Mistakes That Could Hamper Your Diversity Recruiting Strategies

Who is an ideal candidate when hiring a truck driver? Most of us will probably think of an experienced male driver in his 30s or 40s. But what if a young woman in her 30s shows up for the interview? 

A diversity recruiting strategy advocates in favor of hiring an individual for a particular job based only on the skillset required for the job and not any other factor, which is fair. However, many companies still struggle to incorporate this strategy in their recruitment process. 

This article will discuss the common mistakes companies make during diversity hiring and the measures to fix them. But first, let’s understand what a diversity recruiting strategy is.

What is a diversity recruiting strategy?

A diversity recruiting strategy is about hiring diverse talent. It aims at recruiting talents purely on their skillset without the bias of gender, race, sexual orientation, and religion.

Diversity and inclusion have gained increased popularity in the past recent years. Companies are now redefining their business goals for driving business success by following this strategy. However, there may be different reasons for adopting this approach, for example, increasing female representations in the tech roles, etc. According to a survey, 70% of employers have specific goals for building diverse and inclusive teams. Diversity recruitment does not only bring in a variety of experiences, perspectives, and expertise into the business; it ensures that the workplace reflects the company’s customer base and communities where it operates. 

According to a report, a diverse team outperforms by an average of 35% compared to otherwise.

Common mistakes that employers make during diversity recruitment

Following are the five common mistakes that most recruiters make during diversity hiring.

Job post language

The first impression of a company determines whether or not a candidate will apply for a job. Job descriptions, for this reason, are critical for creating a positive first impression. In addition to the clarity in the job position, responsibilities, and requirements, it is also vital to work on the language used while writing a job description. According to a study, bias in the language drives potential candidates away. For example, keywords like coding rockstars and HR wizards deter more than half of the female candidates from applying. It may be because such keywords may only resonate with a very specific set of applicants. 

How to avoid it?

Companies should prefer writing a clear and concise job description without any superlatives. Get it reviewed by multiple people before posting. It will help get different perspectives on the matter.

Not taking care of the bias at the organizational policy level

Most companies are now talking about the importance of D&I in a company’s success. But still, many of them struggle to retain their top talent. According to a report, 4.5 million people resigned from their jobs in November 2021, implicating a dire need for a more transparent system with a genuine and accountable commitment to workforce recruitment, management, and diversity programs. 

How to avoid it?

CEOs and company leaders need to create accountability on D&I measures if they want to improve social and racial equity in their workplace. It will not only improve diversity and work culture, but it will also impact the loyalty of employees, customers, and stakeholders towards the organization in a positive way.

Not leveraging technology for screening and interviewing

HR technology has advanced over the years; however, a significant percentage of businesses still opt for manual HR practices. It is because they are hesitant to try something new and are comfortable with what has worked for them so far. Without the use of robust HR technology solutions, companies will always stay a step behind their competitors because the manual hiring process is slow and prone to bias, limiting the talent pool for acquisition. 

How to avoid it?

The answer is simple. Invest in HR technology. Tools like Applicant tracking systems (ATS) have become the industry standard for automating HR processes and analytics to improve recruitment efficiency. Businesses can use these platforms to overcome the bounds of geographical location and timezone to find the right talent – quickly and objectively.

Lack of diversity in recruiting, hiring, and interviewing team

Like the applicants, the talent acquisition team is also a highly subjective element in the hiring process. Knowingly or unknowingly, they can become biased during recruitments. However, overcoming biases is not easy, as most don’t even realize it. Hence, it’s essential to build a diverse recruitment team to minimize snap judgments in the recruitment process.

How to avoid it?

Build a multi-member recruitment team for diverse perspectives and provide them with proper training on unconscious bias to ensure awareness and perhaps take tests to ensure compliance.   

Not using data analytics

Data analytics is vital for evidence-based action in diversity recruiting. It is not only essential to set D&I goals but also to monitor its progress and success. Data insights are critical for understanding and analyzing an employee’s lifecycle. D&I is a combined output of strategy, governance, process, performance, management, leadership, learning, and development within a team.

Data analytics identifies the gaps within a system. the gender pay gap is one such example that exists despite the popularity of the diversity, equity, and inclusion system (DEI). It also plays a critical role in recruitment, performance, promotions, and attrition. 

How to avoid it?

Data analytics plays a key role in the success of the D&I program. Both qualitative and quantitative data are required within an organization to enable meaningful and realistic goals and targets for improved business performance.

Diversity recruiting strategies to achieve the best D&I

Top companies are now talking about D&I. However, an effective strategy for diversity hiring has to be backed up by appropriate actions. To implement a diversity recruitment strategy, companies should first build a prompt and diverse talent acquisition team and then set the goals for building a diverse workforce in other departments of the company. This strategy applies to freelancers and contractors in addition to permanent employees.

Some of the best practices to achieve the best D&I are as follows:

• Educate the hiring managers about diversity recruitment. 
• Build a diverse talent acquisition panel. 
• Reflect diversity values in job postings.
• Simplify the job application and recruitment process.
• Analyze and optimize D&I strategy regularly.
• Opt for an AI-powered diversity recruiting platform.

Conclusion

Hiring diverse and desired talents is not just an art; it’s science! Hence, intelligent hiring is the future. With the right strategy and tools, companies can save both revenue and time required for acquisition. 

XOPA AI is an AI-powered B2B platform with integrated data analytics tools that HRs can leverage to level up their recruiting game. AI sourcing, workflow automation, predictive analytics, language analytics, virtual interviews, etc., are all possible with this one-stop solution for all D&I requirements. Request a trial today to test XOPA benefits yourself.