Image of a black tablet with the words "Plan Your Year" displayed for the blog "What Are Your Hiring Goals for 2024 and How Diverse, Inclusive and Equitable is Your Hiring Process?"

By having a solid system in place that will support diversity, equity and inclusion, organizations will be able to successfully integrate DEI into their hiring process. Begin by viewing your hiring process in these three separate areas: the recruiting process, the interview process, and the process for making a hiring decision.

Asses each of these areas at the individual and system levels for structure and consistency. Every employee involved in the hiring process – recruiters, interviewers and hiring managers – should be trained on both cultural competencies and interviewing skills. From a human resources (HR) perspective, the minimum job requirements and essential job functions for each open position should be clear and understood by all, including for internal promotional positions. Job descriptions, interview questions, and applicant rating systems should reflect the essential job functions. Having a foundation that includes all of these is essential to strategically integrate DEI into your hiring process.

Here is an example that demonstrates this. A hiring manager wanted to hire a certain “perfect fit” for a job, who happened to be a co-worker’s relative and European American. However, this applicant did not meet the minimum qualifications. Also, there were applicants of diverse backgrounds in the applicant data base who did meet the minimum qualifications. When the hiring manager pushed for this hiring decision, the recruiter and HR Director were able to enforce the well-defined hiring standards and remain consistent in their hiring practices. By following these practices, the organization ultimately met their goal to hire more diverse employees who reflected the populations they served.

Once a solid foundation of hiring practices is in place, define key areas of diversity for the organization. This may include race/ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation/identity, and/or age. Then train and develop cultural competencies for those areas by:

  • Educating employees involved in the hiring process on unconscious bias and the barriers it creates for diverse individuals.
  • Developing and implementing action steps to eliminate those barriers, both at the individual and system levels.

On the surface, educating all of your employees involved in the hiring process may appear to be a daunting task. But with the Integrating DEI Into the Hiring Process online training program, it is a straightforward, easy to administer process focused specifically on that. This self-paced training will walk you through identifying unconscious bias, building cultural competencies and methods to integrate diversity, equity and inclusion into your hiring practices. After the online training part, your staff can meet to discuss it, role play problem areas, and come up with solutions in a facilitated session. If your hiring goals for 2024 include hiring a more diverse workforce, this is a good place to start!

 

Copyright © 2024 Lila Kelly Associates, LLC. Not to be reprinted without written permission from Lila Kelly. Integrating Diversity into Recruiting, Interviewing, Hiring and Retention – Since 1992. This article includes excerpts from Lila Kelly’s online training and books at diversityintegration.com. To stay up to date on all the latest from Lila Kelly Associates LLC & DiversityIntegration.com subscribe to our newsletter.