Throughout my 20-year journey, I’ve witnessed numerous organizations, fueled by good intentions, strive to increase diversity hiring.
Despite well-intentioned efforts to promote it in the workplace, many organizations merely scratch the surface with initiatives that lack impact.
So let me break down five bold moves to help your company catapult beyond tokenism and embrace genuine diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Tip #1: Reimagine your workforce representation
I suggest hiring teams to challenge the status quo by reevaluating their company’s workforce representation. Look beyond conventional goals, like hiring more women, and identify underrepresented populations within your organization and target customer base.
Tip #2: Adopt a holistic hiring, retention, AND promotion approach
Diversity hiring doesn’t just end with your recruiting process. Notice whether underrepresented groups are leaving your organization as quickly as they join.
Do these employees have a sense of self-determination in their career paths?
Remember: Fostering diversity is not merely a recruiting challenge; it’s about cultivating an inclusive culture throughout the organization.
Tip #3: Align intentions with hiring outcomes
Your good intentions alone won’t suffice.
Perform an impact audit to ensure your diversity hiring efforts align with your goals.
I like to start by analyzing applicant data and identifying potential obstacles preventing historically underrepresented groups from being hired and promoted.
Then, strive for a positive impact that matches your intentions.
Investing in a diversity recruiting software to source candidates from different groups and regions can significantly boost your efforts.
Tip #4: Conduct a comprehensive workplace representation analysis
Increasing diversity in your company involves more than just enhancing representation in a single area.
You should delve deeper into the matter by examining existing data on representation across all business units, departments, and levels.
For example, you might find that underrepresentation permeates your entire organization, or perhaps, it’s confined to specific sectors.
Tip #5: Decouple demographic data
I like to avoid the temptation of grouping marginalized groups.
Instead, I suggest analyzing uncoupled demographic data to pinpoint underrepresentation within individual groups.
Doing this lets you acknowledge and respect each group’s unique experiences and challenges.
For instance, you might discover that overall, your organization appears diverse when considering all people of color coupled together. But when you look closer, you may uncover the underrepresentation of Black and Latinx individuals, while Asians may be overrepresented.
I believe that bundling data to fit a narrative can be as harmful as colorblindness, as it dismisses individuals’ unique experiences.
There’s a wealth of untapped potential solutions for increasing diversity within your organization. With thorough research, effective processes, and accountability, you’ll be on the right track.
Our Increase Diversity LinkedIn newsletter aims to empower recruiters and hiring teams to delve deeper and move beyond mere good-faith efforts, paving the way for a truly inclusive workplace.
Happy recruiting!
