Talent Acquisition Leaders, Here is How to Think About Diversity Recruitment in 2022
💥This is #IncreaseDiversity, a weekly newsletter + toolbox series 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:
👉🏾 NEW EBOOK: We are very excited to announce that we are adding a new eBook to our INCREASE DIVERSITY TOOLBOX. “How to Launch an Ambassador Program”. If you already subscribe to the Increase Diversity Toolbox, you are in luck as this eBook will be available to you at no additional charge. Otherwise, we invite you to subscribe to the Increase Diversity Toolbox to gain access to this eBook along with many great resources.
👉🏾 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. 💥
Talent Acquisition leaders, there are three very real conditions you are facing in 2022 on your journey to increasing diversity: The Great Resignation, workplace culture demands, and a job-seekers market. Here is some important information you should know.
The Great Resignation: According to Karin Kimbrough, LinkedIn’s Chief Economist, the most recent data show people quitting jobs across the board: 4.4% of all positions in education are open, over 6% in retail, and more than 8% in health care. Open jobs in hotels and restaurants are nearly 9%. That's almost a million-and-a-half vacant positions.
Workplace Culture Demands: Employees and job seekers (alike) are demanding more insight and transparency into what actions your workplace is implementing to foster an inclusive workplace environment. As a matter of fact, according to an HBR article, debates that have fairness at the core, whether it’s around race, climate change, or Covid vaccine distribution, have become flashpoints in society.
“According to our analysis of S&P 500 earnings calls, the frequency with which CEOs talk about issues of equity, fairness, and inclusion on these calls has increased by 658% since 2018.” - HBR
A Job Seeker’s Market: According to HBR and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4 million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021. Resignations peaked in April and have remained abnormally high for the last several months, with a record-breaking 10.9 million open jobs at the end of July.
“The labor shortages that defined 2021 have been forcing salaries up in higher-paying fields all year long. In 2022, that trend will likely filter down the food chain.” - GoBankRates
Have you already created a strategy to navigate these challenges and to lead your recruiters and hiring managers in a way that your organization will come out on top?
As you are developing your strategy, here are five areas that you must prioritize:
#1. Frontline Empowerment – We know building successful teams is not easy. Recruiters and hiring managers are both spending long hours trying to meet the hiring needs and expectations of the organization. But there is a valuable prerequisite that must occur: those who are on the frontlines of increasing diversity must feel qualified, capable, and comfortable to lean all the way in. I can’t stress enough the importance of providing your hiring leaders and recruiters with immersive diversity recruiting training on inclusive recruiting strategies.
Resource(s): Qualified Diversity Recruiter Bootcamp | Qualified Inclusive Leader Bootcamp
#2. Recruiter Positioning – Recruiters must be seen and respected as partners to hiring managers. Too many recruiters are positioned only as easy to do business with. This easy to do business with perception turns into a convenient rationalization to avoid hard decisions, uncomfortable conversations, and controversial actions. Recruiters must be willing to “call-in” hiring managers and have a conversation that will transform their working relationship and most importantly remove the obstacles hindering the goals of bringing top talent to the organization.
JTC Resource(s): Read our newsletter on this topic and download the eBook.
#3. Leveraging Data – Data tells us why people are leaving our workplace AND why people are joining our workplace. To seal the leak in top talent leaving your organization and, on the roadmap to becoming an employer of choice, you must first have data-driven insight and intelligence. In HR and recruiting we should never approach our decisions and plans with gut feelings and beliefs. This, “I think, I feel, I believe” posturing in business decisions will not move the needle forward. Data must drive our conversations and decisions. Build dashboards with relevant data to monitor gender representation, gender equality, race and track your results.
JTC Resource(s): Increase Diversity Toolbox
#4. Identification of the Hiring Obstacle Course – Use data to identify hurdles so they can be eliminated. Candidate expectations have shifted during the last couple of years and workers expect more from organizations. Have you taken a hard look at your hiring journey? For the hiring process to be successful, it is no longer just about what recruiters and hiring managers should start doing, but also about what they must stop doing in the hiring process. Is your hiring journey full of hurdles, obstacles, and biases that might be hindering your ability to hire and retain top talent?
JTC Resources(s): eBook - The Hiring System: 113 Thought-provoking questions to guide hiring leaders and recruiters in identifying the systemic hurdles, obstacles, and barriers untapped groups face when trying to gain employment.
#5. Expanding the reach of Recruitment – Get more people involved in the work of recruiting. Your recruiters should not be the only ones on the front lines increasing diversity and sourcing and attracting more people into the organization. Create programs that extend the reach of recruiters. Three great programs to consider developing to get others involved are:
Executive Outreach Program for senior workplace executives to support diversity recruiting
Ambassador Program for select employees throughout the company to support diversity recruiting
Affinity Group Program for members of employee resource groups to support diversity recruiting
JTC Resource(s): Increase Diversity Toolbox
“As a drastic reminder of how the pandemic has impacted the labor market, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on February 1st, 2022, there were 10.9 million job openings on the last business day of December 2021.”
Talent shortages, the problems connected to remote workers, and the need to meet the expectation of the workforce will continue to follow us for years to come. What will make a difference is how well your hiring leaders and recruiters are equipped to handle these challenges and how organizations can give them the tools to transform their hiring processes.
What other areas do you believe must be prioritized to meet the workforce demands of 2022? Join me in the comments section and share your thoughts.