From our recent survey of 37 impact leaders, 51% mentioned they wish to learn how to find and attract diverse talent. Although Thrive may not be a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) consulting firm, we have international roots thanks to our founder’s experience living and working in five different countries. This has enabled us to naturally attract a global community of 350+ members based in over 20 different nations, around 60% of whom are female. Engaging with our various members has taught us the wide range of challenges and perspectives of diverse talent.
When we talk about diversity, it’s important to first define what that is. For us, diversity means accepting and supporting people who differ in nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, personality, physical and mental abilities, and many other human differences. It’s important to remember this, since society and the media focus mostly on physical differences like race and gender.
So you may be wondering what is the benefit or point to having a diverse team? Whether you’re based in Canada or another country, chances are your clients, customers, and/or users are diverse, right? So to expand the reach of your marketing, products, and/or services you’ll also want a diverse team that can effectively relate to all their varying wants and needs. Having a team with diverse perspectives will also provide you with a wider range of solutions that will allow you to more effectively tackle any challenges your business encounters along the way. In this hiring guide, we will provide you with tips to make your company more inclusive and build a more diverse team.
Broaden Your Perspective
Many people prefer to live in their comfort zone, which often means surrounding themselves with people who look and talk like themselves. This is fairly natural human behavior, yet those who limit their social circles also keep their perspective on life fairly narrow. Here are ideas on how to expand your perspective:
Learn about different cultures by reading books by diverse authors, watching shows/movies from different cultures, eating different cuisines, and exploring cultures in other ways
If possible travel the world and ideally try living in another country
Socialize with and befriend people who are different from you
Go to events and network with different groups/communities
Create an Inclusive Work Culture
As you start broadening your perspective, you’ll soon realize that everyone has a different culture and lifestyle and faces various challenges. So as a leader/manager, it's important to provide a work environment that makes everyone comfortable. These are a few ways to get started:
Give your team members a voice and chance to shape the company’s culture
Provide more flexible hours and vacation days to adapt to different lifestyles
Allow your employees to work remotely to reduce access barriers
Reduce Biases in Your Hiring Process
Whether consciously or unconsciously, we all have some internal biases. For starters, you may wish to take some tests to understand your implicit biases: link. Most traditional hiring steps, like reviewing resumes and interviewing, tend to be greatly influenced by biases. Here are some ways you can reduce this:
Ensure your job postings use neutral language to reduce the tendency to attract people of a specific sex, age, race, or other characteristic
When going through applicants, use blind screening that removes names, countries lived, and names of schools, only keeping details relevant to the skills/experience needed
During interviews, keep the questions the same for all applicants and keep your tone/responses fairly neutral for all candidates you meet
Source Diverse Talent
The places we share our posts will often determine the type of talent we get. So it’s important to post in a variety of places. Consider also that underserved talent may have limited internet access. These are a few ideas to consider:
Ask your employees and network contacts with a diverse background for referrals
Post in groups targeted at different types of people, for example newcomers/foreigners
Partner with groups/communities focused on diversity and inclusion
Offer a diversity internship/co-op program
If your team has deep diversity issues it would be best to contact a DEI consultant. However, if you own or work for an impact-driven business and need further support finding diverse talent for any entry- to mid-level roles, Thrive can help! You can consider a few of these options: