As the COVID-19 pandemic is (hopefully) winding down, recruiters and businesses are looking at ramping up their hiring to fill positions left open over the last year. This increase in demand for top talent is being met with a lack of qualified candidates, leading to a challenging and competitive recruiting space. Organizations are finding themselves fighting over the best candidates, and candidates are finding that they hold more power in the job market than they previously thought.
In a candidate-driven market, embracing diversity and inclusivity in your hiring process and workplace culture is essential for attracting and retaining top talent. Today’s job seekers want to know that their employer values diversity, and one great way of exemplifying that is through creating a process that facilitates diversity sourcing. Below we discuss three things you can do to weave more diversity into your current sourcing practices.
Need some help with recruiting and retaining diverse and qualified candidates? @IQTalent breaks down 3 #tips for #diversitysourcing in their latest blog:Click to Tweet1. Be Flexible With Experience
Often, recruiters will ask an applicant to have far more years of experience than necessary or ask for training and knowledge of tools that aren’t needed to perform the job well. This discourages potential candidates from applying for your role because they believe themselves to be unqualified. While experience is important, it shouldn’t be the end-all factor when it comes to hiring for a role.
Determine what skills and experience are critical for success and which parts of the job can be trained. By allowing a combination of education and experience, you enable candidates with varied career paths to qualify for consideration. Not everyone can afford or will choose a traditional college experience. Depending on the candidate, they may have more or less education, including certifications, degrees, or even on-the-job training. A good rule of thumb is to focus on the depth of meaningful experience rather than the length of experience a candidate has.
Tip: Don’t exclude younger candidates, those changing industries, or those who are overqualified. Instead, take time to evaluate and understand their experience.
2. Be Transparent With Information
When it comes to recruiting top talent, transparency is your best friend. Candidates often find themselves wasting time applying for roles that aren’t a good fit, and sourcers are screening candidates that aren’t qualified. It is better to be upfront and honest with your expectations and offerings so that you can save both parties time and energy. Highlight company benefits that speak to your company culture and showcase what’s important to your workforce. What does your company’s PTO structure look like? How are you navigating building workplace relationships amid the COVID-19 pandemic? All candidates and employees have different motivations and needs. Make sure to highlight how your organization adjusts to these differences to offer a productive and positive workplace experience.
Tip: Remember, not everyone comes from the same background. Building your team with a diverse set of personalities, backgrounds, and experiences will enable you to recruit fresh talent that will help you adapt and thrive in the future.
@IQTalent says that organizations need to focus on #diversity and #inclusivity in their recruiting practices in order to stay ahead of the competition. Read more:Click to Tweet3. Incorporate Diversity Into Your Brand
Job seekers want to work for a company that doesn’t just talk the talk but also walks the walk. When it comes to diversity and inclusivity, simple phrases and surface-level initiatives don’t cut it. To stay competitive in the fight for top talent, businesses need to find ways to weave diversity and inclusivity into their employer brand.
The messaging you use online, on social media, and in-person should reflect your commitment to creating a culture that is inclusive of all and strives to foster diversity in thought, experience, race, age, and gender. Discuss ways your organization connects with your community and what steps you are taking to hold one another accountable in the workplace. Make sure to emphasize your diversity initiatives and efforts on social media and your website, so that job seekers can easily see the work and value you place on inclusivity and community. You also can include demographics that highlight your company’s diversity and information about the diversity resources you offer.
Tip: Are your diversity efforts lacking? No worries! Start brainstorming ways that you can improve the culture in your organization and dictate your future plans. Make sure to focus on how you are open to new viewpoints and ideas.
Diversity and inclusivity are some of the most important elements in workplace culture to today’s job seekers. Employees want to feel valued and appreciated but also respected and represented in their roles. IQTalent Partners helps you source a diverse pool of candidates with assistance from our expert consultants and cutting-edge AI.. Acting as an extension of your in-house recruiting team, our sourcers bring expert industry knowledge to the table. By aligning your sourcing strategies with our qualified talent pools, we can help you identify what your ideal candidate looks like and find pipeline of top talent that would excel in your open role. For more information about how IQTalent Partners and the IQTX talent exchange platform can supercharge your candidate sourcing strategies, reach out to our team and schedule a free consultation now.
