Part I of II: Leaders, do you really want to increase diversity? Try a Checklist.
Ready for some exciting #TeamJTC news? We have a brand new, FREE, and downloadable CHECKLIST for leaders and hiring professionals called The Platinum Checklist for Hiring Professionals: 10 Immediate Actions Leaders Must Stop Doing in Order to Increase Diversity. Click to download your free copy.
💥This is #IncreaseDiversity, a weekly newsletter series sharing best practices for employers who want to implement effective diversity recruitment programs. To see previous editions, visit www.JenniferTardy.com.
“People of color make up nearly half of Biden transition team.”
The moment I saw this CNN headline, I knew that I needed to open and read the full article which goes on to share some insightful hiring details.
“As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office in January, nearly half of the transition team laying the groundwork for his administration is made up of people of color, and women are in the majority. Forty-six percent of the transition staff are people of color, according to new diversity data of the transition team provided to CNN, and 41% of the senior staff are people of color. The majority of transition staff -- 52% -- are women, and 53% of the senior staff are women.”
As a matter of fact, in his first speech as President-elect, he gave us insight into his hiring intentions by stating, “I said from the outset I wanted a campaign that represented America, and I think we did that. Now that’s what I want the administration to look like.”
This is an example of a commitment to increase diversity. It is also an example of moving expeditiously to honor the commitment.
Here’s what America looks like.
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Like President-elect Biden, company CEOs have also made public commitments to increase diversity through avenues like the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion which is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. When companies—like those on this list—are ready to implement their diversity initiatives, they often reach out to firms like JTC to solicit help. A fascinating pattern that I’ve noticed is that most organizations think of diversity recruiting as having a list of top places to source and recruit. Implementing an effective diversity recruiting program is so much more.
I’ve observed companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to partner with new platforms to reach their target audiences. According to a Quartz at Work article, Fortune 500 companies spend a collective $16 billion annually on hiring, or roughly $32 million per company, according to Ryan Williams. He’s a co-founder of Jopwell, a startup that matches minority candidates with employers, via an online database. About $2.5 million a year is spent on recruiting minority candidates, a figure that will at least double, and could increase four-fold, in the next several years as employers scramble to catch up to a country where demographics are changing rapidly.
"Increasing diversity at an organization is not only about what you must START doing it is also about what you must STOP doing." - Jenn Tardy
I will often advise them to think about diversity recruiting more broadly. Increasing diversity at an organization is not only about what you must START doing (e.g., sourcing on the right platforms), it is also about what you must STOP doing.
Candidates are being funneled into a talent pipeline historically meant to weed them out. Although the needle has moved and much of the overt discriminatory practices have been dismantled, in large part, due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there’s still a ton of work to be done to remove discrimination that’s covert and/or unconscious bias that goes unseen. So, again, it is not just about what an employer must start doing. It is also about what they must stop doing.
I have a brand new, free, and downloadable resource that can help you. It is a CHECKLIST for leaders and hiring professionals called The Platinum Checklist for Hiring Professionals: 10 Immediate Actions Leaders Must Stop Doing in Order to Increase Diversity. Click to download your free copy.
Here is a little preview of the first three immediate actions that you can stop doing that will help your organization to increase diversity:
Action #10 | STOP exclusively sourcing on platforms disproportionately overrepresented by the same group(s) already OVERREPRESENTED in your organization. Source and recruit on platforms disproportionately overrepresented by groups UNDERREPRESENTED in your organization.
Action #09 | STOP allowing interview team members to submit non-value-added feedback. All interview feedback must be relevant and connected to the qualifications of the job, clear and understandable, and timely in order for the feedback to help the hiring manager make a solid and effective selection decision.
Action #08 | STOP approving invalid job descriptions and STOP posting job descriptions that are ineffective in attracting candidates from historically underrepresented backgrounds. Job descriptions should be inclusive and should not be so constricting and present barriers that they exclude eligible candidates. Job descriptions should solicit skills that are reasonably available in the workforce and they should address the knowledge, skills and experience aligned to the job duties.
Again, if you are interested in seeing the rest of the countdown (actions #7 - #1) on The Platinum Checklist for Hiring Professionals, click to download your free copy. As a leader and hiring professional, be sure to keep the checklist somewhere you can see it daily. And I want to emphasize daily because this checklist is not going to be your one-size-fits-all solution that will resolve all of your diversity problems over night or in the next month. No. I implore you to use this checklist as a catalyst to understanding the current state of diversity with your organization and identifying areas where you can improve. From there, prepare yourself to do the hard, daily work that is to follow. You’ve got this!
President-elect Biden knows that he cannot take the same route taken by most of his predecessors if he truly wants to make impact on increasing diversity in the new administration. Join us in the comments section and tell us what your organization is willing to stop doing in order to reach your initiative to increase diversity?
Join the conversation in the comments.
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✅We will use the weekly #IncreaseDiversity newsletter platform to do five things:
Challenge organizations to dig more deeply when it comes to diversity recruiting and retention programs
Clarify misconceptions or demystify complex topics related to diversity recruiting
Share best practices in diversity recruiting and retention
Answer frequently asked questions related to diversity recruiting and retention
Build a safe learning community for hiring professionals
✅ Need support implementing an effective diversity recruiting program at your organization? Visit www.JenniferTardy.com to learn about consulting and training programs.