years of senior management experience may create a barrier for women—particularly women of color—who aren’t in those leadership positions. Is your hiring criteria unintentionally excluding people?
Highlight Your Commitment to Workplace Diversity
Finding ways to showcase your company’s commitment to inclusive hiring, equal pay, and support for underrepresented groups can also help prospective candidates see that your DEI is more than a few bullet points on your career site. Having inclusive benefits like paid leave for all parents is another important way to illustrate how your employer brand supports all employees. It also helps to post about company-wide events that promote awareness and celebrate diversity and inclusion during various times of the year. If the company supports community and nonprofit groups related to achieving equality, those sorts of partnerships should also be publicized.
Audit Your Hiring Process
Even if your job description and employer branding assets illustrate a company committed to DEI initiatives, candidates will form their own opinions once they begin interacting with your hiring process. If candidates get a vibe from interviewers or hiring managers that aren’t welcoming, that’s not something they will ignore.
Revamp Your Talent Pipeline
Are you looking in the right places? How wide is your reach? Going back to the same sources for talent year after year won’t yield new results. Eighty-one percent of recruiters said they are increasing outreach to outside organizations to make their inclusive hiring goals happen, according to Monster’s Future of Work survey.
Continue to Fine-Tune Your Strategies
These tips will help you open up your talent acquisition pipeline and make sure you’re looking in places you wouldn’t think to look. Find and access these diverse sources using the actionable strategies in 5 Ways to Expand Your DEI Talent Pool.
Fill out the form below to download the report.