Over time, some recruiting teams become complacent and tend to hire candidates from the same pool. This means that candidates who are hired tend to have similar ideas, skillsets, and behaviors. This can have the benefit of recruiting cohesive teams in the workplace, however diverse teams can develop remarkable strength as they learn to communicate and collaborate across differences, increasing cultural competence and team cohesion simultaneously.

There are a lot of benefits to hiring a diverse workforce. When employees have skill sets, beliefs and other attributes that are too similar, it can lead to limited points of view and ideas, which inhibit company growth. Diverse teams use all those different skills, beliefs and backgrounds to increase innovation, foster creative thinking, and improve problem-solving. In short, recruiting for diversity brings better results. In this post, we will check out some diverse hiring practices to ensure recruiting can be done well with inclusion in mind.  

There are different kinds of diversity: gender, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and many more. Differing personal and professional experiences allow teams to perform better and have more success. The biggest challenge in recruiting for diversity is that many organizations lack diversity in senior management positions. This reduces the firm’s ability to see and leverage the benefits of diversity, limiting their ability to formulate a diversity recruiting strategy.  

One of the benefits of of diversity is that employees that come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences have been shown to adapt more readily to the needs of a changing client or customer base. However, this does not happen overnight. If a company plans to commit to building diverse teams, this should also be reflected in the company culture. Company culture dictates how the workplace operates, and it cannot be mandated. It must be cultivated. Simply committing to diverse hiring practices is not enough.

Here are 4 great tips to remember when building diverse teams: 

Diversity hiring practices start with top management. 

While incorporating diversity in top management seems difficult, it is not impossible. Diversity recruiting experts say you should start by incorporating the ideas of inclusivity into the company culture. Organization culture cascades down from leadership, and is based in the values held by leadership. Be sure to incorporate top management that understands the value of diverse hiring practices and supports building diverse teams without hesitation. Involve the HR learning and development team to draft a bulletproof plan that includes diversity recruiting best practices and can be easily shared across the organization. 

Review your job descriptions to ensure they will draw diverse talent.

The concepts and ideas that were planned around hiring for diversity should be reflected in your job descriptions. This allows employees to feel like they are part of the change, empowering them to eventually be catalysts of change and advocating for a work environment that welcomes diverse talent. It also allows you to hire for a culture that values building diverse teams. Also review your job descriptions to remove gender-coded words. Eliminate requirements that aren’t essential, or consider categorizing them separately from essential requirements to better assist you in recruiting diverse candidates.

Expand diversity with your interview panels.

When candidates see that the company is more open to recruiting for diversity, equality and inclusion, they tend to be more creative and strategic with their answers. They get a glimpse of the kind of work environment that they are trying to join in. Include panel members from different backgrounds to encourage that kind of openness and creativity in your interviewee. 

Make your goals for recruiting for diversity well-known. 

This will ensure future employees know the culture of the company and current employees will be able to support the company’s diversity recruiting strategy. Consider revising the company’s mission and value statements, or even publish a statement on diversity and inclusivity on the company’s website. This will encourage diverse talent to apply, expanding your hiring pool and helping you to achieve your goal of hiring a diverse workforce.  

There are many ways to recruit for diversity. Understanding the benefits of a diverse workforce and diversity recruiting best practices will help your company prepare for the future. This is the time to build diverse teams that will thrive in the future, not “copy and paste” from what has been the norm.