Reform This ONE Recruitment Policy to Advance Fairness in Hiring

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Performative recruiting happens all the time. When I am coaching job seekers, I often tell them to NOT apply to positions that are posted and remain open less than a week. There is likely someone already identified for that role and there is an even higher likelihood that it will be a complete waste of your time.

Do you remember the article when we talked about the difference between a workplace ideal and a workplace reality? Here is another example.

Workplace Ideal: “We post ALL open positions.”

Workplace Reality: An applicant has already been designated for the open position but needs to appear to go through the hiring process before receiving a job offer.

Here is what you need to know: Performative recruiting dismantles the trust that applicants (+ employees) have in your candidate selection and interviewing process.

Do you know when performative recruiting happens most frequently? The four most common moments are:

#1: When converting contractors into full-time employees.

#2: When converting interns into full-time employees. 

#3: When referrals are submitted.

#4: When talent planning (i.e., succession and high potential talent programs).

Leaders, your intentions are good. After all, you have individuals who have—to some degree—been vetted as solid workers. This vetting process may happen informally in various ways:

• An individual has worked in a contingent capacity, like an intern or contractor and you have been able to see their performance.
• They have worked in an employee capacity and have demonstrated high performance, like many who are on succession plans and in high potential programs.
• They are referrals, and a current employee can vouch for their work ethic.

I get it. Identification of top talent is key.

But where things tend to go amiss, is when we move away from identifying top talent for a candidate pool as a core philosophy and policy to designating a candidate for a role. Do you see the difference? When you designate a candidate for a role, it does not matter if other competitive candidates apply, the role has already been slotted for the designee.

To advance fairness in hiring, reform your hiring policy. Establish a rule that no one is designated for a role. To be considered, all contractors, interns, referrals, and individuals mapped to talent plans must apply and be fairly assessed using selection criteria like all candidates in the candidate pool.

These individuals should not be designated or slotted for a role without being fully assessed just like the rest of the candidate pool. If they are truly the most competitive, they will rise to the top during the standard hiring process. This allows applicants who self-nominate by applying to a role to also be fairly assessed, and it gives them a fair chance to be considered for the role.

Here is something ELSE you need to know: If you are not careful, intentional, and consistently checking candidate data, performative recruiting can ALSO preserve underrepresentation. If there is a lack of diversity among your contractors, interns, referrals, and employees who have been identified on succession and high potential plans, this preserves underrepresentation. This happens when, for example, an all-White talent pipeline continues to get first dibs at your workplace’s open opportunities. It may be unintentional, but it still preserves underrepresentation, nonetheless.

Remember this: Everyone should apply to all internally and externally posted positions. That includes:

• Employees who self-nominate as being ready now
• External applicants who are referred or self-nominated as being ready now
• Contingent staff (i.e., contractors and interns) vying for employee opportunities
• Employees who have been identified via talent programs (i.e., high potential and succession planning)

Change this one policy and you will be well on your way to moving from performative recruiting to building an equitable and fair hiring strategy.

Join us in the comments section: Have you observed any additional examples of performative recruiting? If so, share below.

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