DEI strategies are not just to implement and forget, and it is a strategy that requires commitment and willingness and is not something you would apply under social pressure. The world is not what it used to be a decade earlier, almost all corporations are taking steps to implement and incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Cultivating a workforce that meets a strongly felt principle towards the racial lines and the marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented is required. The application of a DEI environment starts from the top of the recruitment process.
DEI recruiting strategies
There are always better ways to hire. Before you start the hiring process keeping DEI strategy in mind, you need to clarify a diverse workspace. You need to set a goal, and you need to check your current hiring strategy. Check the job description before you post it. Is the job description descriptive enough of your diverse need? The job description sometimes stops most people from applying for the job as it calls out a particular age group, educational background, and experience. When you are open to the idea of diversity, equity, and inclusion, it should also reflect in the job description that you are writing.
Rethink the way you think about diversity
Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not just goal but a commitment, so you cannot just set a few goals and expect to reach them by the end of the year. A change in attitude and intention is required when applying a DEI strategy. Get a reality check on where you stand in diversity and inclusion and get started on the ‘uncomfortable talk’. When addressing issues relating to diversity and inclusion, we might more than often need to talk about complicated and nuanced things. An open mind that will allow us to rethink is needed here. It might be possible that we have been looking over the regular small or big incidents that overlook diversity, and we need to open our minds to those.
Diversity hiring best practices
- The time is when we begin re-evaluating our hiring practices and finding out what does not work. It again begins with the requirement description that we post across. Be mindful of the job description you send out or post and ensure that you do not put the requirement criteria inside the box. When you try putting candidates in traditional boxes, you may miss out on what the person might bring to the table. Open your mind to new possibilities and not limit yourself to what you want. Sometimes when we keep an open mind, we get more than we wish for.
- Reaching out to the underrepresented community can be a vital step towards DEI hiring practices. A different hiring strategy needs to be applied when doing this. Reach out to all the teams in your company and proactively reach out to the underrepresented communities with the requirement. A funnel process needs to be applied here and, finally, bring the prospects into the interview process.
- Remember to talk and accept the vulnerability, celebrate it openly, and only then will people show their true selves. You need to create and keep a safe space to show your true selves. Never forget to include and involve people.
DEI is important because the people that work in your company are essential, and they need to know it and feel it often. Inclusion is vital to feeling a sense of belonging to your company when diversity comes. When people start feeling a sense of belonging, they consider themselves under the same umbrella. A company is an umbrella, and everyone needs to be under it.
