Hiring for Diversity is Not Just Possible -- it's Essential

Conversations about hiring for diversity are omnipresent right now, seemingly. And the age old discussion of “should we consciously think about diversity in hiring?” vs “should we just hire the best person for the job and not think about it at all?” are rearing their head again.

I believe the answer is “we should do both.”

The truth of the matter is this: Hiring for diversity is possible. It can be harder -- in particular because the candidate pools are, plain and simple, not diverse enough, and because people have a lot of unconscious biases that they need to get over. These elements are both the causes and results of centuries of systemic oppression. Hiring for diversity also requires a lot of responsibility on the part of the hiring company.

We are at a moment though, now, thankfully, finally, FINALLY!, where people are going to really make an effort to be thoughtful about diversity in their hiring processes. As such, here’s a few guidelines to help folks be responsible, efficient, diligent and fair as they go about this process.

“A lot of these conversations are dead in the water because people can’t even communicate about these matters responsibly.”

Get some training on shared language

To begin with, people need to be able to discuss these matters. We need training on shared language -- how to identify people, how not to identify people. Holistic has a resource guide for shared language that gives people a baseline. A lot of these conversations are dead in the water because people can’t even communicate about these matters responsibly.

Put in place the tools for success

At some point in the process, your company needs to collect demographic data on the individual applicants. Again, not so that you can single out particular populations and advance them, but so that you can measure in an aggregate fashion the demographics of the pool of people. This is the missing, secret ingredient that so many organizations don’t have. In the absence of this, your only other option is profiling, which is a race to the bottom and the source of all the drama outlined above. Simply put: Figure out a way to safely and responsibly collect demographic data from all candidates, tell them that you’ll use it only to determine macro-level demographics for your candidate pools, and that it won’t be used to identify them as individuals, and go from there.

Move the focus to the beginning of the process

The focus on diversity should be as far to the front of the process as possible. “Is that candidate black?” is less productive than “Let’s make sure we interview at least one black candidate,” which itself is less productive than “Can we insure that our pipeline matches the diversity of the community we serve?” The further to the front of the pipeline the considerations about diversity are manifesting, the better the chances for a successful outcome, as you are dealing with the laws of large(r) numbers and you have more flexibility. This is really not a question of an individual’s race or gender; this is a macro-level question about a pool of people and it must be treated in that fashion.

The responsibility for diversity in hiring does not belong to the hiring manager

This is an important one. This is a leadership challenge, an HR challenge, a talent acquisition challenge. The hiring manager should hire the best person for the job. They should. But they also should expect to see a representative, diverse and vibrant pool of candidates. And they should expect that their leadership team will be measuring every aspect of the hiring process in an attempt to weed out or minimize bias or unfairness. If all those pieces are in place, then the hiring manager doesn’t need to think about diversity at all -- they just need to treat people fairly and make the best decision that they can, and the math will take care of itself. 

An individual’s identity is their business through and through

Nobody should ever assume that they know who someone else is, ever. Not based off of their physical appearance, or their name, or anything. It’s not your business. If someone chooses to share their identity with you, fine. But you don’t need to ask them. The company is asking them, and the company is stewarding the information, as outlined above. Your job is to look them in the eyes and talk to them like a person and make them feel like you are interested and caring and insightful, which you are.

Success or failure comes in the aggregate

This is not about one candidate. This is not about one role. This is not about never interviewing a white person or never hiring a man again. This is about, over time, all of us, if we put our minds to a process, significantly moving the needle on diversity in our companies and in our business community. There is no expectation that every hire will look a certain way or represent a certain group. But there can be an expectation that every hiring process will utilize these guidelines to be more fair, more diverse, more open.

“This is not about one candidate. This is not about one role. This is about all of us.”

Hiring is only the start of the journey -- they have to work there

Finally, the person you hire has to work there. Let’s not forget that this is a marathon and that getting someone in the door is similar to going to the starting line. No medal is awarded. You have to do the work to create an equitable, fair environment for people when they work at your company. Otherwise you’re just kicking the can down the road, which is not the goal.

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We are entering a moment where these conversations are going to become more and more prevalent. Hopefully these guidelines will help companies steward this process responsibly. If you have additional ideas, please send them along -- we’re always interested in best practices and people’s experiences. 

This is important work. Good luck!