Effective recruitment strategies for diversifying your talent pool

As a business owner, manager, or HR professional, finding the right talent to fill open positions is crucial to the success of your organisation. However, it's not just about finding any talent - it's about finding the right talent that can help your company grow and thrive. One way to achieve this is by diversifying your talent pool.

This blog will discuss effective recruitment strategies that can help you diversify your talent pool and build a stronger, more inclusive workforce.

Why Diversity in the Workplace is Important

Before we dive into the recruitment strategies, let's first discuss why diversity in the workplace is important. A diverse workforce brings a variety of perspectives, experiences, and ideas to the table. This can lead to increased innovation, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. It can also improve employee morale and engagement, as people feel valued and respected for their unique contributions. Additionally, a diverse workforce can help you reach a wider customer base and improve your organisation's reputation.

Understanding Your Current Talent Pool

To effectively diversify your talent pool, you first need to understand who is currently on your team. This means collecting data on your employees' demographics, such as race, gender, age, and ethnicity. This information can help you identify gaps or areas where you need to improve diversity. You can then create a baseline to measure your progress against.

Understanding the Barriers to Diversity

Once you have a better understanding of your current talent pool, you can start to identify any barriers that may be preventing you from diversifying. These barriers can include things like unconscious bias in the hiring process, lack of diversity in your industry or region, limited recruitment channels, or a lack of diversity training for your employees. By identifying these barriers, you can then take steps to address them and create a more inclusive workplace.

Best Ways to Recruit Employees for a Diverse Talent Pool

Once you better understand your current talent pool and the barriers to diversity, you can implement recruitment strategies to help you diversify.

Here are 5 effective recruitment strategies to diversify your workforce. 

1. Expand Your Recruitment Channels

Expanding your recruitment channels is one of the best ways to diversify your talent pool. This can include posting job openings on job boards that cater to underrepresented groups, attending job fairs at colleges, universities or other schools with diverse student populations, or partnering with community organisations that serve diverse populations.

2. Use Inclusive Language in Job Postings

Another way to attract a more diverse pool of candidates is by using inclusive language in your job postings. This means avoiding gendered language or language that may be exclusive to certain groups. For example, instead of using the term "salesman," use "sales representative" or "sales associate."

3. Implement Diversity Training for Hiring Managers

To help reduce unconscious bias in the hiring process, it's important to provide diversity training for your hiring managers. This can help them recognize their own biases and make more objective decisions when evaluating candidates. It can also help them create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all candidates.

4. Offer Diversity and Inclusion programmes

Another way to attract and retain a diverse workforce is by offering diversity and inclusion programmes. This can include mentorship programmes, employee resource groups, or diversity training for all employees. These programmes can help employees feel valued and supported, which can lead to increased engagement and retention.

5. Build Relationships with Diverse Communities

Finally, building relationships with diverse communities can help you tap into a wider pool of talent. This can include networking with diverse professionals, partnering with community organisations, or sponsoring events celebrating diversity. For example, at NES Fircroft we partner with Diversifying Agencies - a purpose-led careers platform that helps people find jobs with employers serious about diversity and inclusion. We’re an   ALLY (Pink Petro) member - an organisation dedicated to connecting and advancing women in Energy. 

Developing a Strategic Recruiting Plan for Diversity

Now that you have some recruitment techniques in mind, developing a strategic recruiting plan for diversity is important. This plan should:

1.     Outline your goals,

2.     List your target demographics,

3.     Include the recruitment strategies you will use to achieve those goals

4.     Include metrics for measuring your progress, such as the percentage of underrepresented groups in your candidate pool or the retention rates of diverse employees.

When developing your plan, involving your entire team in the process is important. This can help ensure buy-in and commitment to the plan's success. It can also help you identify any potential roadblocks or challenges that may arise.

Diversity Management in the Recruitment Process

Once you have a strategic recruiting plan in place, don’t forget to incorporate diversity management into the recruitment process. This means ensuring that all candidates are evaluated objectively and fairly, regardless of their background or identity. It also means providing support and resources for diverse candidates throughout the hiring process, such as accommodations for disabilities or language barriers.

Examples of ways to create an inclusive recruitment process are:

1.     Remove personal information from CVs (such as names, age, and photos)

2.     Include a diverse panel in the interview process to avoid bias.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Recruitment Strategy Plan

To ensure that your recruitment strategy plan is effective, it's important to measure your progress regularly. This means tracking the diversity of your candidate pool, as well as the diversity of your hires. You can also track retention rates for diverse employees and employee satisfaction levels. Use this data to adjust your recruitment strategies as needed and continue to improve your diversity efforts.

Key Takeaways for Diversifying Your Talent Pool

In conclusion, diversifying your talent pool is not only the right thing to do - it's also good for business. By following the recruitment strategies outlined in this blog post, you can attract and retain a more diverse workforce that brings a variety of perspectives and ideas to your organisation. Remember to develop a strategic recruiting plan for diversity, incorporate diversity management into the recruitment process, and measure your progress regularly. Doing so can build a stronger, more inclusive workforce that helps your organisation thrive.

If you need help with your hiring strategy or want support in diversifying your talent pool, contact us today to get hiring support.