How to be a Leader in Diversity Hiring

Currently, diversity is a hot topic being discussed in most offices. Many different studies have found that having a diverse workforce can be beneficial to businesses, no matter which industry or sector they operate within. As many more business leaders and entrepreneurs are now aware of these advantages and benefits, it is no wonder that a lot of firms are now focusing on diversifying their workforce.

Is this something that you are looking to do with your team? Here are some great tips to position yourself as a leader in diversity hiring.

Industry Targets Awareness

Many industries now set out targets for firms and organisations to follow, so that they can focus on improving their diversity hiring. The IPA is just one example of an industry-leading organisation putting out various targets for other companies to follow. It’s really important that you are aware of the targets and that you do all that you can to follow them to the letter. Here are the IPA targets as an example:

• 15% of leaders within the industry’s biggest companies need to be from non-white backgrounds.
• At least 40% of senior positions need to be held by women.
• 25% of entry-level talent to the agency needs to be made up of people from Asian, Black, and other minority backgrounds.

Ideally, all companies need to keep these targets in mind, no matter what industry they work in. The best way to know how well you are hitting them is to regularly carry out diversity audits to check the percentage of employees from various minorities.

Source Your Candidates Better

Some companies struggle to improve diversity within their workforce because they are not sourcing their candidates correctly. If an organisation is only looking at a limited pool of candidates then there is little chance of them being able to find a sufficient number of applicants from minority backgrounds.

If you think you need to improve your candidate sourcing then you can do the following:

• Use a recruiter that is aware of diversity hiring
• Always use a gender decoder when writing up job adverts
• Offer flexible working hours so individuals with family commitments are more likely to apply
• Ensure your brand’s social profile resonates with different diverse groups
• Start an employee referral programme to encourage people from minority backgrounds to similar people

Keep on Re-Evaluating Your Recruitment Process

Once you have implemented the steps above, it’s always worth going back and reviewing how well they are working for you every few months. If they have helped you increase your company’s diversity, then keep on following them. If not, then it might be worth slightly tweaking your diversity hiring strategy.

The more you work on your business’s diversity hiring, then the easier it will be to welcome people from different backgrounds into your company. You should find that this helps you become a far more inclusive business. So, why not start making the necessary improvements today?!