Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s great for business. It is well-known that diverse teams are more productive and innovative, improving culture and results.

A diverse workforce mirrors your customer base and supports the company brand as an organization that values inclusivity. Ensure that your hiring processes are inclusive from start to finish.

Look beyond the resume

A resume offers a glimpse into a candidate’s experience and qualifications but needs to reveal their personality or motivation. You can only learn so much about a potential hire from their resume, which may miss important information like whether they will acclimatize well to your culture or how they will interact with coworkers.

Diversity and inclusion hiring involves recruiting candidates from a diverse pool and ensuring they are given equal opportunities throughout the recruitment process. It is achieved by ensuring your hiring process is accessible, avoiding unconscious bias in the interview stage, and implementing practices such as blind screening or standardized interviews.

Hiring a diverse range of employees means you are bringing different perspectives and skill sets to your organization. It can improve decision-making, create a stronger sense of community amongst your workforce, and improve business outcomes.

Ask questions

The ability to ask questions is a crucial leadership skill that distinguishes great leaders from average or poor ones. People who ask questions are more engaged, curious, and open to learning. They also have a higher tolerance for hearing bad news, allowing them to dig deeper into problems without blaming.

During conversations, asking open-ended questions can help you understand the person’s background and work ethic. It can also reveal their values, such as a commitment to a social cause or company mission.

For example, if an interviewee has a history of excessive job hopping, you can ask why. A consistent answer can signal a lack of stability or a disinterest in building loyalty. Also, be careful not to interrupt while they are speaking. It could make them feel that you don’t value their response.

Listen

Inclusion brings together people with different perspectives and backgrounds to solve problems creatively. It requires hiring managers to be willing to accept different ways of thinking and understand that people with diverse experiences bring valuable skills to the workplace.

It means avoiding language that can be perceived as gender-specific, such as using words like “strong” or “competitive” in job descriptions, screening for unconscious bias, anonymizing application screening, and balancing interview panels. It also ensures that every candidate receives the same opportunity and treatment.

Diversity isn’t just a moral imperative; it’s good for business. Companies with a diverse workforce perform better and are more innovative. That’s why employers must make inclusivity a part of their hiring and recruitment processes.

Ask for recommendations

When companies prioritize inclusivity, employees across all departments will feel a responsibility to help recruit candidates from underrepresented groups. Because inclusivity goes beyond HR and people teams, it must be ingrained in the company culture.

It’s important to read beyond a resume and look at the overall applicant, especially for leadership potential and team-building skills that don’t appear on paper. A candidate who looks great on paper might need to fit your company culture better or may clash with other staff members.

To make sure your business is accessible to all candidates, consider offering accommodation during the interview process and ensuring your job descriptions don’t include any gender bias or preference indications. The company also needs to have a transparent and unbiased process for internal mobility so that all employees can thrive.

Reach out

Recruiters must go beyond the resume to reach out to all potential candidates. It means visiting (virtual and real) job fairs and boot camps and searching social media for jobs.

Hiring diverse teams isn’t just the right thing; it’s good for business. When team members bring different experiences and perspectives, it improves collaboration and problem-solving and can help companies better understand their customers.

Inclusive hiring requires a complete overhaul of recruitment practices from start to finish, including the interview and selection process and examining policies that can be discriminatory against underrepresented groups. The key to success is making inclusion an integral part of the organization’s brand and culture. To do that, all employees must be empowered to embrace inclusivity.