The question is, how can companies source and recruit a diverse workforce? This article will share some tips to help you in sourcing diverse candidates.
Workplaces are becoming increasingly diverse. To stay competitive, it’s essential to source candidates from different backgrounds.
A diverse workforce brings several benefits, such as different perspectives, skill sets, and experiences, that all bring better results. Diversity promotes an inclusive culture in the workplace.
Some hiring managers overlook the importance of diversity and Inclusion and hire the same people repeatedly, which results in stunted progress. Hiring people from different cultures and backgrounds will make your company stand out with individual skill sets and unique ideas.
Diversity and inclusion benefits workplaces and plays a crucial role in reducing unemployment and bringing positive change to society.
10 Best Practices for Sourcing Diverse Candidates
Start with the Basics
To find diverse candidates, you must first understand why having a variety of candidates in your organization is essential.
Diversity makes you more competitive, leading to added benefits like increased revenue and lower costs. Diversity means multiple points of view and often leads to ideas that would not be thought of by others.
Fresh perspectives will drive your business forward.
Build a Pipeline
An employee referral program helps you to source diverse employees by utilizing referrals from your current diverse employees.
Employees can recommend a candidate that will fit the role within the company. They will also have more trustworthy data sources than random candidates via social channels or word-of-mouth since they know their strengths.
Related: Talent Pool Building for Business Success.
Check Your Job Postings
Keep specific demographics in mind to strengthen your diversity sourcing strategy when writing a job description. Inform your target applicants about the job opening and discuss why your company would be a great fit.
To attract diverse candidates, monitor your previous job postings and make revisions as necessary. Keyword selection is extremely important to make your job visible to the right audience.
You can also select the location of your target audience while doing keyword research.
Hire Interns
This is a good approach if you’re a startup and have a low budget. Students from colleges and universities are always looking for opportunities to gain experience, and you can offer them internships.
Contact local universities and hire students or graduates with good academic records and extracurricular activities.
Use Social Media Platforms
Social media is an efficient tool for finding the right candidates. LinkedIn is a powerful social media platform that can source diverse resources for open positions.
By searching for groups and keywords related to diversity, you will find potential candidates you might not have found otherwise.
Additionally, LinkedIn allows you to search for candidates by location, which can be helpful if you are looking to diversify your workforce. When using LinkedIn to source candidates, it is crucial to keep an open mind and consider a wide range of qualified candidates.
LinkedIn has an Inclusion Center, an excellent resource for finding diverse talent. The Inclusion Center has a variety of articles, webinars, and other resources to help your diversity sourcing goals.
There are many other platforms where you can find inspiring young candidates willing to give their best. All you need to do is to choose the right sourcing strategies to find them.
Related: Quality of hire
Create A Diversity-Focused Employer Brand
Company culture is essential if you’re looking for a diverse workforce. You need to embed diversity in your company culture.
Highlight your company diversity by sharing your message on the careers page of your company website. This will help you establish a good reputation in the corporate world. Your team plays a crucial role in building your company’s reputation, so you can get help from them.
Take notes on their experiences, and use that as a component of your corporate personality while promoting your employer brand. Organic growth can provide these rewards to a diverse group of candidates.
Promote Employee Empowerment
Searching outside your company is not easy; you might have to train new employees in your company culture, and adapting to new ways of doing things can be difficult
If your company conducts an internship program, consider offering job opportunities to your internees. This will significantly shorten your onboarding period, lower your hiring costs, and reduce adapting time.
Adaptability in Experience
Most recruiters seek significantly more experience, training, and tool expertise than is required for the job. It puts off prospective employees and discourages them from applying.
Identify the knowledge and expertise necessary for success and the tasks in which you can train a new employee. A combination of education and experience allows individuals with different career paths to qualify.
Candidates might have certificates, degrees, or even on-the-job training to show their qualifications.
Your search should not be limited to certain education requirements or experience. Advertise your open role with expectations, but be flexible in the person you will hire.
Consider the depth of the candidate’s relevant experience rather than only their education as a general thumb rule. You can add an aptitude test in your selection process to understand a candidate’s ability.
Flexible Company Policies
Flexible company policies attract diverse teams. Make sure you consider religious/non-religious activities and events and offer days off to let your employees feel valued.
Don’t hinder diversity by strict deadlines or working hours. Your management should encourage employees to speak for their rights.
Focus on creating a healthy environment for teams with coffee breaks, weekly meetings, and group activities outside the office. Keep your working hours flexible so everyone can give 100%.
External Recruiters
There is no shame in getting help from external recruiters or talent acquisition third-party firms if your hiring team cannot find diverse candidates. You can contact a reputable recruiting company to help you find the right talent.
Make sure you provide them with accurate information about the skillset of your team.
Final Thoughts
There are no shortcuts to developing a culture of inclusion within your organization. You have to go out of your way to attract more diverse talent. Apply these tips to your hiring process and create a more inclusive workplace.
It takes time, so be patient with the process and make sure that your efforts are authentic with the right intentions. By being inclusive in the workplace, you will create better employee satisfaction and a company that has the ability to grow organically.
About Talentprise
Talentprise is a Skill-driven, AI-powered talent sourcing platform. Helping job seekers in the IT industry land the Tech jobs they love and deserve, while enabling companies to find the best fit candidates for their business.
Are you looking to hire a diverse team, Talentprise provides an online talent pool of diverse professionals who are looking for suitable jobs. Powered by AI, Talentprise provides talent sourcing tools for recruiters to find and hire top talent in no time!
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