Workplace diversity has changed the way we work. People at every level of organizations worldwide have come to understand the power and benefits of having an inclusive team that embraces different perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds. Diversity and inclusion in recruitment mean new ideas and new solutions to the challenges that we all face. As the world grows in complexity, and we're facing challenges that are bigger than any one person - now more than ever, it's vital that companies create an environment of inclusion.

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Inclusive hiring practices are one way to ensure that a company is building an inclusive team. Inclusive hiring practices take into account all applicant's skills, talents, and backgrounds when selecting who to hire. They also emphasize fairness in the recruitment process by removing any underlying bias or barriers that might exist in traditional hiring processes. This

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Inclusive recruitment strategies are key to helping tap into this potential and create an environment that values and celebrates diversity. Diversity and inclusion best practices begin with creating job postings and recruitment documents that are open to all potential applicants, offering additional support to applicants from diverse backgrounds or minority groups, or providing training for recruiters on effective and inclusive interviewing techniques. But they don't end there, creating a truly inclusive culture that's welcoming to diverse individuals means celebrating them, and pointing out how they bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the table.

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The benefits of including diverse talent in your workforce are vast, so it's worth taking the time to foster an inclusive environment. You'll be rewarded with increased innovation, creativity, and productivity. Additionally, by creating a workplace that values diversity and inclusion you'll open up opportunities for people from all walks of life.

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If you're creating an inclusive hiring strategy for your organization and have been asking how do I recruit diverse candidates, this article was created with you in mind.

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Inclusive Hiring Checklist

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Hypothetically, you're a new hiring manager at a SaaS company who has been tasked with creating and implementing inclusive hiring practices. Where do you begin?

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Learning about minority communities is a great place to start. This will help you better understand how to make your organization inviting to them. Next, take a look at the pool of candidates you're currently sourcing talent from, is it diverse? Does it help you meet your DEI impact goals? Now, let's take a look at your job posts. Are they free of exclusive language? Do they encourage everyone who can positively contribute to your company's mission should have a chance at finding employment within your company?

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Here's an inclusive hiring checklist to serve as your guide at a glance.
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✔ Make sure job postings are welcoming to all potential applicants regardless of their background.

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✔ Source candidates from places that encourage diversity and inclusion.

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✔ Provide additional support to applicants with disabilities, who are new to the workforce, or need direction proceeding through the

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✔ Train hiring managers, interviewers, and recruiters on effective and inclusive interviewing techniques.

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✔ Utilize interview intelligence software to record, transcribe, and index interviews so that you can coach interviewers to eliminate bias from interviews.

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✔ Offer flexible work arrangements if possible, such as remote work, part-time hours, and job sharing.

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✔ Look for ways to celebrate diversity in the workplace, such as having a dedicated space for minority and changemaker groups or hosting events that highlight various perspectives.

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Having a solid inclusive hiring strategy is key to ensuring that your organization's recruitment efforts are reflecting its values and mission statement. Diversity and inclusion hiring strategies are not hard to implement within your company, but they do require internal champions who are willing to actively work toward creating an inclusive team. With the right guidance and support, you can create a workplace that celebrates diversity and inclusion and one where everyone is able to succeed.

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Remember, it's not always as daunting as it seems. With this checklist, some passion, knowledge, and effort, you can create an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity and encourages all to thrive.

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Inclusive Recruitment Examples

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Once an inclusive recruitment strategy is implemented in a company, it must be positively reinforced. The most effective way of accomplishing this is creating inclusive recruitment training and learning paths for each interviewer to hone their skills and gamify the process of achieving DEI goals.

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Here are some inclusive recruitment example training modules:

• Drafting job posts that are free of gender-based language and use a neutral tone.

• Interview techniques that focus on skills and not personal traits.

• Using unconscious bias training to ensure a fair process for all applicants.

• Utilizing best practices for interviewing candidates with disabilities.

• Creating an inclusive recruitment environment by offering support for remote or flexible working arrangements.

• Rewarding referrals from diverse networks that are reflective of the company’s mission and values.

• Utilizing job boards and recruitment events that are focused on diversity initiatives.

• Developing an internship program that encourages applicants from underrepresented communities.

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These can all be built into an inclusive recruitment process map and formatted into a learning path in Lessonly, Trainual, or another learning platform. Doing so will enable the process to become more streamlined, and automated and will save time in both training and recruitment processes.

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Having a strategic plan for hiring diverse candidates is essential — it’s not just about checking boxes but creating an environment that celebrates diversity and encourages everyone to thrive as a team! With an inclusive recruitment strategy in place, your company can ensure equitable hiring practices and cultivate a workplace of diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds.

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Diversity and Inclusion Hiring Strategy

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Creating a successful diversity and inclusion hiring strategy requires careful consideration, commitment, and dedication to making your organization’s recruitment process inclusive. But that doesn't mean it can't be a fun journey! With a few steps, you can begin to create an environment where everyone feels respected and valued.

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Step One: Understanding Your Company’s Values:

The first step in creating a successful D&I hiring strategy is to understand your company's core values. Establish core values around diversity, equity, and inclusion that reflect the company’s mission statement and purpose.

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Step Two: Set Goals & Objectives:

Once you've established core values, set goals and objectives that support them. Goals should be aligned with the company's mission statement so they can serve as a foundation for the diversity and inclusion hiring process.

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Step Three: Develop a Strategy:

The next step is to develop a strategy that will ensure that your company's goals and objectives are met. This should include an assessment of the current hiring process, recruitment practices, and evaluation criteria. Create several diversity recruiting strategy example paths to map the journey so that your team can see the path and the end goal.

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Step Four: Establish Metrics & Performance Indicators:

Establishing metrics and performance indicators for diversity and inclusion is essential in order to track progress and make sure that objectives are being met. Metrics should be established for each step in the recruiting process, from job postings to interviewing.

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Step Five: Train, Educate, & Coach Employees & Interviewers:

Once a strategy is developed, it's important to ensure that everyone involved in the hiring process understands it and is trained on how to use it. This can include employee and interviewer training, education on unconscious biases, and coaching to ensure that the process is being followed.

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Step Six: Gamify The Process:

A fun way to make sure all involved are taking diversity and inclusion seriously is to gamify the process. This can be done by creating rewards for the successful recruitment of diverse candidates or recognizing outstanding accomplishments that contribute to the overall inclusivity of the workplace.

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By taking these steps and committing to creating a diverse and inclusive hiring process, your company can become an advocate for diversity and inclusion! And as a result, create an environment where everyone feels empowered to thrive.

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Diversity and Inclusion In Hiring

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Building diversity recruitment strategies in 2022 will help you kick off the new year with a clear mission. Whether this is your first time creating diversity hiring practices or you’re revising an existing plan, there are several steps to take in order to make sure that your company values are being upheld as well as creating an environment of respect and acceptance.

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As we mentioned above, diversity hiring best practices always start with an internal champion who sets the Northstar. It's their role to remind their team why diversity hiring is important and to create momentum behind diversity and inclusion in hiring initiatives. They should lead by example, get buy-in from leadership, and ensure that everyone is on the same page with their strategy.

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Once you have your internal champion in place, it’s time to start building a diverse and inclusive recruiting process. A successful diversity hiring process also includes training for all involved, from recruiters to hiring managers and executives.

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Inclusive Interview Practices

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Interviewing best practices are key to a successful diversity and inclusion hiring process. It's important that each candidate has a fair, respectful, and unbiased interview experience. Interviewers should be taught how to conduct an inclusive interviewing process, such as using blind resumes and encouraging diverse candidates to apply. We also recommend standardized semi-structured interview questions, so that all candidates have the same opportunity to highlight their experiences, qualifications, and skills.

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Keep an eye out for hidden biases in the interview process. Training your recruiters and hiring managers on how to address unconscious bias and ask inclusive interview questions can help ensure that everyone has a fair chance of getting hired. Ask objective questions that focus on a candidate’s skills and qualifications, rather than their age, gender, ethnicity, or other personal factors. Make sure to include these in your inclusive interview practice training for anyone interviewing.

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The last step to implementing successful inclusive hiring practices is to track progress. Establishing metrics for measuring diversity and inclusion in the hiring process is key to making sure that your strategy is effective. Keeping track of the number of diverse candidates that apply, make it to the interview stage, and get hired will give you a good indication of how your diversity recruitment strategies are working. Those metrics can also help inform future improvements to make sure that your hiring process is fair and inclusive for all.

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All of these steps should help ensure that your company is being proactive and intentional with its hiring practices. By taking the necessary steps to create an inclusive recruitment process, you can help foster a diverse and inclusive workplace that will attract top talent from all backgrounds.

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If you're currently building your inclusive hiring strategy and would like some direction, check out our blog to see more resources on DEI hiring. Pillar was built to help you hire better. We offer a suite of Ai powered interview intelligence tools to make sure that everyone has a fair, respectful, and unbiased interview experience. Request a demo to see how it works!