Best practices to ensure an inclusive hiring process

A diverse workplace is beneficial on multiple levels. Aside from the social benefits it brings, companies with diverse teams are typically more productive, and are at the forefront of innovation. Ensuring a diverse workplace starts with having an inclusive hiring process. Here are the best practices for the same.

Let your definition of diversity be broad

Diversity is often defined along the lines of gender and race. However, there are other aspects to it too. For instance, neurodiversity is something that you should be conscious of. Veterans should also be a part of the definition. Also, be mindful of the country or region that you are hiring from. After all, a definition of diversity suited for New York may not work well for New Delhi.

Create an EEO statement

Create a hiring statement that highlights why diversity and inclusivity are important to your organization. Make sure that the statement complies with the guidelines put forward by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Include this statement in your job advertisements.

Ensure job descriptions are inclusive

Be mindful of the language that you use in job descriptions. Avoid gendered language and ensure literacy inclusion- which means the descriptions should be understandable to those with different levels of literacy. Certain fonts and stylizations like italics can make it hard for people with learning disabilities to process information. Check out advises from groups like the British Dyslexia Association which could be helpful in this regard.

Ensure your website is inclusive

Almost everything that we mentioned about inclusive job descriptions are relevant for your website too. Ensure inclusive language is used throughout the site. In your careers webpage, instead of using stock images to show diversity, use images of your current employees.

Expand avenues where you advertise your job

Some job candidates may rely on print ads for new job postings while others attend virtual events. Yet others use social media to get new job postings. Given this, share your job posts in different avenues so that prospective job candidates can access them.

Institute diverse interview panels

Mandate the presence of certain number of women and people from traditionally underrepresented groups in every interview panel. This usually translates to a higher rate of hiring diverse talent.

Ensure a fair shortlisting process

Have at least two persons to shortlist candidates in an interview. The views of one could be weighed against another, for a fair shortlisting. Also, weed out personal information from the resumes before screening. Enlist the help of someone who is not part of the shortlisting process for this. Have them remove details like name, educational institution and date of birth from the CVs before passing them on to the panel, so that only relevant parameters like work experience and skills are weighed while screening.

Create a standard job interview guide

The interview process should be uniform for all candidates, regardless of their socioeconomic or other backdrops. The duration and types of questions asked during these sessions should be the same for all. Create an interview guide that includes the questions relevant to a job.

Use a technology solution that helps reduce bias in hiring

A good technology platform goes a long way in helping ensure that your hiring practices are inclusive. TalentNet is a case in point. For one thing, the software platform has a built-in AI which matches candidates with new roles that are open. This mitigates human bias from the hiring process.

To learn more about how TalentNet can help with recruitment and inclusive hiring, please book a product demo.