Diversity is essential in any company, but it seems like many are struggling with making it happen. Most companies have a mission statement with values and beliefs they want their employees to abide by. The problem? Hiring managers are biased against the idea of diversifying their workforces. This is where data comes in! Here’s how to hire diversely without bias with data!
Why Diversity Matters
Diversity is important because it makes your company more representative of the world. The World Economic Forum’s survey said that “companies with diverse workforces are better at anticipating and responding to market opportunities than their peers.”
On top of this, diversity makes your business more successful. If you have a diversified workforce, you will better understand and serve different markets worldwide. You will also help solve problems that minority groups face in society.
The Problem
A large body of academic research has found that hiring managers display bias against underrepresented minorities. A prominent example is a 2004 study of racial discrimination in which researchers used a “resume audit.” They sent the identical resumes out to many employers with a randomly assigned name at the top. They found that a resume generated fewer interview requests when it had a name chosen by the researchers to suggest the candidate was Black (such as “Lakisha” or “Jamal”) than when it had a name that was selected to sound white (such as “Emily” or “Greg”).
The solution? Hire for Diversity with Data
It’s essential to find the right talent for your company. But it can be challenging to find the perfect candidate with a particular set of qualifications. One way to get around this is by hiring for diversity. Google found that diverse teams are 33% more innovative than non-diverse teams. In addition, McKinsey found that companies in the top quartile for ethnically diverse leadership were 35% more likely to have above-average profitability. There are many ways people could go about hiring for diversity and many different approaches they could take, but there is one thing that stands out: data. Data helps you hire for diversity without bias because you can use it to weigh options fairly and make an informed decision on who you choose to bring on as a new employee.
Vet Your Data and Find Out What You Already Have
Horsefly Analytics believes that data can see the average gender gap for specific job roles and skillsets; benchmark your organization against the actual supply of female or male candidates. This is just one example of how data can help you diversify your workforce.
Collecting data is the first step in hiring diversely. Next, you’ll want to vet your data and see what you already have so you can set goals for your diversity hiring process.
You can start by looking at what percentage of employees at your company identify as different races or cultures. You can also look at how many of those people are in management positions or apply for jobs from those areas.
If you find that there are some areas where your company is lacking, you should set goals for making up for it. For example, if you notice that there aren’t any black women in management positions and less than 10 percent of all employees are black women, one goal could be to hire five new black women into management roles this year and five more next year.
Make it a Priority to Hire in Different Areas
It’s important to hire in different areas and not just the same type of person over and over again. Our environments highly influence us, and we’re more likely to hire people like ourselves.
That means that if you want a diverse workforce that will represent your company well, you need to make it a priority to hire in different areas. You’ll be able to find the most qualified candidates this way!
Use the Right Questions in Job Interviews
The best way to hire diversity is with questions in job interviews. When you interview an applicant, ask them to tell you about what they do outside of work. Ask them where they live and if they’ve ever traveled to a country other than their own. You want the person interviewing you to know that your diverse values are essential, and we live by them. This will also help you weed out people who don’t share your beliefs!
Conclusion
Diversity is about more than just hiring people from different backgrounds. It’s about the ability to see things from different perspectives and make better business decisions.
This guide will help you get the data you need to hire for diversity and make your company a more inclusive place to work. It will also help you measure your progress and ensure you’re getting the best out of your people.
To start, you’ll need to understand why diversity matters. It’s not just about fairness and equality; it’s about getting the best out of your people.
