Is there ever room for sameness in the world of diversity recruiting? Spoiler Alert: Yes.

 
 
 

💥This is #IncreaseDiversity, a weekly newsletter series + Increase Diversity Toolbox sharing best practices for employers who want to implement effective diversity recruitment programs. To see previous editions, visit JenniferTardy.com. | IG: @IncreaseDiversity 💥

News From #TeamJTC:

👉🏾 RECRUITING BOOTCAMP | Register for our upcoming Qualified Diversity Recruiter (QDR) Bootcamp. Classes start April 25, 2022. We will teach you best-practice methods for finding, attracting, engaging, selecting, and onboarding talent from historically underrepresented populations.

👉🏾 FREE CHECKLIST | 💥 We have a FREE, downloadable CHECKLIST for leaders called The Platinum Checklist for Hiring Professionals: 10 Immediate Actions Leaders Must STOP Doing to Increase Diversity. Click to download your free copy. 💥

 
 

Is there ever room for sameness in the world of diversity recruiting? Spoiler Alert: Yes.

In a world where diverse means different, diversity means variety and we are learning to normalize culture add over culture fit, is there ever a space for sameness? In other words, in what part of the hiring process is it completely acceptable for recruiters and hiring managers to hire candidates because they are the SAME as the rest of the employees within the organization.

Here is what I want you to know. In diversity recruiting, there is a space for sameness when you are making a selection decision:

SHARED VALUES.

We, at Team JTC, have been thinking a lot about shared values. In full transparency, our shared values include:

  • A passion for increasing diversity

  • Excellence in research and implementation

  • Intellectual curiosity and lifelong learning

  • Empathy for the experiences of job seekers AND hiring teams

The people that we hire and partner with to develop our products and deliver our services must share these values. We know that it is in these shared values that there is a higher quality end product and a better experience for the clients that we support—whether they are job seekers, recruiting professionals, hiring managers, and/or DEI professionals.

So, the next time you are interviewing, be sure to include a space for talking about your company’s values and learning more about how these values show up personally for the candidates you are interviewing.

Here are three examples of ways to incorporate values into your interview process:

  • Example #1 | Share a company value and ask the candidate for their interpretation of it and how it aligns or is unaligned with what is important to the candidate.

  • Example #2 | You can ask “what would you do” scenario-based questions and ask which value was important to them in coming to the solution.

  • Example #3 | You can share examples of tasks and deliverables and then ask the candidate which values are important to them when it comes to delivering this work.

But before you begin incorporating shared values into your hiring process, here are six (6) considerations for organizations to consider ensuring a bias-free interview:

Consideration #1: Make sure the interviewing team knows that a candidate does NOT have to be packaged in a certain way to share in a value.

  • Example: A candidate does not need to have graduated from an Ivy League university to value quality education. Also, a candidate may struggle with making direct eye contact due to cultural impacts AND can also value trust and integrity.

Consideration #2: Only publish values that are connected to what makes your organization successful and remove company-neutral values.

  • Example: Just because you have a ton of trendsetters within the organization, does not mean that being a trendsetter should be a company value if it does not directly add to (or take away from) the company’s success.

Consideration #3: Create company values that everyone can participate in demonstrating without consequence, regardless of how they identify.

  • Example: If speaking up or using your voice is a company value, are women penalized as being “too bossy” when they participate in demonstrating the value.

Consideration #4: Identify and revamp/exclude company values that are historically rooted in bias.   

  • Example: A company that values professionalism may want to reflect on the notion that professionalism is rooted in bias. More specifically, being considered professional has historically been a direct connection to how close one is willing to assimilate to white, male, cis-gender, heterosexual norms in the workplace.

Consideration #5: Make sure that your values are clear and understood by those who are interpreting and translating them in the hiring process. Provide examples to the interview team on what the value looks like and what it does not look like, where possible.

  • Example: Just because a candidate or employee is not interested in hanging out for happy hour outside of work, does not mean that they do not value teamwork. To them, teamwork refers to how things are done while on the clock.

Consideration #6: Make sure that your recruiters and hiring managers understand that there is more than one way for a candidate to demonstrate value alignment.

  • Example: Your organization may value “speed to market.” If a person requires an accommodation to work at a specific speed at your company, it does not mean that they value it less and it also does not mean that they cannot reach that speed.

Good luck to you as you are incorporating value alignment into your hiring process. Let us know in the comments if other areas are important to consider when it comes to shared values. 

 
DJennifer Tardy