Take steps to improve your diversity hiring strategy  

1. Hold leaders accountable for advancing diversity

While stating that you want to hire more Black employees or promote more women might be well-intentioned, you won’t make much progress without enlisting the support of senior executives. A growing number of companies, including Salesforce, Nike, Starbucks, and McDonald’s, are doing just that by tying executive compensation to meeting diversity targets. Nearly all of Europe’s major banks incorporate diversity and inclusion metrics into executive pay decisions, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Sodexo has developed diversity scorecards for its managers in North America. These scorecards measure both quantitative metrics like recruiting and retention, as well as qualitative metrics like how often managers participate in activities such as mentoring. The results are reviewed monthly and are used to help determine bonuses.

By linking pay to meeting diversity goals, organizations not only incentivize leaders to focus on DEI, but they also signal the importance of DEI to the entire organization.

2. Take the time necessary to source a diverse group of candidates

Recruiters are often under pressure to fill roles quickly. But sourcing candidates from underrepresented groups can take time. “If you’re looking to go fast, your candidate pool is not likely to be as diverse,” says Fredrick Scott, senior director, global emerging talent and inclusion recruiting at LinkedIn.

“Expedience bias creates all kinds of issues that can be leaving people out,” says Laura Long, vice president, national equity, inclusion, and diversity at Kaiser Permanente. “It’s a fallacy to say, ‘There aren’t enough diverse candidates out there.’ Yes, there are. You just need to look in the right places.” 

According to John Vlastelica, CEO and founder of Recruiting Toolbox, to address this it’s important for leadership teams to have conversations around how teams are resourced, how they may be reinforcing speed over quality or diversity, and the importance of communicating a commitment to diversity in a way that makes it OK for reqs to experience a little longer time to fill.

3. Focus on skills, not schools

If you’re evaluating job seekers based on the degrees they have and the schools they attended, there’s a good chance you’re missing out on desirable candidates from underrepresented groups.  

IBM, Merck, LinkedIn, and other employers are taking a skills-first hiring approach that drops degree requirements for some positions. Last year, LinkedIn saw a 21% increase in job postings that advertise skills and responsibilities instead of qualifications and requirements in the U.S. In addition, the number of positions that don’t require a degree increased by nearly 40% in 2020 compared to 2019, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky noted in an article published in the Harvard Business Review. 

Companies are realizing that skills-based hiring works: Hirers leveraging skills data to find the right match are 60% more likely to find a successful hire than those not relying on skills.

4. Adopt a diverse candidate slate policy 

How can you open the door to groups that have been shut out in the past? One way is to adopt a diverse candidate slate policy that requires a certain number of people from diverse backgrounds be considered for any given job. 

Diverse candidate slates, which are based on the NFL’s “Rooney Rule,” are becoming increasingly popular. Citi, for instance, recently expanded its use of diverse slates, requiring that at least two women or U.S. minorities interview for U.S.-based roles and at least two women interview for global roles at assistant vice president and managing director levels.

Diverse candidate slates can be a powerful tool for increasing the representation of underrepresented groups, when paired with other DEI strategies: More than half of companies with this policy say it has helped them drive equity, according to a Mercer study. LinkedIn’s Diverse Slates Program, for one, has had a meaningful impact on the company’s ability to diversify its workforce.

5. Partner with organizations and institutions that can help you widen your pipeline

Establishing a pipeline of prospective employees from diverse backgrounds can be a challenge. Organizations and institutions that cater to underrepresented groups can provide you with a gateway to your desired candidates.

In an effort to source more diverse talent, more U.S. companies have prioritized recruitment from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Other types of Minority Serving Institutions such as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) can also help you source candidates. It’s also worthwhile learning about organizations that help employers connect to Indigenous talent such as Indigenous Works in Canada, Native People’s Recruit and Nativehire.org in the U.S., and Aboriginal Employment Strategy in Australia.

6. Build a referral network 

Referrals are another important way you can expand your talent pipeline. Trina Olson and Alfonso Wenker, the coauthors of Hiring Revolution: A Guide to Disrupt Racism and Sexism in Hiring and the cofounders of Team Dynamics, say recruiters should become active participants in multiple communities and establish ties to individuals who can forward job openings to their friends and colleagues.

Diversity recruitment trainer Jenn Tardy says it’s worthwhile attending meetings held by employee resource groups (ERGs) and building relationships with members. “Not only can you ask attendees to share with their personal networks information about positions you are trying to fill, but you can let members know that referrals are welcome year-round,” Jenn wrote.

Some companies provide incentives to their employees who refer candidates from an underrepresented group. Intel employees who successfully refer a woman, a veteran, or an individual from an underrepresented group receive a $4,000 bonus, double the standard reward.

7. Watch your words in your job listings

If your workplace doesn’t sound inclusive, candidates will likely take a pass. Gender-coded language like “dominate” or “rock star” might dissuade women from applying. Listing too many job requirements can also be a turnoff for candidates from underrepresented groups. A LinkedIn study found that women apply to 20% fewer jobs than men and often believe that candidates need to meet all the job criteria to be hired. Tools like Textio can help you craft job descriptions that are more appealing to a wide array of applicants.

HubSpot, goes the extra mile to signal its inclusive culture by adding this paragraph to its job postings: “HubSpot is a place where everyone can grow. So however you identify and whatever background you bring with you, please apply if this is a role that would make you excited to come into work every day.” 

8. Use advanced search features to find diverse talent 

Conducting Boolean searches on LinkedIn Recruiter can help you identify more candidates from diverse backgrounds. To make the most of your search, you will first need to determine the right keywords that will lead you to your target audience.

Think about the types of groups that may be associated with your desired candidates, such as universities, fraternities, organizations, or nonprofits. Then find a list of those names and plug them into your search. For instance, if you want to source female candidates for tech positions, you might look for lists of women’s colleges and add key terms like “software engineer.”

9. Establish hiring programs tailored to neurodiverse workers 

Consider the value neurodiverse employees can add to your company and create programs to recruit and support them. 

Australian bank ANZ, for instance, hires individuals on the autism spectrum for jobs in cybersecurity, coding, and testing. Rather than participating in standard interviews, candidates showcase their capabilities by taking part in evaluations that are more tailored to their needs and their skills, such as building complex robotic projects. 

10. Acknowledge — and navigate — your bias when sourcing candidates

“Bias and frames of reference — or how we filter the world — are facts of life that we must confront and address to achieve an equitable and inclusive hiring process,” says LinkedIn’s Fredrick Scott. “We all have biases. How we mitigate those biases matters most.”

Alfonso Wenker and Trina Olson from Team Dynamics have created a strategy for rooting out bias in hiring that they call “Notice, Name, Navigate.” Each member of a recruiting team should think about what their biases are and disclose those biases to the group. “It might be ‘I notice that I’m having a hard time imagining a man over 40 in this role,’” Alfonso says. “Or ‘I've never known somebody to have this job who has a disability.’” The team should then agree on the qualities they’re looking for in filling a job and commit to considering only those things.

Another way to uncover bias is by having recruiters take Harvard University’s Implicit Association Test.

11. Take names, faces, and other irrelevant details out of the equation

How someone looks, where they live, and other pieces of information can influence hiring decisions even if they don’t tell you anything about a candidate’s qualifications.

Luckily there are tools that can help you fight unconscious bias by anonymizing candidates. LinkedIn Recruiter recently introduced a “hide names and photos” feature that allows recruiters to have candidate pictures and names hidden when sourcing potential hires. You can also anonymize applications and resumes using apps such as Pinpoint and Blendoor.

Before you meet a candidate — or interview them via Zoom — conduct a screenless phone call, Lou Adler, the CEO of Performance-based Hiring Learning Systems, recommends. This will help you focus on the candidate’s track record and skills, not on visual traits. Write out scripts for interviews ahead of time to avoid asking biased questions.

12. Build diverse interview panels

What kind of impression do you want to make when interviewing candidates? When you include people from different backgrounds among those conducting interviews, you show job seekers you’re committed to a culture of diversity and inclusion. At the same time, you bring multiple perspectives to the hiring process.

“It’s incredibly important for someone to see themselves reflected in the people that they’re going to be working for,” says Jason Bricker, interim director, inclusion, diversity, belonging, well-being, and volunteerism and head of inclusion at Amsterdam-based Booking.com. “It is our best practice to have gender-diverse panels that reflect our international DNA when interviewing candidates,” he adds. 

However, if you struggle to put together a diverse panel, it may be better to have an honest conversation with candidates about where you are and what you’re doing to improve — inviting them to be part of that journey.

13. Offer candidates the chance to ask questions about your company’s culture

At Booking.com, candidates who identify themselves as members of underrepresented groups can speak to unofficial “ambassadors” to learn more about what their experience might be like working for the company. “This gives people the opportunity,” Jason says, “to ask the hard questions that they don’t want to ask an interviewer.” 

14. Provide your recruiters with formal DEI training

Some employers benefit from having a formal educational program for recruiters to help them learn best practices for inclusive hiring.

Consulting firm EY has created an “inclusive recruiting team” made up of 11 full-time DEI consultants. These DEI experts offer recruiters lessons on topics such as mitigating bias and sourcing diverse talent pools. Each of the EY DEI consultants receives their own strategy and coaching sessions several times a year. The payoff: Professionals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups account for 40% of full-time new hires from college campuses at EY and 50% of mid-to-late-career new hires.

15. Make sure your hiring managers and recruiters work together toward a common goal 

When it comes to diversity hiring, a “blame game” often plays out between hiring managers and recruiters, Jenn Tardy says. Recruiters blame hiring managers for passing on solid candidates and hiring managers blame recruiters for giving them what they consider lackluster candidates. 

A LinkedIn survey of recruiters and HR professionals found that while 69% said their organizations were committed to more diverse hiring, only 47% were holding hiring managers accountable.

You’ll likely achieve better results if your hiring managers and recruiters establish a partnership and each does their part to reach a common objective. The starting point is for recruiters and hiring managers to understand their respective roles: “The recruiter is accountable for the diversity within the candidate pool,” Jenn says. “The hiring manager, as the final selection decision maker, is responsible for the diversity among those hired into the company.”

Create a workplace where everyone feels welcome 

16. Ensure company leaders are vocal supporters of your DEI work

When leaders express their support for DEI efforts, it drives home the message that diversity and inclusion is a serious priority, says DEI expert Sangeeta Gupta. For instance, the CEO might share information about your DEI efforts in regular communications with employees and investors, or champion DEI programs at company meetings. 

 “We lead with equity,” Laura Long from Kaiser Permanente says. “Our CEO talks about equity all the time and expects that from everybody. We’re signaling to the organization what our priorities are at the very highest level.” 

17. Conduct an inclusion audit 

Before you launch inclusive programs and policies, it’s important to gain a handle on your employees’ sentiments. “Building an inclusive culture has to start with data collection and assessing the current culture,” says Dee C. Marshall, the CEO of Diverse & Engaged, a consulting firm that helps employers develop diversity programs. 

Do people from underrepresented groups feel respected? Do they believe they have the same opportunities as their peers to advance? Do they feel they can bring their authentic selves to work?

Conduct employee surveys, focus groups, and interviews to tap into your employees’ thoughts and concerns. Randstad, for instance, includes questions related to belonging and inclusion in its employee engagement surveys, says Audra Jenkins, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Randstad NA. Here are a few examples of the types of scaled survey questions that can help you evaluate your inclusion efforts:

1. At [insert company name], people of all backgrounds are accepted for who they are. 
2. I feel a sense of belonging at [insert company name].
3. I feel like I’m valued as a person at [insert company name]. 

18. Offer your employees outlets to regularly share their stories

Gathering feedback from workers isn’t a one-and-done project. Companies focused on building inclusive cultures find ways to continually engage with employees and solicit their stories with chat groups and town halls.

After the murder of George Floyd, some employers organized town halls where employees shared their personal experience with racism. At a gathering organized by WarnerMedia, one high level executive spoke about being pulled over by the police, The Hollywood Reporter reported. 

“The point was, this is the experience of people you know, people you work with,” said Christy Haubegger, WarnerMedia’s former chief enterprise inclusion officer, who helped organize the town hall. “We wanted to set the table for empathy.” 

19. Make diversity discussions part of doing business

Ask your employees to share their perspectives during business meetings.

“If I get to say, ‘Well, as a gay man, the way I’m thinking about this product is in this way,’ and Trina gets to say, ‘As a single woman who is a homeowner, the way I think about the product is this way,’ that’s valuable, it’s additive, it’s relevant,” says Team Dynamic’s Alfonso Wenker. “Stop treating folks who are bringing something different as a problem,” Trina Olson adds, “and start saying, ‘Oh, thank god, they’re bringing that perspective. I can’t wait to hear more.’” 

20. Offer education for employees on how to fight bias and racism 

Provide managers and team members with educational resources and tools that will help them recognize their biases and learn how to think and act inclusively. LinkedIn Learning, for instance, offers courses on such topics as “How to Engage Meaningfully in Allyship and Anti-Racism.”

“You need to teach people about what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable discriminatory, stereotypical behavior,” Dee C. Marshall from Diverse & Engaged says.

Keep in mind, anti-bias and anti-racism training shouldn’t be done in a vacuum. It must be backed up with concrete efforts to advance diversity and inclusion. Otherwise, you run the risk of looking like you’re simply checking off a box.

21. Support employee resource groups

Launching and supporting employee resource groups (ERGs) is fundamental to building an inclusive workplace. Among the many benefits of ERGs: They serve as communities for underrepresented groups and they provide employers with critical insights. In recognition of the important role ERGs play, some companies, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Uber, are now compensating their ERG leaders.

“ERGs,” Audra says, “foster a sense of camaraderie, advocate on issues important to the target demographic, build up allyship, and develop a strong sense of community.”

Kaiser Permanente has 10 business resource groups and thousands of its employees are members. “They let us know when something comes up and where we might be missing the mark,” Laura says.

22. Design workplaces that are accessible to all

Create workspaces that accommodate as many people as possible, says Cynthia Owyoung, vice president, inclusion, equity, and belonging at Robinhood. 

Think about something as common as the outlets built into the middle of conference room tables. These can be impossible to access for someone with mobility issues, Cynthia notes in her book All Are Welcome: How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion that Delivers Results. When Booking.com designed its new campus in Amsterdam, it made sure to include enough private spaces to meet the needs of neurodiverse employees who can be more sensitive to light and sound.

23. Offer inclusive benefits

Expand your benefits to include parental leave for all parents, domestic partner benefits, and adoption and fertility benefits for same-gender couples. Consider offering transgender-inclusive benefits such as coverage for gender-assignment surgery and prescription drug therapy.

24. Make sure your holiday calendar reflects multiple groups 

Think about including holidays that are meaningful to a broader range of groups than have traditionally been acknowledged. 

In the U.S., more companies are giving workers a paid day off on Juneteenth. Global women’s health company Organon recently made International Women’s Day a paid holiday. Berlin, the German capital, has also made International Women’s Day an annual public holiday. Companies like Salesforce and Microsoft offer floating holidays — days off that employees can take to mark the holidays that are important to them, without having to use their vacation time. 

25. Celebrate differences

Create a company culture calendar and mark dates that have significance for different groups with parties and educational programs.  

The law firm Parker Poe sends out monthly cultural awareness alerts that spotlight holidays and how its employees celebrate them. Australia-based UGL keeps a calendar of dates that are important to different cultures and hosts webinars featuring guest speakers who provide insights into the significance of the event and information on how UGL employees can get involved.The engineering and services company posts news on how it marks these days on its LinkedIn feed. 

Think creatively about how you can involve everyone in cultural activities. Jennifer Kim, the founder of Startup Recruiting Bootcamp, recommends organizing potluck meals featuring international foods as a way of highlighting different cultures and sparking conversations. 

26. Adjust workplace practices to make everyone feel like they belong 

It’s not just big policies that help build an inclusive culture. By making small adjustments, you can make a big difference in the way people feel about your organization. 

Ask employees about their preferred pronouns and commit to using them. Put inclusive signs on restrooms. Create mother’s rooms for caregivers and moms. When hosting parties, offer food options for employees with dietary restrictions. Check the temperature in the office. That’s important because the temperatures in buildings are often set to what’s comfortable for men. “It’s entirely possible a subset of your employees can’t even be comfortable at work without constantly layering themselves in sweaters and jackets,” Jennifer wrote.

Build a retention plan that works

27. Fight microaggressions

Microaggressions are pervasive in the workplace and must be confronted if you’re committed to keeping diverse talent from walking out the door. Indignities and slights that Black employees and others often experience in everyday interactions can cause serious psychological harm and ultimately lead to turnover. “There has to be accountability for microaggressive behaviors,” Dee says. 

Booking.com has been raising awareness about microaggressions in a variety of ways, including launching a speaker series that deals with the topic. Learn about tactics that can help you fight microaggressions, such as this framework created by DEI experts Ella F. Washington, Alison Hall Birch, and Laura Morgan Roberts. 

28. Connect employees to mentors 

A study conducted by professors Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev found, on average, mentorships boost the representation of Black, Hispanic, and Asian American women and Hispanic and Asian American men, by 9% to 24%.

Mentorships fill a critical gap. Unlike their peers, employees from underrepresented groups often have no networks to rely on, Cynthia notes in her book All Are Welcome. Another benefit of mentorship programs: Mentors become sponsors who advocate for their mentees to advance in the organization.

29. Create targeted leadership programs

Different groups face different roadblocks to rising in the workplace. That’s why it’s important to offer targeted professional development programs that focus on specific groups and their particular needs, Cynthia says. 

Targeted programs give employees a safe space to address their challenges and teach them how to leverage their experiences. Wells Fargo launched its Diverse Leaders Program in 2004, offering three-day leadership trainings to employees who identify as Asian & Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Latino, or Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender. Since then, more than 3,900 employees have taken part, and participants are more likely than nonparticipants to remain at the company and be promoted.

30. Make the path to advancement clear to all

Be clear about the skills and experience necessary to rise within your organization. Verizon recently launched an app called Talent GPS that shows open jobs at the company, as well as the skills and competencies needed for each position. “The process to advancement should be transparent,” Fredrick says.

Having a firm handle on what it takes to climb the ladder is particularly important to workers from underrepresented groups, wrote Julie Coffman, Elyse Rosenblum, Andrea D'Arcy, and Laura Thompson Love in a blog post published by Bain & Co. Employees from underrepresented groups “disproportionately feel more isolated and uncertain at work” compared with their peers. When information about advancement is available to everyone, employers “demonstrate that all processes are fair and equitable,” the Bain authors wrote. 

31. Create a succession plan that prioritizes diversity

When it comes to diverse leadership, employers have a long way to go. There are currently only six Black CEOs in the Fortune 500. Just 23 women made the 2021 list of Global 500 CEOs, though that number is up from 14 in 2020.

Think ahead to ensure that you have a bench of talent from underrepresented groups who can step in to fill leadership roles. When Bernard Tyson, the former CEO of Kaiser Permanente, unexpectedly died in 2019, the healthcare provider named Greg Adams as his successor, marking one of the few times in history that a major organization named a Black CEO to succeed another. 

32. Conduct “stay interviews”

Dropbox uses predictive analytics to identify women and employees from other underrepresented groups who appear likely to exit. The tech company then conducts stay interviews to learn about the employees’ concerns. The upshot: Retention rates among employees who’ve had the interviews is significantly higher than individuals from the same demographic group who did not have the interviews.

33. Offer flexible work options

Women, people with disabilities, and Black employees are more likely to remain at your company if you offer flexible work hours and the opportunity to work remotely.

Flexible work arrangements can be highly desirable to women who are shouldering childcare responsibilities. People with disabilities who have the choice to work from home can avoid the challenges presented by commuting. A survey of knowledge workers conducted by Future Forum found 81% of Black employees want a hybrid or fully remote work arrangement vs. 77% of white employees.

34. Provide child and dependent care subsidies

Want to stop women from leaving your company? Pay for childcare. A recent study by McKinsey and Marshall Plan for Moms, found nearly half of mothers with young children who left the workforce cited childcare as a reason for their exit, The New York Times reported. Financial services company Synchrony discovered that offering employees creative childcare options resulted in an increase in job satisfaction and a rise in job applications.

35. Offer learning and development opportunities 

In many industries, employees from underrepresented groups are not advancing at the same pace as their peers. As a result, they’re more at risk of leaving their company. By offering courses, employers can reinforce ties with their employees and help them move ahead in their careers.

When designing educational programs, remember to take into account the needs of all employees. “Make sure the content is accessible to everyone with different learning styles, varying abilities, and other preferences,” says Linda Jingfang Cai, LinkedIn’s VP of talent development.

36. Pay attention to conflict management

When disputes arise in the workplace, especially conflict involving race, sexuality, gender, and other dimensions of diversity, it can be difficult to prove what happened, says LinkedIn Learning instructor Jodi-Ann Burey. Managers often feel uncomfortable or don’t know how to manage the dispute. Employee complaints are ignored or minimized. As a result, workers who are subjected to repeated bias, walk out the door.

Examine your conflict resolution process and policies, Jodi-Ann advises. Check to see if there are obstacles that are making it difficult for your people to report truthfully on their experiences. Make sure your complaint processes are widely known and available to employees.

37. Teach managers how to lead their employees to success

Coach your managers on how to offer constructive feedback and tactical steps that workers can take to improve their skills, consultants at Boston Consulting Group advise. Managers who do a good job developing talent from underrepresented groups should then be rewarded for their efforts.

At LinkedIn, people managers are offered two 2.5-hour workshops with the goal of teaching inclusive leadership. The workshops allow managers to practice conversations round DEI topics, gain strategies to proactively identify and address bias that impacts employee experience, and create an action plan for fair distribution of work and development on their teams.

38. Close the pay gap

No employer is truly inclusive unless it pays everyone the same amount for comparable work regardless of who they are. Follow the lead of companies like L’Oréal. The Paris-based cosmetics company not only measures and monitors pay across gender, race, ethnicity, age, ability, and LGBTQ identity, the results are audited by a third party.

Salesforce audits its pay inequities annually and has spent more than $22 million since 2015 to close the gaps. The company recently expanded its definition of pay to include stock awards. “We’ve been on our equal pay journey for the better part of a decade, but we’re nowhere near the finish line,” Salesforce states on its website. “We’ll continue to prioritize equal pay and advocate for pay fairness.”