Diversity & Inclusion within the workplace

Diversity & Inclusion

Here at Randstad, we pride ourselves on diversity and inclusion within the workplace.

Research has shown that having a broad and equal representation of genders in your business can make you more innovative, financially successful, and attractive to talented jobseekers.

As such, if you're looking to build a strong employer brand and assemble a workforce that will drive your organisation to new levels of profitability and success, diversity and inclusion should be an absolute priority.

Today, I want to touch on five ways to ensure your recruitment process is gender-neutral and talk you through our human-forward approach to recruitment.?

So, how do you ensure your recruitment process is inclusive?

1. Provide organisational training around inclusion and diversity

This is an important aspect within any organisation. Awareness and training is key, as some people may not understand the effects of inclusion and why it's so important. Just as an organisation would conduct security awareness training to protect its employees and the business as a whole, the same should be done around gender inclusion.?

2. Involve both genders in the interview process

By having both genders in the interview process from the get-go, an organisation can minimise the risk of the panel being biased. Obviously we should be hiring based on transferable skills and not making our final decision based on gender, but there are still clients out there where unconscious bias may be present. By starting with a diverse hiring team and moving towards a more structured interview approach, we can help to ensure this bias does not undermine the process.

3. Work off selection criteria during the interview

Using selection criteria, we’re able to focus more on skills, identifying where each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses are, based on their technical abilities. If we use this as a guideline, the best candidates soon stand out.?

4. Develop a data-driven approach

By relying on data, we’re able to develop consistent and actionable initiatives that lead to real change that’s sustainable long-term. Integrated with diversity goals and a company’s corporate values, an effective inclusion program can produce higher retention, greater productivity, stronger Net Promoter Scores and more. Part of this data collection process also requires an integrated effort to identify the relevant insights that need to be considered.

5. Remember the human-forward approach

At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that we are placing people - not just filling jobs. Gender-based hiring is definitely not as serious an issue as it used to be and there is a lot more movement around “woman in tech”, which has been great to see. This year alone we have seen a spike in hiring females and many more companies are making this a preference to bring diversity into their teams.??

By integrating these five measures into the recruiting process, organisations increase the likelihood of attracting the very best talent available, which in turn helps them to retain staff and increase profits. Doing so will ensure we create the kind of inclusive, dynamic workplaces of the future that I believe we’d all agree are exactly where we want to work.