Maximize Your Diversity Sourcing Strategy for 2022

For those of us in the recruiting industry and anyone else involved in the hiring process at their company, the last half of 2021 was nothing short of interesting. The Great Resignation is in full effect, and as we enter 2022, there is little indication that this workforce transformation will subside any time soon. When you add the growing awareness of the benefits of diversity hiring, candidate sourcing in 2022 is a whole new playing field.

2022 has changed the way recruiters and hiring managers approach diversity sourcing. 

Many of the traditional best practices have proven obsolete. Sourcing candidates in such a competitive market means adjusting to the needs of the candidates we are sourcing by revisiting our boolean searches, outreach, and redefining what it means to be a qualified candidate. 

Our team of analysts and thought leaders here at IQTP has kept their fingers on the pulse of these recent evolutions. Additionally, our Diversify by IQTX team has been developing and refining diversity sourcing strategies since its inception in 2020.  

Read on to learn about a few strategies we are using to maximize diversity sourcing in 2022.

Sourcing Diversity Candidates during the Great Resignation

Unless you are retired, it is unlikely that the drastic amount of upheaval in the job market has not impacted you in one way or another. Hiring managers have struggled to lock down candidates, recruiters have hit brick wall after brick wall when outreach to identified candidates has not yielded results, and candidates are constantly reevaluating what they are looking for in their careers.

These challenges are amplified by the additional desire to add qualified, diverse candidates to sourcing pipelines. While the need to adjust sourcing strategies for diversity sourcing predates the Great Resignation, it has become a focal point of today’s hiring environment.

In late 2020 early 2021, after working on diversity-centric sourcing engagements for some time, our team realized that we needed to adjust our strategies to complete those searches effectively. IQTalent Partners created IQTalent Xchange, our research SaaS service, and then we developed Diversify by IQTX.

We have continued to refine and evaluate our diversity sourcing strategies. We discovered the 3 top areas of focus to adjust our sourcing strategies for diverse candidates:

1. How you develop your Boolean strings
2. How you construct your outreach
3. Identifying the value and motivation behind increasing diversity within your workplace

Reconsider Your Boolean

For those who enjoy the investigative challenge associated with boolean searching, it may come as second nature to incorporate more nuanced keywords that relate more to the soft skills, values, or personality traits of candidates versus the typical hard skills keywords.

Be aware that not only are you potentially hindering your search by not including diversity keywords; you may even be using keywords that are creating barriers to finding qualified diverse candidates.

Some examples of keywords to avoid (in sourcing but also in job descriptions and other hiring-related materials):

• Industry jargon
• Gender-specific terms
• Terms that may be considered ableist

There is no need to reinvent the wheel as far as impactful diversity keywords. Start with the big three and branch out as needed:

• Diversity
• Equity
• Inclusion

Another useful practice is incorporating common diverse last names into your boolean string or searching for diverse professional communities and organizations on candidate profiles.

The Old Outreach Rules are No More

There are many automated outreach tools available to recruiters. While little can be said to argue against the value of efficiency and systems improvements, it is also important to remember that personalization can greatly impact response rates. This is especially important with diversity sourcing.

The two most important considerations when conducting outreach for diverse candidates are:

1. Utilize contact methods outside of emailing or LinkedIn messages. Phone calls, texts, even social media messages can be a great way of increasing response rates with diverse candidates. 
2. The time spent personalizing outreach, not only to diverse candidates but to each candidate individually, can have an immense impact on the effectiveness of outreach campaigns. Think of it as a quality over quantity approach.

An additional consideration regarding outreach to diverse candidates is to remind yourself and other stakeholders in the hiring process that, in many cases, often more time will need to be devoted to diversity hiring versus traditional hiring practices. This time commitment will decrease as diversity hiring becomes a normal part of hiring, but in the meantime, patience and determination are key.

Aligning Your Diversity Goals with Your Hiring Plan

A true evaluation of how important diversity and inclusion are to your workplace is the most important place to start. Spend time researching why you want to increase diversity and what you expect to accomplish from increasing diversity in your workplace.

There is ample research that suggests a more diverse workforce is directly related to a company's success. Once diversity sourcing becomes an intentional component of your hiring plan, it is time to reevaluate your company’s approach to identifying and attracting passive diverse candidates.

This may mean adjusting not only your boolean and outreach strategies but also examining your job descriptions, interview processes, and even the culture of your company.