How AI Empowers More Diverse Recruitment

Today, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are becoming more significant and acting as one of the key components of successful teams and organizations. Evidently, companies that are identified as more diverse and inclusive are 35% more likely to outperform their competitors. [1] On the other side, candidates are now, more than ever, expected to learn about a company’s DE&I endeavors. [2] However, implementing a DE&I policy and getting started with diverse recruitment is not a walk in the park, as 69% of executives rate diversity and inclusion as an important issue. [1] Also, 38% of recruiters admitted that finding diverse candidates to interview is the biggest roadblock to improving diversity. [2]

From unconscious biases in the recruitment process to limited access to diverse talent pools, there are various obstacles that you have to overcome to build a stronger team. Luckily, we have compiled a list of best practices to ensure you get started on the right foot and end up having solid diverse recruitment strategies. Let’s dive into it!

What Is a Diverse Recruitment?

Diverse recruitment refers to the practice of actively seeking out and hiring a wide range of individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, genders, and demographics. The goal of diverse recruiting is to create a workforce that is inclusive and reflective of society as a whole. Essentially, it means hiring people from various ethnicities, religions, ages, sexual orientations, and abilities, among other characteristics.

How to Start with a Diverse Recruitment

1. Use the Right Tool to Identify Diverse Candidates without Biases

Leveraging an AI tool can help eliminate unconscious biases in the recruitment process by focusing solely on the qualifications and skills of candidates. These tools can identify diverse candidates based on factors such as gender, ethnicity, and background, ensuring that your recruitment process is fair and inclusive.

A tool like Manatal comes with AI Recommendations, allowing you to zero down the right candidates for the job faster and more efficiently regardless of their gender or ethnicity. Powered by AI, you can customize your criteria for the most suitable talent like skills, experiences, or educational background, then Manatal will quickly go through your database, provide scorecards, and come up with a list of the best candidates within a few clicks.

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2. Create More Inclusive Job Descriptions

Craft job descriptions that are inclusive and free from gendered or biased language. First of all, biased language or gender-specific pronouns. Instead, prioritize essential skills and qualifications over unnecessary requirements, and clearly define the job responsibilities and expectations. Also, incorporating language that promotes diversity and inclusion, such as mentioning a commitment to creating an inclusive work environment, can help attract candidates from diverse backgrounds.

Don’t forget to provide information on accommodations for candidates with disabilities and to use inclusive language that does not unintentionally exclude certain groups. [3] This will attract a wider range of candidates and encourage diversity in your applicant pool.

3. Offer Diversity Training for Hiring Managers

Provide diversity and inclusion training for hiring managers to increase their awareness of unconscious biases and help them make more inclusive hiring decisions. Training programs can educate hiring managers on the importance of diversity in the workplace, provide strategies for mitigating biases, and help create a more inclusive recruitment process. So, encourage hiring managers to attend workshops, webinars, or training sessions focused on diversity and inclusion in recruitment. Here are some examples of diversity training courses.

4. Create a Diverse Interview Panel

Ensure that your interview panel is diverse and includes members from different backgrounds, genders, and experiences. A diverse interview panel can help provide a variety of perspectives during the interview process and ensure that candidates are evaluated fairly. Plus, having a diverse panel can make candidates from underrepresented groups feel more comfortable and valued during the interview process. Don’t forget to rotate panel members for each interview to ensure a broad range of perspectives are considered.

5. Establish Diversity Goals and Track Progress

Set diversity goals for your recruitment efforts and track progress towards achieving these goals. Establishing measurable objectives can help keep the recruitment team accountable and ensure that diversity is a priority in the hiring process. Make sure to monitor key metrics such as the diversity of the candidate pool, retention rates of diverse hires, and employee feedback on inclusion efforts. Also, regularly review and adjust recruitment strategies to ensure continuous improvement in diversity and inclusion practices. Here is a more in-depth look into the diversity metrics to help you keep track of the right diversity data.

How to Monitor Diverse Recruitment Results

• Use analytics tools: Utilize analytics tools to track the diversity of your candidate pool, interviewees, and hires. These tools can provide valuable insights into the demographics of your candidates and help you identify any gaps in your recruitment process.
• Conduct regular diversity audits: Regularly review your recruitment data to identify any patterns or trends that may indicate bias or barriers to diversity. This could include looking at the demographics of your applicants, interviewees, and hires, as well as analyzing the success rates of candidates from different backgrounds.
• Seek feedback: Encourage feedback from candidates about their experience during the recruitment process. This can help you identify any areas for improvement and ensure that your recruitment process is inclusive and welcoming to candidates from all backgrounds.
• Monitor diversity metrics: Track key diversity metrics such as gender, race, ethnicity, and age throughout the recruitment process. By monitoring these metrics, you can make sure that you are attracting a diverse range of candidates and taking steps to improve diversity within your organization.
• Engage with diverse recruitment channels: Make an effort to reach out to diverse recruitment channels such as minority-focused job boards, community organizations, and networking groups. Leveraging these channels can help you attract a wider range of candidates and increase the diversity of your applicant pool.

Conclusion

Building a stronger team through diverse recruitment is not just a trend, but a strategic imperative for businesses looking to thrive in today's competitive market. Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace goes beyond meeting quotas or ticking checkboxes - it cultivates innovation, drives creativity, and fosters a culture of empathy and understanding. By following the guides above, we hope it can help you tap into a wealth of fresh ideas and approaches that can propel your organization toward success.

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Citations:

1. LinkedIn

2. LinkedIn

3. InclusionHub