What are the most effective ways to source diverse and inclusive talent for Human Resources (HR)?

Create, communicate and promote your Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy and embed this into the wider organisational strategy. DE&I should be a part of every employee's responsibility. Especially HR practitioners and Hiring Managers being at the forefront of the hiring process must be trained to recognise and eliminate any unconscious bias from job advertisements to interview formats and selection criterion.

Diversity is all about bringing different choices to the table and inclusion is about being supportive and non judgemental about those choices.

Setting specific diversity and inclusion goals is necessary for Human Resources to source diverse and inclusive talent in an efficient manner. Create inclusive job postings, make use of a variety of recruitment channels, and network with professionals from a range of backgrounds. Work together with organizations that prioritize diversity and make use of employee resource groups. Establish training on unconscious bias, use inclusive interviewing techniques, and monitor diversity metrics to make ongoing progress. Demonstrate your company's dedication to diversity by fostering an atmosphere in HR that draws and keeps a varied talent pool.

Implementing blind recruitment processes, where candidate information such as names and backgrounds are initially concealed, helps mitigate unconscious bias. Actively partnering with diverse recruitment agencies and leveraging platforms that focus on promoting inclusive hiring practices can broaden the talent pool. Creating a welcoming and inclusive company culture is essential, as word of mouth and positive experiences will attract a diverse range of candidates. Using targeted outreach through social media and professional networks can help connect with individuals from underrepresented groups.

Diversity for the sake of numbers could be counterintuitive. The essence is that do orgs do it as a tick mark exercise or live by the essence of it.

Establish collaborations with local & national diversity & inclusion organizations in order to enhance diversity in your workforce. Collaborating with these organizations will allow you to take advantage of their networks & reach a larger pool of prospective candidates. Get involved in these organizations' activities to build relationships & interact with exceptionally talented people from a wide range of backgrounds. This proactive strategy not only increases the pool of candidates you can attract, but it also demonstrates your dedication to fostering an inclusive work environment.

Use different sources for recruitment. Simply replying on the old traditional sources wouldn't help to obtain diverse candidates. Using social media platforms , referrals to spread the word of different opportunities available. Hosting walk-ins, online fairs, webinars, workshops will help to engage diverse and inclusive talent.

Make it a priority to reach out to the target group, find organizations that work with the community and follow through. Celebrate you successes creating exposure and opportunities for further engagement with the group. Make sure the direction of your initiatives align with staffing strategies and company goals.

Implementing an algorithm-based evaluation system could boost the number of female applicants. This is due to the tendency of women being more inclined to complete an assessment when the evaluation is conducted by an algorithm (Avery et al., 2023), and to the fact that algorithms can improve gender diversity (Kubiak et al., 2023). Such a shift could play a role in fostering gender diversity by expanding the pool of women candidates for jobs. Heilman (1980) found that both men and women evaluators made significantly more favorable personnel decisions when women constituted 25% or more of the total pool. Thus, increasing the representation of women through algorithm-based evaluations could lead to more balanced hiring outcomes.

The hiring has to be intentional and non-conventional. Building an Eco-system of creating a ready talent pool available in the market is a key enabler to go for diverse hiring.

Some of the ways to source diverse talents are 1. Your Job postings and advertisements should highlight your intent that you invite diverse applicants for the job role. 2. Create HR communities & professional groups on WA and other social platforms where you can rope in diverse resources through shared references 3. Open announcements that "people with different background such as retired people, Men and women with career breaks, people belonging to any race, culture, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, veterans shall be given preference", if found suitable for the specified role,may be helpful. 4. Partnering with manpower agencies that can provide diverse workforce 5. Registering with exclusive forums or groups that represent diverse people.

To enhance diversity in recruitment, companies should reconsider the language used in job advertisements. Specifically, they should avoid using words that are traditionally associated with either male or female characteristics. This approach can help create a more inclusive environment, attracting a wider range of applicants and reducing the potential for unconscious bias in the hiring process. By focusing on skills and qualifications rather than gendered language, companies can make significant strides towards a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

To enhance diversity in hiring, move beyond conventional indicators like resumes. Firstly, CVs are not strong predictors of future performance and often contain gender-biased information. Even with overtly gendered details removed (like names and hobbies), basic models can still distinguish gender with 82% accuracy (Parasurama and Sedoc, 2021). Instead, focus on psychological capital – aspects like personality, motives, and reasoning abilities. These factors are less influenced by gender; studies show that men and women generally exhibit similar behaviors (Zell et al., 2015). Moreover, psychological data are more reliable indicators of job-related outcomes, offering a more equitable and effective approach to talent assessment.

To source diverse and inclusive talent for HR, start by reviewing your sourcing criteria. Examine job descriptions and requirements critically – are they inclusive and free of unconscious biases? Broaden your search beyond traditional channels. Tap into diverse professional networks, collaborate with organizations like trade associations and educational institutions that cater to underrepresented groups, and leverage social media platforms. Implement blind recruitment practices to minimize biases in the initial screening. Also, ensure your employer brand communicates a clear commitment to diversity and inclusion, as this attracts candidates who value these principles.

The only criteria should be the requirements to do the specific job and the culture fit. Rest everything should be around what accommodations are required by the candidate and how can you create a great candidate experience.

Use of inclusive language by every stakeholder (be it recruiter or hiring manager/ leader) from the organization at each stage of the process.

The most important is to respond and closing the loop. You had not only given a great candidate experience but have also created a life time experience.

Doing an inclusion and diversity audit for your organization will throw a clear picture of your organization. To make yourself more accountable, release it on public platforms.

Use AI. It's a misconception to believe that AI will inevitably lead to increased bias and discrimination. But here's a bigger misconception: believing that keeping humans in the loop will magically erase bias. Let's get real. Humans have been at the root of discrimination and bias long before AI existed. Research proves that discrimination hasn't changed much over the years. The hard truth? Our brains are wired with biases and foster discrimination. If we're keeping humans in the hiring process to reduce bias, we're fooling ourselves. There are valid reasons to have human in hiring, such as better interviews or feedback-based tool improvements. But if we're using bias reduction as our excuse...We might need a reality check.

Hiring is one part, having a great culture is another thing. First evaluate if you have a workplace which supports having people from different backgrounds.

It also helps to attend/host events specifically focused on diversity recruitment. It is a positive trend that create spaces for meaningful interactions with diverse talent and demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity. Apart from this being a great networking opportunity, actively participating in or sponsoring these events also allows the organization to showcase its brand, values, and career opportunities directly to attendees. Companies can also host workshops within the event to actively engage with attendees. It's a tangible demonstration of the commitment to diversity, fostering connections with individuals who bring a range of perspectives and experiences to the organization.