A devastating economic crisis spurred by a global pandemic. A historic Supreme Court ruling that offers equal stature for the LGBTQ community in the workplace. The demand for racial justice, diversity and economic inclusiveness prompted by the killing of yet another Black man at the hands of police.
This is the first half of 2020, a tumultuous six months that is already having a transformational impact on businesses and their employees.
Since March, the Washington Business Journal has painstakingly covered the impact of Covid-19, from the financial tsunami and staggering number of layoffs to the shift to home offices and the unprecedented changes to physical workspaces.
This week, we turn our focus to the social justice issues that have the potential to transform our workplaces in even more profound ways.
The biggest opportunity we can offer anyone is, arguably, a job. And yet, people of color have historically faced disadvantages in the employment realm. Three local recruiters, each focused on increasing diversity, talk about what it takes to not only aim for better representation, but also accomplish and cultivate it. Read their advice, edited here for space and clarity, and you’ll likely see some patterns.
BRIDGE PARTNERS
Partner, Bridge Partners
What are the first things an employer must do once it has an opening? Ensure that the job description is written in an inclusive manner. Widely disseminate the opportunity. Actively reach out to diverse candidate pools. Establish a consistent interview panel trained to check bias, including standardized questions where applicable.
A lot of employers talk about the difficulty of finding more diverse candidates. Where are the best places to go or steps to take to find them? The best diversity talent needs to be headhunted and made aware of your job opportunity. Strong, talented, high-performing candidates are usually happy in their jobs. They typically don’t read job postings and ads. They need to be approached by an executive recruiter and made aware of your great job opportunity. Search professionals are experts at presenting career-advancing opportunities to passive candidates. Every profession typically has an affinity group for people of color, so start there — examples are the National Association of Black Accountants, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, etc. Every diverse population has groups, social and professional, for top professionals and community leaders — the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, The Links, Black Fraternities and Sororities, 100 Black Men and Women organizations nationwide, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, etc.
What are the biggest mistakes employers make when it comes to recruiting of diverse staff? Treating diversity as a box to check or as optional and aspirational. Not being transparent about the culture of the organization. Candidates want to see diversity at the senior levels. No diverse candidate wants to feel like they are the “token” hire. Tokenizing the diverse staff members instead of elevating them and including them in the same way as all other staff.
Experts talk about setting specific goals for diversity in recruiting and hiring. What goals would you suggest? Ensuring your executive team and board includes leaders of color. Leaders of color should be involved in setting hiring and promotion strategy, policies and procedures. Some corporations have tied bonuses to meeting diversity recruiting and hiring goals.
During the interviewing process, there’s always the danger of unconscious bias. What are specific things employers must be mindful of or change to avoid that from creeping in? Blind resumes help avoid unconscious bias against nonwhite names or certain schools or backgrounds. Employers should not be hiring from only certain schools, their alma maters, etc. Try to focus less on whether you “like” the person. The emphasis should be on the skills and experience they bring: “What does this person add to the team that we’re missing?” as opposed to “This person is just like us. They’ll fit right in!”
Once a person of diverse background or ethnicity is hired. Then what? How do you ensure the most successful onboarding and retention for that person? A mentor to check in with the person regularly and make sure things are going well. A new environment can sometimes lead to loneliness, isolation and a sense of not belonging. Ask them what they want or need, listen to their response, then give them the tools they need to succeed. Giving them challenging work and valuing their contributions.
What are the biggest mistakes employers make when it comes to retention of diverse staff? You must build and embrace a culture of inclusion. Failing to reach out, expecting diverse staff to conform to the “norm” — for example, all of the men get invited to play golf and attend happy hour after work, but women are not included because you make the assumption that women have to run straight home after work to care for kids. Not making an effort to truly get to know the diverse staff member. Invite the diverse person to lunch or dinner and after-work drinks. Find out what a person is like outside of the workplace. Ask about their families, friends, weekend plans, vacation plans, career goals and aspirations. Treat people the way you would like to be treated.
People will talk about the difference between diversity and inclusion – what does that difference mean to you, and how do employers make both work well? Diversity is getting invited to the dance. Inclusion is making sure everyone is dancing. Diversity and inclusion go hand in hand — if you have diverse employees but they do not feel included or valued, you will not retain them.
How can employers do a better job of ensuring promotions into senior leadership are accessible for people of diverse backgrounds? A diverse employee’s manager must be willing to advocate on his or her behalf and tell others about the great work the person is doing. Assigning important projects so they can raise their profile within the organization. If you notice a diverse employee is quiet during meetings, strategically invite him or her to share their thoughts. Feedback and making them aware of the opportunities. Telling them they are ready for the next step.
Any other advice to ensure more diversity in executive ranks? Mentoring high-potential candidates. Ensuring the pipeline and succession plan includes diverse candidates. Understanding unconscious bias. Giving diverse employees a voice.
