Diversify your workforce with these 3 inclusive hiring practice

Improving inclusion in the workplace should be seen as more than just a moral and legal obligation. It’s an integral part of your organisation’s continued success – and it begins with the hiring process.

By following certain best practices, employers can create a more inclusive hiring culture that benefits their organisation’s performance, candidate experience, and employee retention.

What inclusive recruitment means – and why it’s important

Inclusive hiring is the process of attracting, selecting, and retaining candidates from diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences. The societal benefits of levelling the playing field can’t be ignored, but the business case alone is a compelling consideration:

• In a tight hiring market, broadening your recruitment effort is an effective way of overcoming skills shortages and decreasing time to hire.
• There’s various research suggesting diverse teams outperform those less widely represented, bringing different perspectives and ideas to the table, and understanding equally diverse customers and stakeholders.
• Inclusive hiring practices are an important way of improving your candidate experience and elevating your employee value proposition (EVP).

However, an inclusive hiring culture is not a one-off initiative; it’s an ongoing journey that requires careful planning, and implementation of the right tools. That said, our three top considerations can be a good place to start.

1. Avoid biased language in your job adverts

Unconscious bias can be prevalent in modern recruiting. This becomes all too apparent when you examine the narrow language used in many job advertisements, or the unaccommodating nature of certain tests and interview processes.

CIPD research revealed that fewer than a fifth of employers make efforts to remove bias by testing the words of job adverts (18%) or checking tests are valid, reliable and objective (17%). Avoid joining these statistics by drafting job descriptions that use more inclusive language and less industry jargon (gender decoding tools can be a quick and effective way of identifying discouraging wording).

Moreover, consider removing degree requirements unless absolutely essential. In today’s world of work, there’s a strong argument that core skills and potential should be emphasised over qualifications and technical expertise.

2. Leverage recruitment tech – but beware of algorithm bias

The proliferation of AI tools has granted organisations even greater power when screening candidates at scale, but can potentially embed bias if left to their own devices. It’s therefore vital to validate any AI-led decision-making, ensuring the right level of human input and testing.

When used responsibly though, emerging technology can potentially offer key insights into your organisation’s diversity hiring efforts. There are various tools that grant greater visibility over your selection process, while identifying potential barriers for certain groups. For example, we use a system called Applied to support our Skills and Learning Academy application stages, allowing us to remove over 160 biases, increase transparency, and evaluate the diversity of our candidate cohorts. But as already mentioned, any and all AI used must be ethical and closely monitored to help remove bias – not embed it.

3. Consider reasonable adjustments and employee passports

People with disabilities comprise nearly one in four of the working age population in the UK, yet are a too-often overlooked element of an organisation’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategy. And with a disability employment gap of 28.5 percentage points, it’s clear that there is a requirement for organisations to create more accessible entry points while also providing greater long-term support.

Many application processes offer reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions as needed, but it’s important that these inclusive practices go beyond the interview process. An employee passport could be the supporting tool you need. Also known as a ‘workplace adjustment passport’, an employee passport is a document that allows applicants and new starters (or simply all staff) to outline their individual requirements. This can be seen as an evolving framework, helping managers support individual needs, facilitate meaningful conversations, and attract diverse talent.

By building diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) into your recruitment practices today, you're not just opening doors to a broader talent pool – you’re laying the foundation for a more innovative and resilient workforce tomorrow.

At Skills and Learning, we work with a rich pool of undiscovered talent from diverse backgrounds to support inclusive hiring process, enable open discussions, and help employees reach their full potential. To find out how we can help you diversify your workforce, please get in touch.