Diversity - it’s the buzzword of the decade. For every company making hiring decisions, there is a recruiter or hiring manager wondering if they’ve hit their diversity targets. For most companies, this is simply a box to be checked on a long to-do list. “Did we note in our job description that we’re an equal opportunity employer? Yes! Check - on to the next topic.”
Needless to say, this basic strategy of diversity as a box to check isn’t very helpful. It’s 2018 and times have changed - which means that recruitment marketing needs to change too. The demographics of our communities are shifting rapidly, talent pools are shrinking and companies are having a hard time keeping up. Recruitment strategies which showed great success ten years ago just won't do the trick anymore.
Perhaps even more importantly, the latest data drawn from LinkedIn, the world’s biggest professional social network, shows that diversity is no longer just about human resources - it’s about the company as a whole. “Growing evidence,” they write, “suggests that diverse teams are more productive, more innovative, and more engaged, which is hard to ignore.” It’s clear from LinkedIn’s data that competitive companies all over the world have realized this.
However, when it comes to actually fostering diversity, very few organizations have cracked the code.
“Despite all of the buzz,” LinkedIn explains, “most companies still fall short of their goals and the public’s expectations. Our data shows that the main reason why this failure occurs is that recruiters and hiring managers can’t find enough diverse candidates. But this may be a problem of perception — many female engineers and black product managers exist, for example, but companies may not be looking in the right places. The next-biggest challenge is retaining those diverse hires once they’re there.”
So how can a company overcome these challenges? For better or for worse, there is no one-size-fits-all-solution. Strategies that work phenomenally well to reach diverse candidates in metropolitan Chicago, for example, may not perform as well in rural Vermont. Each company has to craft a road map and plan of action that is unique to their own particular location, industry, and hiring needs.
In addition, companies need to recognize that successfully recruiting a diverse workforce cannot just be a job for recruiters. If your diverse hires find a company culture that isn’t welcoming to them when they arrive, you can imagine they won’t be tempted to stay long. Companies need to specifically strategize to prioritize what diversity means to them from the inside out in order for them to be successful in this arena.
LinkedIn summarizes the conclusion to their wide-ranging study with “6 Diversity Tips to Live By” at the end of their report.
These are all great ideas, which we highly recommend. However, just remember that all of your diversity recruitment methods ultimately need to be highly tailored to your business.
Wondering how you can create your roadmap to diversity success? At Harger Howe Advertising, it’s our specialty. We’ve been in the recruitment marketing business for 33 years and have helped countless clients attract and recruit the diverse talent they are looking for. Let us help you!
Give us a call today at 781.425.5005 or click below and Mike Walsh, our President will be in touch to help you plan our your company's recruitment success.
