As
it is early in the year, I thought it would be interesting to start delineating
some inclusion strategies in chronological order, in terms of an employer’s
relationship with an employee. Recruitment marks the beginning of every
relationship between employer and employee, think of the first accidental glance
across a room exchanged with someone who later becomes a friend. Employers are recruiting all of the time
without being aware of it: manufacturers
are recruiting every time they advertise their products; non-profits are
recruiting when they ask people to donate or volunteer for their cause, and
governments are recruiting when they send their employees out to serve the
public. If people like what they see or
hear or taste or use they may think about joining those who helped to create
their positive experience.
Word
of Mouth
Many
employers give their employees a financial reward if they refer someone who is
hired by the company. Employee referrals
are highly valued, especially in the for-profit sector as the data is
impressive in terms of employee retention rates for employee referral new hires.
Governments have much lower turn-over rates than the private and non-profit
sectors, but increasingly are modeling their management styles on the private
sector, including paying bonuses to high performing employees and terminating
those who do not meet the standards established for their function. This means that government employers are also
paying more attention to recruiting high-potential employees. The greatest source of information about an
organization is its employees. If they are unhappy, they let people outside of
the organization know. There is a great
website, glassdoor (www.glassdoor.com), which
posts anonymous employee ratings of employers. Savvy job hunters go there
before applying for jobs. People who
have left companies telling their exit interviewer, “I have a better
opportunity elsewhere,” tend to be more honest with their friends and on websites
such as glassdoor. Employers would be
well advised to visit this and other sites to find out what people are saying
about them, and more importantly, to use that information to improve their
employee relations.
Diversity Attracts Diversity
We,
in the diversity field used to worry that employee referrals limited the
diversity of new hires, but not anymore.
Well, not if you already have some diversity. “Diverse” employees (people of color, LGBT
employees, people with disabilities, etal) will refer employees like
themselves, just as white, male, heterosexual employees will do. Sometimes, employees will refer candidates
who are not from their affinity group, but people primarily refer candidates
who are similar to themselves. So, the
more diverse your employees are, the more diverse their candidate referrals
will be. This will also have a positive impact on your employee retention rates
as the ‘diverse’ new hires will have an easier time adapting to an
organizational culture that is diverse not only in its representation, but also
in its innovation. Employers that are
intentionally inclusive get real bonuses as they get the attention of ‘high
potential candidates’.
Inclusive Recruitment is NOT Affirmative
Action!
Inclusive
recruitment welcomes stellar employees – regardless of their affinity group
affiliation. Talented people come in all
races, nationalities, ethnic groups, orientations and abilities. So, if you want to hire ambitious, highly
talented people, invite them intentionally
to contribute to your organization.
There has been a great deal of buzz (not to be confused with buzz words)
regarding “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) and the lack of diversity among the
actors on the show. SNL’s management
responded to a great deal of negative press regarding the stark absence of
diversity at the season’s kick off by hiring Sasheer Zamata, an
African-American woman. This process
took about three months and is the first time in six years that there will be an
African American woman on the SNL cast, which is interesting considering that Lorne
Michaels, the top executive on the show said in an October interview with The
Associated Press, "It's not like it's not a priority for us, it [hiring
black women], will happen. I'm sure it will happen." The announcement this
week that Ms. Zamata was joining the cast has been met with a flurry of
comments on both sides of the diversity debate.
I have been thinking about how much pressure she will experience as
those who are cynical of the process of creating an inclusive workforce think
of her as an ‘affirmative action hire’.
If she is not incredibly entertaining and hilarious during every single
skit that she is in, she will be vilified by those skeptics. The writers of the
skits, the director, the other actors, will not be subject to the same
scrutiny. Ms. Zamata’s qualifications
and expertise in her field will not be held up as evidence for hiring her. She will have to rise above the haters and
their words and remember – just like all of the other cast members at SNL – she
has managed to beat the odds and get selected to be on show. Many employers
talk about how creating a diverse workforce is a priority, but few take intentional, strategic action to make it
happen.
The Good News
The
good news is that any organization, regardless of their history in terms of
recruitment can become an inclusive recruiting organization! A great first step
is conducting an anonymous employee survey.
Many employers are reluctant to do this for two reasons: 1. They may not
like what they hear (and this makes those in the legal department very nervous). 2. They may not feel ready to implement the changes that employees recommend. The
executive team of your organization would be wise to honestly and openly
discuss the possibility of improving your organizational inclusion by doing
some real assessment of your current workforce. If you are satisfied with your
employees’ performance and engagement and diversity and retention and
development and succession – KUDOS! If
not, isn’t it about time that you do make it a priority?
Onward!
~ Wendy
wendy@inclusionstrategy.com
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