Subtle characteristics of the hiring process have become more detrimental over the past decade, most notably in the past year. Bias has snuck its way into the tech industry, among others. But there is a way to pull away from that mentality and access talent previously excluded from the hiring process—inclusive hiring.
What is inclusive hiring?
Inclusive hiring is where recruiters and hiring managers actively try to include candidates of varying diversities, skill levels, ethnicities, and more for the sake of what they could bring to a company. However, this doesn’t mean bringing in candidates on the basis of being diverse. This type of hiring is designed to remove biases.
A few ways to do this is to:
- Train an in-house interviewing team on inclusive hiring
- Increase the number of candidates being interviewed
- Look at things like communication and how it can succeed across barriers
5 Characteristics to Promote Inclusive Hiring
- Search for candidates outside of previously desired characteristics or skills.
For example, ‘pedigree bias’, or the preference of candidates with similar backgrounds, ethnicity, and so on, should be eliminated from the hiring process. Talent in the tech industry can often be found in unlikely places or possess multiple skills.
- Interviewers should be instructed on how to use inclusive hiring properly.
The best way to completely remove bias and utilize inclusive hiring appropriately is to create an interview rubric. Implementing live technical tests, if not already, is a beneficial element of any hiring system. It lets the interviewer see what the candidate is capable of on a technical level as well as give the candidate a chance to ask questions of their own.
- Utilize EEOC data alongside KPIs to gather information.
EEOC data is a report of a company’s employees. It groups them in different categories such as gender, job types, ethnicity, and other demographic data. Combining that data with KPI (Key Performance Indicators) on hiring systems in place and interviewers can see characteristics they are missing or excluding.
- Interview a large number of candidates.
Having a higher number of candidates than previous positions will allow interviewers to choose from a selection that is more diverse, as long as inclusive hiring is actively put into play. Also, instead of condensing the interviewing process into, for example, one day, interviewers should break it up to give themselves more time to dedicate to each candidate. By rushing through the process, talented candidates are often overlooked or under-tested.
- Present good, positive communication.
After ensuring that the interview process is as accessible to as many candidates as possible, interviewers should make sure they present themselves clearly. By establishing good communication and a positive environment through it, candidates are more likely to feel comfortable. During a live interview, asking the candidate if he or she prefers continuous communication or relative silence is one such step. Remember that the hiring process is extremely stressful, typically for both sides, and helping candidates relax will increase their performance.
