The Challenge of Inclusive Hiring: Lessons from a Small Business

There is no question that diversity and inclusion matters - most of us readily agree on that. But implementing those principles—especially within small businesses—can be tricky. Recruitment offers a key opportunity to bring in diverse perspectives and experiences, but it’s not always easy for SMEs to prioritise inclusion when you’re in a rush to keep your team running smoothly.

We've recently been recruiting for a few different roles at The Coders Guild . The instinct, when under pressure, is to go with what feels familiar—to find someone quickly and get them onboarded without disrupting the flow. But over time, I’ve learned the risks of taking the ‘safe’ route. I’ve also learned that we don’t have to sacrifice speed for inclusion.

Here are some of the things we’re doing as an SME to make our recruitment process more inclusive—and why we think it’s worth the effort:

1. Clearly explaining our application and interview process.

We’ve started including a step-by-step breakdown of the application and interview process right in the job description. This transparency lets candidates know what to expect at each stage, from the initial review timeline to final interviews, so they have a sense of where they are in the process and what the next steps might look like. This is especially helpful for candidates who may have limited experience with formal interview processes, as well as those who simply prefer more structure and clarity.

2. Using tools to eliminate bias and improve readability.

To ensure our job descriptions are accessible, we run them through tools like the Gender Decoder and the Hemingway Editor. Gender Decoder helps us identify and adjust any unintentionally biased language that might discourage certain applicants from applying, while Hemingway highlights readability issues, helping us write descriptions that are clear and accessible for a wider range of applicants. When our job descriptions are free from complex jargon and potential gender bias, we’re more likely to attract a balanced pool of candidates.

3. Flexibility in job structure attracts a wider talent pool.

We now offer all roles as full-time, part-time, or term-time only, with flexible hours. This simple change has opened the door to parents, carers, returners to work, and individuals with medical conditions who might not be able to commit to a standard full-time schedule. By making these adjustments, we’ve not only widened our talent pool but also attracted some incredibly skilled candidates who align with our culture of work-life balance. We’ve learned that job shares or part-time roles can allow people to focus on the tasks they excel at, which often results in better performance and greater job satisfaction. And if the right candidate wants the full-time role, that option is there too.

4. Offering interview questions in advance—and giving candidates the choice.

We’ve started giving out interview questions ahead of time to help reduce the stress of the interview process. It’s particularly helpful for neurodiverse applicants, who may need time to process and prepare, and for anyone who struggles with the traditional pressure of interviews. It's great to see lots of other businesses adopting this practices as well but we recently learned that some candidates actually prefer the element of surprise, finding pre-prepared questions more pressurising. So now, we ask candidates what they’re more comfortable with—whether they want to see the questions in advance or not. It’s a small adjustment, but it’s made the process more inclusive for a broader range of people.

Inclusion isn’t a perfect science—but the impact is worth it.

We haven’t perfected our formula by any means. What works for one business might not work for the next, and flexibility means being open to feedback and adjusting as we go. But by trying out new approaches and listening to what candidates need, we’ve seen positive results in the quality and diversity of our hires. And that diversity has strengthened our team in ways we couldn’t have predicted—bringing fresh ideas, varied perspectives, buy-in to our team culture and a stronger sense of connection between people.

For any SME out there thinking that D&I is something for larger companies with bigger HR departments—think again. In many ways, smaller businesses are in the perfect position to lead by example, because we can adapt quickly, test out new ideas, and create cultures where everyone has the chance to succeed.