Diversity in the workplace has a number of benefits, including improved productivity, retention, and morale. In fact, diverse organizations are 33% more likely to outperform others in their respective industries who are less diverse. For many employers, discovering ways to diversify has been a challenge. Here is how to utilize data to ensure you're taking an inclusive hiring approach.
Using Data to Improve Inclusion
Studies have found that much of the diversity and lack of inclusion problems in the workplace is due to a lack of awareness within minority communities. This means minority individuals simply don’t know about the opportunities or feel they wouldn’t be a good fit for one reason or another. To get an idea of what is preventing more diverse candidates from seeking out employment with your company, conducting surveys and doing research is a good place to start.
When conducting a survey to help you gather data about inclusion, here are some things to consider.
- Ask potential applicants what holds them back from pursuing a job with your organization or within the industry.
- Inquire about the level of inclusion applicants feel exists in the industry.
- See how people feel about pursuing a career in the industry (are they excited).
- How can your company and the industry as a whole do better in educating people about potential opportunities?
In most cases, organizations have a hunch as to what is holding their company back from being more diverse. Most companies who are having difficulty being more inclusive can benefit from communicating with the applicants they are trying to reach. Gathering information and data will help empower leaders to take action for change.
Turn Data into Action
Once you have gathered information, you can now begin to take the data and put it into action to increase inclusivity. The key three steps for many companies to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace have been to increase accessibility, improve awareness, and create accountability. Here is how those actions play out in the business world.
1. Increase accessibility.
When they look at the data, many company leaders find that their organization simply isn’t accessible to the individuals they are trying to reach. There may be barriers to entry that you have not considered previously. Think about how those barriers can be broken and put a plan into action for ensuring they don’t remain an issue. You can do this by centralizing job posts, featuring opportunities on social media, and dedicating resources to growing your professional networks.
2. Improve awareness.
Making plans and taking action to improve awareness about your company and its industry is another key step in increasing inclusion in the workplace. Ask yourself what you are doing to educate people about your company and industry. Consider using your social media channels to tell stories about the diverse individuals that work for your company. You should also seek out partnerships that speak to your desire to diversify. Some ways to do this include attending career fairs, using your platforms to spread the word, and creating events to give yourself more visibility.
3. Create accountability.
Once you have this information and ways to expand diversity in your organization, create a system to hold yourself accountable. First, be sure your hiring process is streamlined and no candidates are getting stuck in the application process for long. Then set interview goals for under-represented individuals in your industry. Come up with a way to track your goals and then make the metrics shareable with the rest of your organization.
Perfect Your Hiring Process with Timpl
If inclusion and diversity are major goals for your organization working with a staffing agency like Timpl can help you obtain those objectives. Contact us to see how our team of professionals can assist you in data-driven inclusion in your hiring process.
