Online Recruitment & Equal Opportunities

We live in a world that for the most part is striving for equality throughout. The world of recruitment is in a similar place, equality within the workplace has increased significantly in the last decade. 

Women hold more positions in power than ever before, and in industries that were once deemed a masculine workplace. The changes that have been made are a great start and highly encouraging, however, there is still a lot that needs to be addressed and improved upon. 

Recruitment Goes Virtual 

In a world still plagued by the pandemic, all recruitment is done online, from applications to interviews, and startups to onboarding. Unfortunately, this method of hiring seems to have had a negative effect on the inclusive hiring process. 

Research shows that applicants from an immigrant or ethnic minority are 19 percent less likely to be contacted and have a follow-up than their equally qualified counterpart who is of the majority population. Many people have this kind of built-in discrimination, they may not consider themselves racist, homophobic, biased, etc. The business world is primarily run by the hegemonic, in the UK this of course is the white, middle to upper class, heterosexual male.  

Data collected from research shows that during the hour just before lunch and just before the end of the day recruiters spend less time looking at each CV. During such hours when these CVs were being viewed more rapidly, minorities were facing up to 20 percent higher levels of dismissal and discrimination. Fatigue was causing many of these recruiters to defer back to their natural bias, rather than consciously looking into the aptitude of applicants

The Importance of Diversity

Of course, one reason for having inclusive hiring is that it is fair. It gives everyone an equal opportunity and that is what the world needs to be pushing for. It should not matter where you are from, or what you look like, you should have the same opportunities as anyone else. In a world where we are seeing more and more advocates for equality, having a diverse staff also shows that you are not a company that will stand for discrimination. 

 I should also say that you not only need to have diversity but equality. All members of staff should be treated equally, if you have hired someone from a minority and then treat them worse than your other staff, you are adding to the problem not helping solve it. 

A diverse workforce can help your business in other ways though, not just in popularity with outsiders. Such benefits include:

New ideas, New ideals - If you have employees from all walks of life then every single person will have different stories to tell, different views of the world, and different ideas to share. Let’s say you have 5 Oxbridge educated men in a meeting. There will only be a certain amount of ‘outside the box’ thinking going on because everyone involved will be inside the same box. However, if you replace 4 of those men with people from all over the world and shake up the gender too, you will have ways of looking at the world that you would never have thought of. 

Diverse clients - Let’s get our 5 Oxbridge men back for a minute and look at their client base. It probably isn’t a whole lot different from them. They can identify certain pain points, customer needs, and interests but they will struggle to branch out and reach a wider audience. In hiring those who have had different life experiences to the majority, it creates a diverse space for reaching a new client base, opening doors that were previously closed. 

How to change

Due to all the changes the world is currently going through, we the recruiters will have to keep upping our game to ensure that everything is fair. The penalties for a lack of inclusivity are likely to become harsher and harsher as time goes on. 

When we go back to our default state and natural bias does come into play though, how do we get around that? 

A change in how applications are viewed online could help tenfold. When people are spending less time looking at a CV, then it is unlikely they are even making it all the way through the application. If personal information such as name, gender, and location were moved to the bottom of a CV or application then it is more likely they would be chosen through merit than a stereotype.  

At Cameron Kennedy, we care about finding the right person for the right job and finding the right job for the right person. We offer a wide range of advice and information for individuals to support them in their existing roles, when considering their next career step or are currently within a job search process. So, eventually, we can help as many people as possible find the career for them. 

The International division of Cameron Kennedy is an established and professional recruitment business that has been in operation for nearly 20 years. We are a business partner to our clients and offer a truly professional and consultative service to our candidates and clients. We specialise in attracting, selecting, and securing outstanding top quartile talent, allowing our clients to attain their objectives, and our candidates to further their careers. We care about the skill set and know that it is what is inside and not outside that counts.

Get in touch today.