Over the last 25 years the workforce has drastically changed. Women’s presence in the labor force has more than doubled. We are also seeing an increase of minorities well as immigrants in the workforce. The U.S. is seeing the lowest unemployment rate in sixteen years.
It is proven that when a team includes people of different cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, etc. it produces more creative, innovative and effective results. This is because diverse teams offer a wider range of experiences and backgrounds, different from those produced by people of similar backgrounds.
Some companies find it challenging to build a corporate culture with diverse team members, but to stay competitive and innovative in the market, it’s imperative that you hire for diversity. Attract the best talent and reap the benefits of a diverse team by examining your current hiring practices and consider integrating these tactics.
- Diversity Branding.
Diversity should be woven throughout your entire company, including your employer brand. Here are three ways you can integrate diversity into your branding:
- Diversity content: Consider including images that represent diverse individuals, a diversity mission statement and any diversity awards on your employer careers page.
- Social media: Leverage social media to share pictures from any diversity events or company diversity initiatives to spread the word about your diversity efforts.
- Print materials: Update your print materials to include workforce demographics, images and information about employee resource groups that exemplify a diversified company.
It should be made apparent that your company’s culture is open to diversity and seeking new perspectives and ideas
- Sourcing Diverse Candidates.
Many existing job titles and descriptions included overly-masculine terms which can turn away female candidates. If your company wants to reach more female candidates, try using words like dedicated, cooperative, honest, loyal and understanding in your job descriptions. Also, consider avoiding phrases like “requirements” which can drive away women that don’t meet them 100%. Here are a few ways you can maximize keywords to find diverse candidates:
- Keyword search: Build diverse keywords into your recruiter search to narrow down the type of applicants you want to connect with. For example, if you want to attract candidates of different ethnic backgrounds, add specific professional organizations and schools to your keyword search that include the ethnic audience you are trying to reach.
- Join diverse groups on LinkedIn: Build relationships with diverse candidates by joining diverse groups on LinkedIn and post relevant jobs to the groups that most closely match the target demographic.
- Connect with school campus groups:Connect with school campus groups like sororities, organizations and clubs that embody diversity. These connections can open up a world of opportunities for collaboration, recruiting and exposure to a diverse audience.
- A Culture of Diversity.
If you don’t create a culture that invites and supports diversity, even your best diversity efforts will be wasted. A culture that doesn’t accept and support diversity will negatively impact turnover and damage how your company is perceived. Here are two ways to help you nurture a receptive, diverse workforce:
- Diversity training: It is critical to developing a culture of diversity to teach employees how to embrace diversity. Consider implementing employee resource groups, ethnic training and cross-cultural training.
- Leadership reinforcement: Leadership, specifically the CEO, should openly recognize the value in diversity, the importance of the entire organization embodying diversity, and steps that are being taken to hire a diverse workforce.
A true focus on inclusivity and the development of a diverse workforce from the top down can help a company build sustainable growth.