Diversity at work: it starts with recruiting, part 2

Encouraging diversity deliberately matters throughout the recruiting process. Decision-making in hiring splits into two kinds: implicit decisions, made unconsciously, and explicit decisions, where information is consciously weighed up. Our brains make most decisions implicitly, which is another way of saying that application documents get analysed on feeling and that hiring managers listen to their gut. A certain share of individual habits of thought and action therefore flows into selection whether we like it or not. A related case is self-cloning by similarity: people favour candidates whose outlook differs little from their own.

To make recruitment free of prejudice, hiring managers first have to become aware of their own routines.

Easy application

Applying should be as simple as possible. In recruiting young professionals in particular, that can decide whether a suitable person applies at all. What matters is ease of use, few clicks and, in the simplest case, being able to leave a link to a LinkedIn profile.

Review your old job ads

"We have always done it this way" has no place in recruiting either. Even where the same profiles come up again and again, reviewing old ads is indispensable. Requirements change, and some requirements are no longer necessary for a given role at all. Studies keep showing that women, for instance, only apply when they meet every criterion listed. Cutting an ad back to the essential competencies therefore makes it more likely that they will feel addressed.

The weight of soft skills

Naming the qualities and soft skills you want in the ideal candidate is essential. An example: if the aim is to reach women as well, words associated with men, such as "driven", "independent" or "analytical", are better avoided or used very deliberately, with terms associated with women, such as "responsible", "gifted" or "trustworthy", used instead.

Gender-fair language

It starts with the job title and runs through to the description of the duties. Language and images should speak to all genders equally. An example: in German, a line such as "then you are our man for the purchasing role" reads positively to male candidates but is unlikely to make women feel addressed. The better choice is the paired form that names both, "Einkäufer/in". English has the same problem in a different form, in phrases such as "he will be responsible for".

Diversity in the company and how you show it

Once a company has decided to give diversity more weight, it should say so publicly. Candidates care that a potential employer stands for particular values and works towards equal opportunity.

Employees as brand ambassadors

Who could be better placed to carry the company's values outward than its own people? In networks, at trade fairs and on social media, they can convey the company and what it stands for more credibly and authentically than any well-turned sentence on the corporate website.

Use interview guides

Guides help when recruiting. They give colleagues from the specialist departments a way of running interviews so that the pool of candidates going into the next round is as diverse as possible. Guides also help recruiters avoid bias.

Defined assessment criteria

The requirements profile for the prospective employee is set out clearly. Assessment criteria are broken down for the interviewers and are therefore transparent to third parties as well.

Diverse recruiting teams

Recruiting teams should be as varied as possible. Every member brings different experience and contributes ideas, feedback and someone for candidates to identify with. At the same time candidates get a broader view of what the workforce looks like.

Training for recruiters

All managers and interviewers should be trained regularly. The focus is on refreshing knowledge of recruiting practice and trends, and on subjects such as diversity.

The recruitment process is one of many fields of action for making a company more diverse. What matters is not walking into selection carrying prejudice or bias you have picked up without noticing.