“Diversity”, “inclusion”, “bias-free,” and synonymous terms have become mainstream in hiring practices. Partially because the modern world strictly criticizes any act of racism or discrimination and partially because the global employee movement does not leave an option to overlook talent from other countries.
As a remote recruitment agency, we at Collab Fabrik are at the forefront of dealing with diversity hiring – its challenges and its successes.
And before we move to detailed stats and analysis on this matter, let’s share our main insight.
While chasing diversity, business objectives shouldn’t be compromised. Recruitment decisions must be based on organisational goals, corporate culture, job roles, and the potential candidate’s skills.
When companies prioritise diversity hiring over objective recruitment and put diverse candidates at an advantage, reverse discrimination can occur.
So, what’s diversity in hiring and what are its real benefits for the business? Let’s talk about it.
Diversity hiring is the recruitment approach that ensures no restrictions or biases when hiring an employee. It is a strategy that looks far and wide for the right talent and doesn’t pass judgments based on racial, gender or other differences.
The primary focus of diversity hiring practices is to create a comprehensive environment within the organisation by employing people from different backgrounds, genders, religions, sexual orientations, etc.
To figure out where your company is in its diversity hiring journey or how to increase diversity in hiring, let’s answer the three questions below.
Well, we deliberately avoid formulating the above question like “Is diversity hiring a part of your recruitment process?” or “Is your diversity hiring audit successful?”
That’s because encouraging diversity hiring practices should not equal over-encouragement of hiring diverse candidates but rather ensure that you are not hiring using biased practices.
In other words, the true diversity hiring approach implies everyone – diverse or non-diverse has a fair shot at getting hired based on their qualifications.
So, audit your recruitment strategies to make sure you do not resist or reject a great potential candidate due to their gender, race, religion, etc. When doing this, dig to the core of your hiring and retention processes.
Having remote talent-friendly job descriptions and messaging is not where you should start. It’s the consequence of thorough diversity-oriented research far before the recruitment procedures.
Starting from the C-level, all team members should work in a culture that embraces employees of all backgrounds, genders or other differences. The organisational structure should be welcoming and inclusive.
So, start there.
If you identify any stopgap here, rectify it to eliminate any chances of bias in your recruitment strategy. And here’s why.
Let’s talk stats.
There is a phenomenon called groupthink which often happens in teams with no diverse members. It’s when people of the same background and mindset work on a project with little or no input from outside sources.
What’s bad here is that group-thinkers tend to agree in ever-narrowing circles of ideas. They do not challenge team members and conform to the majority’s opinion, which limits creativity and innovation.
On the contrary, a diverse team brings various perspectives and ideas, finding solutions to complex problems faster than a homogenous group.
Teams with diverse team members of different ages and geographic locations make better decisions 87% of the time.
Additionally, McKinsey states that companies with gender hiring diversity in executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than those with none.
So, diverse teams mean more ideas, perspectives, and profitable outcomes.
The key here is to approach it thoughtfully and identify gaps that could lead to biased recruitment decisions.
A detailed diversity audit of your company can be done after careful analysis and consultation. But there are some factors that may apply to many companies if diversity in hiring is still not achieved.
We are all biased because that’s how our psychologies work. Our brain tends to categorise any new thing we see – people, objects, experiences, etc. Oftentimes, the brain automatically categorises everything into “ingroup” and “outgroup” classes, better accepting those who are like us or similar to what we are used to.
With that processes going on the unconscious level, it’s no wonder some companies have a hard time reaching diversity in their recruitment strategy.
Humans are humans, and they can’t completely eliminate a part of their nature, so many of us take our biases to the workplace as well.
However, it’s crucial to develop an objective approach to recruitment and resist our natural preferences or beliefs that could lead to unobjective decisions.
Another potential reason many companies don’t reach diversity in hiring is that they lack proper preparation.
To accept diverse candidates into your team, you should review many aspects of your recruitment process from the beginning and ensure the whole system is bias-proof.
Additionally, the team should be ready to welcome any new people, regardless of their background or identity.
Here our experience in diversity hiring at Collab Fabrik can help you! Let’s share crucial steps before hiring diversity can become your company’s integral part.
A standardised hiring system can be a game-changer for organisations committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. It involves establishing consistent processes and procedures for recruiting, interviewing, and selecting all candidates – regardless of background or characteristics.
By implementing a standard approach, companies can reduce the impact of unconscious biases and ensure that every candidate is evaluated fairly based on their qualifications and skills. This can help attract a more diverse pool of candidates and increase the chances of hiring top talent from underrepresented groups.
You can start with blind hiring, which implies all data about a candidate that can somehow affect the hiring bias is excluded from the recruitment process.
Challenge yourself and go beyond local job posting announcements and platforms. Try to have a thought-through approach to your sourcing and make sure that you not only look for people in local companies and colleges but also search for them globally.
For example, try posting job announcements on freelance or remote websites, where the respondents will likely have more diverse backgrounds.
Experience how a diverse team member can bring something new and be more creative and helpful – this is worth a try.
Refer to professional remote recruitment agencies like Collab Fabrik’s diversity hiring agency, which are specialised in finding and recruiting diverse candidates. A professional intermediary can be a good start for organisations which are serious about creating a more diverse workplace but need to know where to start.
That’s because remote recruiters know the A-Z of both hiring and employee sides and are aware of potential hidden biases. With all the challenges and risks in mind, such companies create a collaboration system where cultural, language and other differences are smoothly overcome.
For example, our diverse hiring team has already established 15+ remote teams in the Caucasus that work remotely for EU companies. For some of them, we only did the initial sourcing and recruitment; for others, we still remain reliable support with day-to-day management. And regardless of the cooperation type we chose with our partners, we’re proud to say all teams work in a spirit of mutual respect and collaboration.
With this experience in mind, we can confidently suggest you get in touch for professional diversity hiring consultation and help. We are always more than happy to deliver you the best of what we can do!
There are companies like a magnet for those who appreciate a certain kind of working atmosphere. Usually, these companies have strong employer branding or manage to convince potential employees they are different and special.
There are certain metrics to measure the effectiveness of your company’s employer branding. The most common of them include:
The universal truth is the better your employer brand, the more diverse and qualified people you will attract. So, you need to invest in all your communication channels and emphasize the diversity-friendliness of your organization by showing your diverse teammates, introducing some flexible schedule options, and promoting your diverse achievements.
Again, the crucial point here is TO BE, NOT ACT. Authenticity is key here – if you are not genuine, potential employees will spot it right away.
Lastly, breathe hiring diversity into the corporate culture of your organisation.
There are many approaches to achieving this. As a starting point, you can build a more inclusive environment by introducing a code of conduct or a diversity policy. It includes the basics like anti-discrimination and bullying policies, flexible work options and other resources that will make the workplace more attractive to diverse people.
Also, you can create mentorship programs for employees from different backgrounds and introduce diversity-focused events and training. This will help to build an understanding between the employees of different backgrounds and foster a safe atmosphere where everyone is respected, regardless of their gender, race, religion or other backgrounds.
The collaboration of humans is the most powerful force most teams try to achieve. However, many organisations still suffer from establishing an effective diverse workforce because of unconscious bias, weak system of recruitment, etc.
If your company is one of those, don’t worry!
Eliminating bias and establishing a diverse workplace is possible with a little effort, and it’s okay not to have the perfect plan when you start.
Collab Fabrik’s remote recruitment professionals are ready to help you to build a diverse team that will bring success and growth to your business. We will pass the journey step-by-step, from employer branding to adjusting corporate culture, ensuring your company’s diversity-friendliness.
Ready to take up the challenge and celebrate diversity? Contact us and let’s get started!
