How Employers can Structure a Diversity Recruitment Program

Diversity recruiting is the process of attracting and hiring candidates from a variety of backgrounds, including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability status, and veteran status. It is important because it helps to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace, which can lead to improved employee morale, productivity, and innovation.

To structure a diversity recruitment initiative, employers should follow these steps:

1. Define your goals. What do you hope to achieve with your diversity recruitment initiative? Do you want to increase the percentage of women in your workforce? Hire more people of color? Create a more inclusive culture for all employees? Once you know your goals, you can develop specific strategies to achieve them.

2. Assess your current state. Before you can start to make changes, you need to understand your current workforce. What is the demographic makeup of your employees? What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to diversity and inclusion?

3. Identify your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your diversity recruitment initiative? Once you know your target audience, you can tailor your messaging and outreach strategies accordingly.

4. Develop a sourcing strategy. Where will you find the diverse candidates you need? Consider posting jobs on diverse job boards, partnering with diversity organizations, and attending diversity-focused career fairs.

5. Create inclusive job postings. Your job postings should be welcoming to candidates from all backgrounds. Avoid using gendered language or making assumptions about candidates' qualifications.

6. Use a structured interview process. This will help to reduce bias and ensure that all candidates are evaluated fairly.

7. Track your progress. It's important to track your progress over time so that you can see what's working and what's not. Collect data on the demographics of your job applicants and hires. You can also survey employees to get their feedback on your diversity recruitment efforts.

Here are some additional tips for structuring a successful diversity recruitment initiative:

• Get buy-in from leadership. Diversity recruiting should be a priority for the entire organization, not just the HR department. Make sure that senior leaders are committed to diversity and inclusion and that they are communicating that commitment to employees and job candidates.

• Involve your employees. Your employees can be your best ambassadors when it comes to diversity recruiting. Encourage them to refer their friends and colleagues, and to share their experiences working at your company with their networks.

• Make diversity and inclusion a part of your culture. Diversity recruiting is not just about hiring a certain number of people from different backgrounds. It's also about creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected. Make sure that your company's culture is inclusive and that all employees have the opportunity to succeed.

You'll also need to craft a recruitment marketing strategy that targets underrepresented groups though diversity job boards, colleges and other online marketing channels.

By following these steps, employers can structure a diversity recruitment initiative that will help them to attract and hire the best talent, regardless of background.

Many companies are working to improve their diversity recruitment efforts. Here are a few companies that are known for doing well in this area:

• Accenture

• General Motors

• Microsoft

• Salesforce

• Kaiser Permanente

• J&J

• New York Life

• PNC Financial Services

• Thermo Fisher Scientific

• L'Oreal

• Intel

• American Express

These companies have a number of initiatives in place to attract and hire diverse candidates, including:

• Partnering with diversity organizations to post jobs and reach out to candidates

• Attending diversity-focused career fairs and events

• Creating inclusive job postings that avoid gendered language and assumptions

• Using a structured interview process to reduce bias

• Providing training to employees on unconscious bias and diversity and inclusion

In addition to these specific initiatives, these companies also have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion at all levels of the organization. This commitment is evident in their corporate values, their leadership team, and their overall culture.

As a result of their efforts, these companies have been able to build more diverse and inclusive workforces. This has led to a number of benefits, including improved employee morale, productivity, and innovation.

If you are an employer who is looking to improve your diversity recruitment efforts, you can learn a lot from these companies. By implementing similar initiatives and demonstrating a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, you can create a more inclusive workplace and attract the best talent, regardless of background.