A diverse and happy workforce begins with the hiring process
Originally published in The Guardian in partnership with the Open University
By limiting yourself in the recruitment process you may miss out on someone who’s right for the job. These simple steps will help to cultivate an inclusive organisation
The business case for better diversity and inclusion in the workplace is huge. A McKinsey & Company study from 2018 found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 15% more likely to experience above-average profitability. On a very simple level, the more diverse your team is, the more likely you are to have a workforce who find alternative solutions, and offer multiple perspectives.
But diversity isn’t limited to a candidate’s race, gender, or age – it includes their education, socioeconomic background, sexuality, religion, mental and physical health and many more facets. When we create environments that encourage different opinions and contain a multitude of backgrounds and experiences, we broaden our communities, which in turn benefits both the work and the culture of the organisation.
Here’s how to get started with building an inclusive and diverse business:
Look outside of the obvious education channels This may come as a surprise, but where someone studied - for their qualifications – doesn’t necessarily correlate to their qualities as a candidate. It’s important to be intentional about recruitment, and if you are only accepting candidates who have a certain level of education, or attended a certain type of university, you may be missing out on someone just right for the job. Go further afield when you attend university job fairs and remember to think digitally. With an increasing number of courses being offered online, make sure you connect with those graduates as well. The Open University has been offering qualifications through distance learning for 50 years. It has an excellent resource – the OU’s OpportunityHub, which connects prospective employers with graduates and alumni around the country for work and internships. The OU also regularly runs OU Online TalentConnect, a digital careers fair where employers can chat and interact with its uniquely diverse body of graduates and undergraduates all over the UK and internationally.
“The OU provides a unique supply of candidates, as a majority study alongside full-time employment – it shows a true commitment and a willingness to go that extra mile,” says the HMRC’s Memunatu Bangura.
Create a diversity, equity, and inclusion committee Have a specific committee to oversee diversity, equity, and inclusion at your organisation, to ensure that not only the roles you are hiring, but the work that you do appeals to a broad group of people. Of course, diversity isn’t just about hiring – but it’s probably a good idea to ensure that the team responsible for hiring are diverse themselves.
Blind hiring Research shows that when names and even addresses are removed from a candidate’s profile, significant bias is reduced on the part of the hiring team. A study between Harvard and Princeton found that this type of blind screening increased the likelihood of women being hired by between 25% and 46%. It’s worth training your HR in unconscious bias, ensuring that candidates are assessed on what they offer, and that alone. You could also consider partnering with a diversity-focused recruitment agency, or investing in software that redacts certain information before it goes to your hiring committee.
Could the role be remote? Or part-time? For many candidates, especially those with disabilities, knowing that a job can be done remotely, or part-time, is deeply attractive. You can also sign up to be a part of the Disability Confident programme, which signals to jobseekers with disabilities that your organisation supports and encourages a talent pool that is inclusive. When pulling together your job description, think seriously about whether it would be possible to offer remote work, or a job share – many parents benefit from flexible schedules.
Consider mature students Not everyone attends university. Many candidates from lower-income backgrounds, or BAME candidates, may not have been given the same access to opportunity as others, and many people choose to attend university later in life, if at all. Mature students are defined as being undergraduates over the age of 21, and they account for almost 300,000 people a year. According to Ucas, the majority of mature students are women who live at home, undertaking degrees in vocational subjects. These are candidates who will have learned to juggle work, or parenting, alongside their studies.
“We want to work with OU students and graduates because we know they are highly motivated and talented individuals who have the potential to make an enormous contribution to Mencap as either staff or volunteers. We work across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and we know that OU students are spread across the whole of the UK too,” says Jen Stoneman, volunteer services coordinator at Mencap.
Be realistic about your goals While it would be amazing to cultivate a diverse work environment, it won’t happen overnight. Be patient, and set metrics of success that ensure that you are appealing to diverse groups, and growing your workforce. Identify one metric to improve upon, set a deadline, and keep track of the progress.
Empower your business. It’s easy and free to tap into the diverse talents of OU students and alumni through the OU’s OpportunityHub
This article was amended on 24 September 2019 to correct a misspelling of Jen Stoneman’s name