By Rick Maré, Founder & CEO, JXT Connect with Rick on LinkedIn >>>
Many businesses put a lot of emphasis on the right cultural fit (and rightly so, since getting the ‘culture’ part right not only attracts great people, you can also engage and retain them in the long term). However, diversity is something that we sometimes neglect to shine the spotlight on. While we are so focused on finding the person with the right skills and the right ‘cultural fit’ we may not be spending enough time understanding the organisation’s approach to diversity and the importance of diversity in our business.
The diversity checklist can be extensive and hard to navigate for a lot of people. As professional recruiters, it pays to understand in detail how your clients approach diversity in the workforce and what type of flexibility we can offer to candidates who may not fit in that typical “box”.
When we are armed with this knowledge we are able to make it easier for job seekers to learn as much as they can about the opportunity and whether it may work for them before applying to the role. It also empowers us to challenge the way a client thinks about what roles ‘traditionally’ looks like and market to a wider audience by exploring alternative options:
- What if the best candidate with the right skills is looking for work flexibility due to family commitments?
- Or it could be someone tailored for that role but needed work mobility?
- How about someone who has incredible experience and is searching for a future employer that supports work-study arrangements?
- Maybe one that values an environment that considers the needs of those with restricted movement?
Work diversity and recruiting
McKinsey & Co has done research that shows companies that embrace gender diversity are 15% more likely to outperform their lesser counterparts. Even more interesting, companies that are ethnically diverse will outperform those that aren’t by 35%. This correlation indicates when companies commit to diversity, they tend to become more successful.
Statistics confirm a diverse workforce positively influence business profitability. Important to note, it is more than just balancing gender distribution. It extends to characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, religion, ability, orientation, lifestyle arrangements, mobility and job share options.
“How do we manage that wide group of diverse talent and match it to the role as effectively as possible?”
Integrating diversity into your recruitment
How do you brand to attract a diverse pool?
- Firstly, define what “diversity” looks like for you or your client
- Rebrand your marketing message (consider the language you utilise in marketing campaigns to demonstrate your approach to diversity)
- Tailor your keywords in your job adverts
- Populate your job board with the appropriate level of information
- Conduct an initial “blind screening” through instant messenger prior to face-to-face interviews
Next, how do you promote this to your wider audience?
- Build up diversity content on your careers page
- Use social media to spread your diversity efforts
- Develop and share content that support work diversity
- Actively engage and interact with your following
- Contribute to social media forums that support diverse recruitment
Summary
Today’s recruiters deal with hundreds of variables when it comes to matching the right talent with the right role and business. Managing diversity just adds another variable to the equation, albeit important one. How well you streamline and manage your diverse talent acquisition can benefit greatly from having a simple, robust and intuitive digital ecosystem to support those actions.
About the author
Rick Maré is the founder and CEO of JXT, the number one provider of cloud-based digital marketing solutions for recruiters and corporate recruiters. Rick has coached thousands of recruiters, empowering them to take their businesses and careers to the next level. Connect with Rick on LinkedIn.