Doing Diversity Recruiting in the Class of 2025? 10 Things That Need Your Attention
Dr. Marcia F. Robinson is a senior certified HR professional, diversity strategist, and curator of TheHBCUCareerCenter.com job board. She advises organizations on building inclusive talent pipelines and improving diversity recruiting outcomes.
Some organizations are working hard to keep a focus on diversity recruiting even in a challenging economy with uncertainty. Organizations are paying attention to inclusive talent strategies that keep their brands in compliance with new business rules while staying attractive to those job seekers who care about where they work. Even with the best of intentions, diversity recruiting efforts could fall short—or even backfire—if not executed with care. Below are ten things every hiring manager and recruiter must be mindful of right now.
1. Tokenism Over Real Inclusion
Believe it or not, new graduates in the Class of 2025 know how to discern authenticity versus box checking. It has never been easier for new graduates to become aware of the brands they believe are looking to “check a box” versus those brands that are serious about building inclusive spaces where people can feel like they belong. Diversity recruiting should be about adding value through many perspectives, not filling quotas.
2. Overlooking Intersectionality
Diversity is multidimensional. Consider how race, gender, ability, age, and other identities intersect—and don’t limit your definition of diversity to any one category of people. That includes paying close attention to personal biases of choosing recruits from your alma mater versus exposing opportunities across the board.
3. Biased Job Descriptions
Seek to use more inclusive language and structured templates to neutralize bias. For example, your job descriptions might be using words that turn certain candidates off, simply because they may be unclear of the meaning of those words across one culture versus another. Words like “aggressive,” “rockstar,” “digital native” or even minimum years of experience could deter totally qualified diverse applicants.
4. Recruiting from Homogenous Networks
If your diversity recruiting outreach channels only yield the same type of candidates, you may be reinforcing the status quo in your company. Expand sourcing to net a broader pool of applicants. For example, connect with HBCU campuses, religious affiliated universities, affinity groups, and diversity job boards like The HBCU Career Center, Jopwell, and DiversityJobs.
5. Unconscious Bias in Interviews
Hiring teams are a key component of a successful diversity recruiting strategy. These teams have to be trained on the use of structured interviews with consistent evaluation criteria to mitigate personal bias during the candidate screening process. Diverse candidates should not have to “prove they belong” more than others. There shouldn’t be artificial barriers to “culture fit” that creates unseen hurdles in the hiring and selection process.
6. Misaligned Employer Branding
I really started to pay attention to this concept over two decades ago when I worked in college career centers. I would notice those organizations that promoted diversity on their careers page and then sent recruiting teams to campuses that did not mirror the claims of inclusion made on their websites. Today’s college graduates notice that kind of disconnect. New graduates are researching leadership teams and looking to see if an organization is practising what they are preaching as far as inclusion goes.
7. One-and-Done Initiatives
Hiring one person from an underrepresented group is not the goal. Diversity hiring requires sustained, intentional strategy over time. It takes an investment of resources to attract and retain qualified staff.
8. Ignoring Retention
It’s not just about hiring—inclusion drives retention. If the rate that diverse hires leave your company is unacceptable, given the expenditure to recruit, revisit your onboarding, team dynamics, and leadership behaviors. If your organization is able to hire, but not keep, do the research on why people might be choosing to leave.
9. Beware of Data Without Context
The data is great, but look closely to see the narrative. Always seek broad perspectives on what the data means. Tracking demographic data is critical, but numbers alone don’t tell the story. Use both quantitative and qualitative information to understand and improve initiatives involving diversity, equity and inclusion inside of your organization..
10. Not Listening to Marginalized Voices
You can learn a lot from those employees who are already in your organization. Involve ERGs, DEI councils, or employee surveys in shaping your company’s diversity recruiting strategy. People should feel psychologically safe in your company to speak up on what the recruiting team might not be understanding.
An effective diversity recruiting strategy needs time to work. It requires a shift in mindset and the willingness to put interdisciplinary teams together to build the best practices for your organization. Working together will help organizations create hiring practices that reflect the values and potential of a truly inclusive workforce.