Diversity and Inclusion in Recruitment: Why It Matters to Your Organisation
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have become hot topics in the corporate world, and recruitment is no exception. But is diversity and inclusion in recruitment really that important to your organisation? How do you know — and more importantly, how do you make sure you get it right?
Why is Diversity Hiring Important?
Most of us are ready to acknowledge that ensuring diversity and inclusion in our workforces is generally the right thing to do. Discrimination is wrong, after all. But the importance of strong diversity recruitment protocols goes far beyond morals. Study after study has shown that DEI hiring also benefits businesses in a very real operational sense.
1. Improved Recruitment
At the most basic level, diversity recruiting increases the pool of potential applicants your company has to draw from. But that’s not all. Workforce diversity is an increasingly high priority among applicants and employees. 76% say it’s a critical factor when evaluating employment options, and 32% say they will not apply to companies lacking diversity.
2. Increased Retention
Diversity and inclusion in recruitment don’t just benefit organisations during the hiring process — DEI hiring also increases your chances of retaining the staff you already have. Today’s employees want more than a salary and job security. Studies indicate 71% will leave a company whose values don’t align with their own.
3. Higher Productivity
Data from 2022 shows that inclusive teams are, on average, 35% more productive than their monoculture counterparts. What’s more, companies with diverse workforces see cashflow 2.5 times higher per employee. Teams with a variety of experiences and perspectives can develop more innovative solutions than those where everyone’s background is effectively identical.
4. Better Customer Experience
Employees aren’t the only ones seeking out companies with diversity recruiting strategies. Customers are also demanding value alignment from the businesses they patronise. Sales and service teams with diverse backgrounds appeal to a broader consumer base, and in some cases, diversity on your team can help you avoid cultural missteps that might otherwise alienate customers.
5. Legal Compliance
If boosting your bottom line somehow isn’t a factor, diversity and inclusion in recruitment should still be a priority. While employment laws vary from country to country, the European Union Council has barred discrimination based on religion, belief, age, gender, or sexual orientation for more than two decades.
Metrics for Tracking Workforce Diversity
How diverse is diverse enough? Has your organisation sufficiently incorporated diversity and inclusion in recruitment and workplace culture, or do you still need to make improvements? Here are a few diversity recruiting metrics that can help provide some guidance:
- What are the demographics of your existing workforce?
- How diverse is your applicant pool?
- What are the demographics of your most recent hires?
- How much diversity is there on the team responsible for recruitment and hiring?
- Are your employees paid equally based on their responsibilities?
- What do your candidates and existing staff say about diversity levels in your organisation?
How to Increase Diversity in Recruitment
If you’ve found your company coming up short in terms of workforce diversity, these diversity and inclusion recruitment best practices can help get you on track to achieving the benefits of a healthy, diverse workplace culture.
1. Assess Your Organisation
Evaluate your recruitment and hiring processes for factors that may be affecting the diversity of your applicant pool or successful candidates. Look at who is responsible for hiring decisions, where you’re searching for candidates, and the image your brand presents to potential employees.
2. Embrace Accountability
Saying diversity in hiring matters is not the same as actively prioritising it. Set clear goals for increasing diversity in recruitment to break through unconscious bias — and be transparent about your progress.
3. Establish Paths to Promotion
DEI hiring can address a lack of diversity in entry-level positions while allowing upper levels of your organisation to maintain a monoculture. Establish mentorship programs or training opportunities that make it easier for members of historically marginalised groups to advance.
4. Broaden Your Applicant Pool
Relying on the same few platforms to attract potential employees can limit your applicant pool. Automated third-party hiring platforms can help you reach a wider audience of job-seekers and boost the diversity of the applications you receive.
How to Avoid DEI Hiring Pitfalls
Good intentions are important, but it’s important to undertake diversity recruiting efforts thoughtfully to avoid these common mistakes and challenges.
- Overcorrection — Countering a lack of diversity in your workforce by only hiring people from marginalised groups doesn’t create an inclusive environment but does risk animosity between existing staff and new recruits.
- Unconscious bias — Too often, recruitment teams look for someone who seems like a good match for the existing company culture, allowing unconscious bias to disqualify candidates because they might not fit in. Look for applicants who could add to or enhance company culture rather than conform to it.
- “Colour blindness” — Inclusion is not about ignoring the differences between people. Deliberately overlooking applicants’ race, gender, orientation, or ethnic background minimises the challenges they face and the qualities they have to offer.
Hirematic Supports Your Diversity Recruitment Strategies
Hirematic’s multi-channel job advertising platform empowers you to reach a broader, more diverse pool of candidates without increasing costs or sacrificing efficiency. Our pay-per-application model ensures the maximum return on your recruitment budget, and our advertising solution experts mean you can focus on hiring — not posting paid ads. Get in touch today to discuss your DEI hiring needs.
