ICYMI: OPHR April Office Hours Recap -DEI Recruitment (without tokenism)
Special Guest: OPHR Advisor Leilani Dashner
Every month we host OPHR Office Hours for an in-depth discussion on relevant topics for all workplaces. In April, we discussed DEI Recruitment without tokensim. Ready to join May’s session? Register here for May office hours. 📅
Download this OPHR resource on tokenism and recruitment
ICYMI - In Case You Missed It 📝
Topic Overview: Why we need to remove tokens from the recruitment process
Struggles to portray an accurate visual representation on company websites or careers pages; working to make it more accurate (even if more white)
Wanting to use identifying elements of someone's resume or LinkedIn profile (emojis, flags, #'s, HBCUs, etc.) to support diverse sourcing but don't want it to seem that those identifiers are the only reason for outreach
Instead of asking people to opt in for accommodations, ask folks to opt out - I.E. "Transcripts are automatically turned on for all interviews, please let us know if you do not want them and we will give you instructions to turn them off."
Removing the 'sales-y' and 'bro-y' language like 'rock star', 'champion', etc.
Mentioning 'competitive compensation' but not listing a reasonable salary band
Don’t call folks the ‘diverse’ candidate (is saying ‘diverse candidate’ a meaningless phrase? Yes. An individual CANNOT be ‘diverse’)
Go to your Finance team if you need to get a salary band - they want the recruitment team to stay in budget and will almost always have the range that can be offered
Remove or push back against tokenism in the recruitment process
Language matters and should be created intentionally, especially when using acronyms like Underrepresented Minority (URM); Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), etc.
When showcasing employees and their perspectives of the organization, display the wide perspectives you have on your team in a way that is an honest reflection of who works there - not just putting the one person of color because you want to show “diversity”.
Update your EEO statement that is typically on the careers page and at the bottom of job descriptions.
Accessibility in the Recruitment Process
Offer accommodations as part of the interview process such as: ASL interpreters, captions on video calls; written materials in accessible formats, such as large print, braille, or audio files; ensuring all parts of the process are held in accessible locations; etc.
Create/update your website with an accessibility lens.
Outline interview questions and share interviewers profiles in advance.
Inclusive Job Descriptions
Run all job descriptions (JDs) through bias detections software such as Gender Decoder, Applied Text Analysis, or Textio. Linked in additional information on Inclusive Job Descriptions.
Reduce or remove education requirements where they aren’t necessary or add ‘relevant experience in lieu of education’.
Train those who are writing job descriptions.
Encourage hiring managers to include a salary range on JDs that has been reviewed and approved by HR/Finance if possible.
Attracting Underrepresented or Marginalized Candidates?
Do a job posting audit: Where are you paying to post? How inclusive are the recruitment agencies you use? How are they working on DEIBA within their organizations? Go beyond your comfort zone of the standard personal networking and LinkedIn as they can be limiting.
Be mindful of the accessibility of the resources you and your recruiting agencies use.
Share Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Employee Resource Group (ERG), DEI Committee (DEIC) info on careers page. Set up a DEI blog, share employee demographics, share DEI goals (and how they are tied to business goals).
What if a company doesn’t have a DEI Recruitment strategy?
Start with the business needs and goals and align DEI work to those. Break DEI work into bite sized pieces and goals - small amounts to make it manageable.
Find what DEI practices have worked for other organizations before and use that! There isn’t plagiarism when it comes to duplicating DEI efforts that have been successful at other organizations.
Hire someone who knows more and can help in a Full Time, Part Time, fractional, project based, etc. Additionally, hiring a DEI project manager or ERG manager can be a huge support to keep tracking and momentum on initiatives.
Related OPHR Resources:
Every month, we want to know what YOU want to talk about. We'll have expert advisors joining the monthly office hours so let us know what you'd like to discuss to make the best use of your time!
VOTE HERE!
Future of DEI in Tech (changing workforce, employer qualities, and brand, etc)
Change Management (after layoffs, acquisitions, company restructuring, etc)
DEI x Benefits Strategy (integrate DEI in benefits admin, tools, partners, etc)
Other ideas?
