FACT – Embedding workplace diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) into your recruitment process is 100% necessary to attract the best talent possible for your teams. Diversity hiring strategies REALLY matter – after all, how can startups build incredible products that resonate without reflecting the society they operate in?
Good news, if you’re reading this resource, you’ve already made a conscious decision to increase diversity and inclusion initiatives in your business. But it can’t be an empty gesture or a box-ticking exercise – there are no brownie points for half-baked ideas that never see the light of day.
Embedding DE&I into your recruitment process isn’t an option, it’s a must.
TLDR: Diversity and inclusion aren’t just boxes to tick off, they’re crucial for a successful business, fostering innovation and creativity, and driving overall success. You’ll learn how to embed DE&I into your recruitment process with actionable steps to implement in this guide. We’re creating the companies of the future, let’s make sure we do it right by building inclusive environments where everyone belongs.
Short on time? 🕒
Easy-to-use contents:
- Understanding what “diversity” means to your company
- Creating clear DE&I policies – & how to make them visible
- How to review & audit your job ads
- Expanding your talent pool for wider reach
- Reducing natural human bias in your recruitment process
- How to evaluate & elevate your employer branding to make it attractive
- Reviewing the people on your interview panels
- Establishing accountability across your organisation
The work starts here on your diversity hiring strategies
We’re not here to tell you it’s easy. Creating a diverse workplace is a huge endeavour; it requires time and resource commitment, and at times, huge culture change from within.
But this change has to start somewhere, and that somewhere can be by attracting and hiring people from diverse backgrounds to join you on your mission.
What’s a diversity, equity and inclusion hiring strategy?
A diversity, equity and inclusion hiring strategy is the process of intentionally cultivating a diverse, balanced and inclusive recruitment process. One that embraces different abilities, genders, ethnicities, skills and people of all identities.
It’s designed to minimise bias from the hiring process and to create an approach that supports underrepresented candidates and demographics. Your startup, and the roles that you’re hiring for, shouldn’t exclude anyone – it’s your responsibility to create a safe space and equal environment for people from all backgrounds and experiences to shine.
Creating a diverse workforce is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do; it leads to a competitive edge, better decision making and improved bottom line.
There’s no diversity hiring process that’s universal
Like we said before, it’s not easy. There’s no “rinse and repeat” approach that works for every company out there.
Diversity hiring is about recognising that everyone is different in a variety of visible and non-visible ways. It isn’t exclusive to age, ethnicity or gender, it extends to sexuality, socio-economic status, disability, language, or a person’s culture, experiences and background.
These are all personal details that some may not want to disclose on their CVs, LinkedIn, job applications or hiring platforms.
But they play a huge part in a person’s experiences in the workplace.
And while you might be committed to making process improvements and understanding diversity initiatives, there’s a big difference between understanding and action. Creating and executing a strategy for diversity hiring is a highly nuanced and tailored process.
Working towards diversity and inclusion is a major priority for recruitment and HR professionals. There may be goals related to diversity that are company-wide, or there might be a particular focus on driving diversity in specific functions, or seniority layers.
Often, startups know they need a variety of people with different experiences, backgrounds, and cultures – but putting that into practice isn’t a straightforward task.
Which is why we’re here to guide you through some key steps.
Embedding diversity, equity and inclusion into your recruitment process
Understand what “diversity” means to your company
Before diving into your hiring process, you need to establish a clear understanding of what “diversity” means to your company, what groups are considered underrepresented and determine your need to change. If you take a look back at your hiring data and trends, you should get a clear idea of where you might be falling short, or favouring – knowingly or not – a particular demographic straight away.
If you aren’t currently collecting DE&I data as part of your recruitment processes, this could be a good metric to introduce to capture this information and to measure your progress going forwards.
Look for patterns in your current employees and departments by way of a diversity audit. This will show you a real view of the current diversity, equity and inclusion conditions of your workforce.
Ask yourself what kind of people would be considered a diverse hire for your company.
- Are there dominant groups of the same gender, ethnicity, age and identity?
- Are there backgrounds, or voices that aren’t currently being represented?
- Is this shown through the data you’ve collected?
You’ll be better equipped to review your hiring process holistically if you fully understand where your opportunities for change are.
Get leadership buy-in
Getting leadership buy-in is crucial – creating a culture of true advocacy for diversity and inclusion starts at the top. Diversity isn’t a project for a particular time period or specific recruitment drive, it’s an ongoing aim and needs to be an authentic part of core processes. Which of course hinges on everyone being on board.
It’s important that leadership can talk honestly and confidently about the company’s DE&I initiatives and demonstrate a genuine commitment to making them happen.
Once you have this open support from your leadership, you’ll be able to integrate DE&I into your strategic plans. Without this, there’s zero accountability and it’s almost impossible to embed any sort of initiative into the company’s culture.
Create a clear DE&I policy – and make it visible
To establish the foundations to support the diverse workforce you want to hire, you need to have the right policies in place. You might address your startup’s commitment to DE&I in one strategy document, or you may create several specific policies – for example, family leave, building accessibility, trans equality or flexible work requests for carers.
Culture Amp’s DE&I Report 2022 shows that of over 300 organisations that took part in their survey, 95% had an anti-harassment policy in place, 92% had a discrimination policy in place and 93% had a code of conduct policy in place that employees must follow.
However, that figure dropped dramatically to only 41% when they were asked if they had formal DE&I policies in place. Alarmingly, only 42% of those companies had actual documentation in place, the other 58% had a policy in name only.
Accountability
Having clear policies in place will ground the structure for your ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion and formalise a process for you to back them up. This also gives you the ability to hold all staff accountable across the business and open up an honest dialogue about diversity.
It doesn’t stop there. These policies have to be visible and communicated both internally and externally. Are they on your website, email footers, and stated in job ads? Maybe they should be?
💡 If you’re looking for inspiration, this diversity and inclusion mission statement from our partners, Klarna, is one to read.
Open up the conversation
Learning to communicate effectively in workplace discussions on diversity and inclusion can also be tricky to navigate. Where individuals in your company are at with their own understanding, experiences and advocacy on diversity and inclusion can often be very varied.
(Image source – The Social Awareness Scale – Jihan Ahmed)
Jihan Ahmed, former Inclusion & Diversity team lead at Wise (formerly TranferWise), published an excellent piece on navigating these conversations. If there’s one thing you read after this article, make it this one:
✎ Full article – The Social Awareness Scale – Jihan Ahmed
Review and audit your job ads
Is the language and wording you’re using in your ads subconsciously directed at a certain pool of candidates? Can you identify and remove exclusionary terms that might deter groups of people from applying?
Be mindful of using gendered language and your use of pronouns – use “they” and “you” rather than “he” and “she”. Avoid using terms that could potentially exclude older age groups from applying; like “tech-savvy” or “digital native”. Are skills development opportunities offered as part of the role? If so, mention that in the job ad instead.
In comparison, a younger applicant might be a recent graduate and terms like “highly experienced” could imply they wouldn’t have enough experience to be considered for the role.
Essentially, you want to identify would-be “blockers” for anyone who matches your skills requirements so that everyone feels confident to apply.
Be neutral
You’re not looking for a “Policeman” or a “Policewoman”, you’re looking for a “Police Officer”. Choose terms where the default isn’t male. Seemingly, you’re not looking for a female JavaScript Engineer, you’re looking for a JavaScript Engineer. Believe it or not, people still write job ads like this.
Banish your bias
Are the traits you value in a candidate a result of your own bias? Do you use terminology, wording or references that are exclusive to you or people just like you? Removing personal bias from the hiring process isn’t easy, we cover this a bit later on.
Check out these useful tools to analyse your language – Textio and Gender Decoder.
Evaluate and elevate your employer branding
Hoorah! A potential candidate has read your (now) beautifully crafted (and unbiased) job ad.
So what’s the very next thing they’re going to do? Google you, of course.
Candidates will check out your company online before they even start an application.
They’re hungry for as much information on a company and its culture as they can find to influence their decision-making when looking for jobs. Candidates want to know what a company is doing in terms of diversity and inclusivity – so that means evaluating everything from the percentage of diverse people visible in leadership positions, to whether or not you offer paternity leave.
Whatever a candidate’s diversity is, it’s important to them – and your company needs to show that they’re included.
Evaluate your employer branding and outward-facing communication thoroughly – does it suggest that you not only embrace but celebrate diversity throughout your business?
Make sure underrepresented groups are visible everywhere a candidate can find you – and it goes without saying that stock photos are a no-go.
Areas to look at:
- Website
- Social media and online conversations
- Job ad listings and job descriptions
- Glassdoor profile
- Company values
- Company messaging
- Images and photography
- Email communications
- The language you use and your tone of voice
- Your content – blogs, newsletters, business resources, podcasts (and the guests you choose to feature)
Did you know, that as part of the service, an embedded talent partner can help you make sure your hiring plan reflects your diversity goals and support your DE&I recruitment initiatives?
Follow this link for more ways an embedded talent partner can add value to your TA function and drive long-term hiring success.
The focus on whether your brand represents DE&I goes for the hiring process too
Is your diversity representation consistent in each stage of the candidate journey? Is everyone getting the same experience, or could a lack of standardisation be at the detriment for certain groups?
“Companies with above-average diversity produced a greater proportion of revenue from innovation (45% of total) than from companies with below-average diversity (26%)” – Forbes, 2020
It’s safe to say that startups that outwardly highlight workplace diversity, a healthy company culture, AND show their commitment for continuous improvement in those areas stand a better chance of attracting, hiring, retaining and nurturing talented employees from underrepresented groups.
Highlight your company culture
What kind of impression are you making on people?
In recruitment, it’s easy to talk about the quality of the candidate, but we should also focus on the quality of the culture that attracts them. As much as a qualified candidate wants to know about salary, job responsibilities and benefits, the value they place on joining a company with morals that align with their own can’t be underestimated.
This diversity and inclusion report from Glassdoor shows that 76% of job seekers and employees factor in workplace diversity when evaluating a company before and during the interview process.
On top of that, almost a third (32%) of underrepresented candidates wouldn’t even apply for a job at a company that showed a lack of diversity among its employees, with that figure rising to over 40% for black and LGBTQIA job seekers.
If you’re looking for tips on improving your company culture, jump into this related blog post:
✎ Employee Engagement – Why Giving Your Team A Voice Is Key
Expand your hiring pool
You’ve lost your glasses. You look in your top drawer. Your glasses aren’t there. After lunch, you still can’t find your glasses. You look in that top drawer again. Your glasses still aren’t there. Do you see where we’re going with this?
If you’re always targeting the same pool of candidates when you’re seeking out new talent and only using LinkedIn Recruiter or basic job boards, you run the risk of repeating the very process that resulted in a lack of diversity in your teams to begin with.
Look outside of your “advertising comfort zone” and discover where your ideal candidates hang out – specialist jobs boards, specific skills platforms, Slack communities, online events, forums. You can proactively source underrepresented talent by understanding where they naturally pool.
Try using tools such as Recruit’em (a Google x-ray search that will show you results outside of LinkedIn Recruiter) and seek out valuable peer resources on diversity that have already been collated.
Your job as a recruiter is to make it as easy as possible for a diverse range of candidates to be able to apply for your roles. The more time and effort you put into finding those channels, the more likely you are to find diverse talent pools.
For example:
You’d like to hire more women in senior tech roles. There are (thankfully!) an increasing number of websites, forums and women in leadership groups to help women become equally represented in tech where you could find high-calibre candidates to apply for those roles.
Utilise those spaces to let people know you’re reaching out and why they’d be a good fit for your company.
The actual interview itself
Without sounding like Captain Obvious, the interview itself is one of the most crucial parts of the hiring process – but it’s one of the most frequent areas that hiring teams display a lack of diversity.
To put it bluntly – if you don’t have enough women to sit on a panel for a senior hire, that’s because you don’t have enough women in senior roles. This is why you are committing to improving your company’s DE&I in the first place.
Being transparent in this situation is vital. Be prepared to share your own personal commitment to DE&I and specifically what you are doing in your role to support it. Don’t give a corporate “we’re an equal opportunities company” answer or loosely explain something HR is doing. Show you’re building on the foundations you’ve started – being honest about where you’re at in your startup’s DE&I journey will go a long way.
Remember, progress over perfection. Embedding DE&I in your business is never “finished”, there’s always room to do more.
(Image credit – Will McPhail)
Review the people on your interview panels
Are they trained in the company’s diversity, equity and inclusivity policies, do they also represent the diversity the company is aiming for? Candidates will feel more welcome when they can see themselves and their values reflected in the panel interviewing them.
Structured and standardised interview processes allow a panel to fairly benchmark their candidates, and help minimise the potential for the unconscious bias that can creep into unstructured interviews.
Reducing natural human bias in your recruitment process
Even though hiring teams understand the importance of achieving diversity in the workplace, we as humans are in many ways unconsciously biased. Our own experiences, whether they are work-related or socially conceived, impair our ability to be completely unbiased. It can be difficult to condition ourselves away from our own biases, but it’s paramount to be proactive and work to reduce them.
“Better decisions come from having a multiplicity of rich perspectives on a situation.” – Eve Vlemincx, Stanford University Graduate School Of Business
Using collaborative recruitment methods can help mitigate unconscious bias. This concept involves bringing together different people from other parts of the business to create a more holistic approach when outlining the hiring process. Many startups invest in unconscious bias training or diversity recruiting courses early on for their teams to increase knowledge around navigating bias.
Having multiple opinions, ideas and perspectives when you’re making decisions about candidates, interviewing them and writing job ads or follow-up comms, the more balanced and informed your process will become.
Related article 👉 Discover the 5 traits the most successful teams share (according to Google!)
Look to your current employees with diverse experiences for input
Your current employees are a great source of truth to potential candidates – 66% of potential candidates said they want to hear from the people actually working in the business when it comes to finding out what diversity looks like in a company, rather than from leadership teams (19%) and the company website (9%). (Source Glassdoor, 2021)
Encourage employees from diverse groups to refer you to their connections with similar backgrounds and experiences to them – could they share your open roles with their networks? Are they part of any diversity initiatives that work with underrepresented groups they could introduce you to?
Empower those from underrepresented backgrounds in your team currently to help you shape diversity and inclusion at your organisation.
Key takeaway…
When we centre diversity, equity and inclusion into our hiring strategies and embrace, celebrate and truly advocate for DE&I, we’re building stronger, healthier companies that are more reflective of the wonderfully diverse society we live in.
Ultimately, always ask yourself – are you reflecting a diverse and inclusive company that diverse candidates would want to join? And is that company a place where those candidates are going to want to stay, and more importantly, feel empowered, included and given fair opportunity to succeed?
We’re building the companies of the future, and we have a responsibility to do it properly – so make sure your startup is a place where everyone can belong.