Interview Strategies to Bring Diversity In

“But I think that no matter how smart, people usually see what they're already looking for, that's all.”
―Veronica Roth, Allegiant

With increased diversity and globalization, many companies are striving to ensure their workforce resembles the communities they serve. Employing workers with diverse social, cultural, and language skills makes good business sense. 

DEI researchers and practitioners agree that workforce diversity has many benefits. It can increase productivity, creativity, and even give the company a competitive advantage and reputation. 

However, despite all the good intentions, time, energy, and resources spent towards bringing diversity in, many companies are still failing--possibly because many spend their time looking for the best fit. 

In the article Ban the Term “Culture Fit” and Other Great Diversity Tips from Pandora, Kate Reilly argues that culture fit is the equivalent of a candidate having passed the “beer test.” In other words, this is someone you would want to hang out with. 

The problem with this practice is that, while your newly found “beer buddy” is likely able to do the job, hiring for culture fit inevitably gets in the way of increasing diversity in the company. 

What is the solution? 

Instead of looking for candidates who can fit into your organization, shift your way of thinking and, instead, look for individuals who can add something unique to the organization. 

In our increasingly diverse society, culture fit is no longer a viable recruitment strategy. It sends the signal that you are looking for candidates who look and think like you. More worrisome is the fact that this way of thinking is an indication that unconscious bias is at play. 

In her 2018 article, Dreasher argues that while we do have laws in place that prevent companies from openly discriminating against candidates, unfortunately, laws cannot legislate against biased thinking. 

And many studies have confirmed the real-life consequences of biases. In a recent study by BBC Inside Out, the authors confirmed that a job seeker with an English-sounding name such as Adam was indeed offered three times the number of interviews than an applicant with a Muslim name. 

This study showed how unconscious bias can impact the job search process. And this is a huge problem because, among other things, it may result in a lack of diversity in the company. 

Three Strategies to Increase Diversity in Your Organization

1. Require hiring managers and search committees to undergo unconscious bias training.
We all tend to prejudge individuals based on the groups to which they belong. This prejudgment can be positive or negative, and oftentimes we are unaware of the role it is playing in the selection process. 

The problem with unconscious bias is that, if not addressed, it prevents individuals from judging potential candidates for who they really are. This, most certainly, will undermine the committee’s ability to run a fair and equitable search. 

2. Adopt a blind-screening process.
Blind screening can be an effective way to minimize the impact of unconscious bias and bring diversity in. In fact, this is one of the strategies now adopted by many tech companies.

In the New York Times article Is Blind Hiring the Best Hiring? Claire Cain Miller showed that to try to combat unconscious bias, companies have devised a way to screen job applicants without showing hiring managers any biographical information. 

The idea is simple. The less you know about a candidate’s personal identity such as their name, appearance, race, gender, and physical ability, the less likely you are to make biased hiring decisions. 

3. Set business targets, coupled with concrete, achievable goals to increase diversity in the organization.
Many companies looking to hire diverse talent use numerical benchmarks to ensure it gets done. 

However, this is just the first step. The goal should be to bring diverse talent in and create the conditions so they would want to stay. This is only possible if companies create an environment where all employees feel valued, and their differences affirmed. In essence, make sure inclusion is part of your company’s strategic goals because diversity cannot happen without inclusion. 

If you want to hire and retain a more diverse workforce, instead of looking for the best fit, look, instead, for culture add in candidates. Candidates should be brought in to help shape the culture of the organization, rather than to fit into it. 

In the musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda says, “love is love, is love, is love.” Hiring managers need to approach the hiring process with a similar mindset. Talent is talent, regardless of a candidate’s background or life experiences. 

 Would you like to know more? For a free PDF with eight proven success strategies for recruiting a diverse workforce, click here.