How to Embed Diversity and Inclusion Into Your Recruitment Strategy

Diversity and Inclusion are one of our foremost priorities and, as a business, Compliance Professionals are committed to promoting workplace diversity and inclusion in 2023 and beyond.

We are seeing that workplaces are beginning to look at how they can improve their workplace culture and are making it part of a recruitment strategy.

Many studies have shown that creating a workplace that has an intellectually diverse workforce benefits from more innovative ideas and processes being implemented. Allowing a broader range of skills amongst employees, as well as an abundance of diverse experiences and perspectives, which in turn increases the potential for further productivity.

Unfortunately, many businesses are struggling to become more inclusive and diverse, this can be due to several factors, but we are finding through our clients that this is mainly due to current recruitment practices.

Diversity and inclusion must and should be part of all business strategies going forwards. Inclusive and diverse recruiting should be broad, covering areas such as gender, age, class, race, religion, and so much more, ensuring that you are interviewing and hiring individuals equally across a diverse range of backgrounds.

Our top 5 tips for anyone wanting to embed diversity and inclusion into your recruitment strategy:

Job Adverts

Make sure that you have a clear and concise job description that defines what the job entails, and the skill set required. Be careful to ensure the role is described in a way that someone outside of the organisation will understand. Use simple and direct language to avoid confusing candidates with complicated business jargon. Overly complicated language can be incredibly off-putting for younger, more inexperienced, and less privileged applicants.

Go beyond your usual reach and get the advert out via promoted social media posts and is active in numerous networking groups such as those specifically for under-represented groups.

Look back at old recruitment ads as you will likely notice areas to implement changes that fit in with a broader diversity strategy. This can be as simple as the language or imagery used. Watch out for any language which alienates certain groups of people as well as alternating between male and female pronouns in role descriptions.

The Interview process

The application process should be simple to ensure that it does not confuse or frustrate applicants. Make sure that any messages and instructions during the application or form-filling process are welcoming and inclusive, not unnecessarily formal.

During interview it is crucial that you have a completely unbiased interview process. Where possible having a diverse panel of interviewers will make diverse candidates more comfortable as well as being able to demonstrate that your organisation is inclusive.

You could also consider doing ‘blind’ interviews – if working with a recruitment agency you can request that all candidates put forward are done so this way giving you a chance to start the process of interview completely free of bias. Blind interviews are implemented by creating an evaluation of a CV that removes information on demographics like gender, race, and ethnicity from the initial stage.

Ensure that prior to all interviews that all those participating in the process are scoring candidates to the same criteria. By doing so you are likely to be making more evidence-based decisions. Planning for an interview this way will allow you and the other participants the time to concentrate on getting the best out of the candidate as well as setting the right tone.

Time to break the mould.

Gone are the days of creating teams based on one style of person. Bringing in a candidate who will add to your culture rather than fit it creates a new way of thinking. Candidates that are not considered the stereotypical hire for your culture can bring with them qualities that are unique and different, and this change could bring something new with it – a new way of thinking and new ways of working, pushing your team to the next level.

Start at the top 

In order to create a diverse and inclusive organisation, it needs to be run by a diverse group of people. By having individuals within the company championing this change who are diverse themselves, will create a brand and public awareness of your inclusiveness.

Finally, and most importantly – Educate

Educate your team with internal and external training. Bias can be unintentional and relate to characteristics other than gender, race or religion. Training your senior leaders and team can help them spot bias within themselves and support their teams too. Training and working together towards this goal will also improve employee engagement and improve diversity.

Compliance Professionals believe the benefits of a diverse culture doesn’t just come from hiring a range of people. Workplaces need to foster a culture of respect and inclusion for all, where everyone feels appreciated, valued, and empowered. To achieve this, we all need to play our part.

Get in contact to discuss how we can help you hire a diverse team that brings with them a broader range of skills, as well as a plethora of diverse experiences and perspectives.