How to facilitate equitable hiring 

I recently had the pleasure of speaking on an IRIS Software Group webinar, where the question was posed: what does equitable hiring mean to me, and why is it important in today's job market?

To me, equitable hiring is a must as it ensures a fair chance for all qualified applicants, regardless of their background - this translates into a more diverse workforce, helping foster innovation, strengthen your employer brand and create better business outcomes.

It's a vital question that I believe more businesses must ask themselves.

However, during our session, we asked our audience if they have a defined equitable hiring process; the response was that 60% currently have nothing in place, and another 20% say they've considered equitable hiring but are still trying to implement it. 

Since equitable hiring is so important and can offer many benefits, why is uptake so low?

I believe the answer is relatively simple.

Many businesses simply don’t know how to facilitate equitable hiring.

For this, I don't blame them as implementing equitable hiring processes, in many cases, requires a complete overhaul of traditional recruitment practices - no small feat.

While the initial change may seem daunting, I still urge businesses to take action.

For those unsure where to start, I've covered some of the advice I gave during the webinar, helping you make meaningful changes. 

Proven approaches to facilitating equitable hiring 

Equitable hiring goes beyond simply avoiding discrimination.

Instead, it's about creating a level playing field where everyone has a fair chance at being hired. To start, I'd advise businesses to focus on removing any biases in the recruitment process; without a doubt, one of the biggest challenges to fair and inclusive recruitment is unconscious bias.

As humans, we are hardwired to make unconscious judgements, impacting our attitude and behaviour towards others, even without us noticing. 

However, this human survival technique hinders our ability to keep an open mind when hiring new staff. 

To help remove this bias, look to implement the following:

• Create inclusive job adverts: the tone of voice (TOV) and the language used in your job adverts can not only encourage certain demographics to apply but actually discourage others from applying. It's advised that you review your wording to ensure job adverts are gender-neutral.
  
• Standardise your interview formats: regardless of your preferred interview method, be it over the phone, through video conferencing or in person, it's crucial that each candidate receives an equal chance to showcase their potential. This can be achieved by using a set of planned questions and fixed time durations during the interview process.

• Use an interview panel: it's advised you have more than one interviewer present whenever feasible. Having the final verdict on hiring come from a shared agreement instead of a singular viewpoint helps avoid biases. Additionally, make sure your recruitment team is well-versed in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) to help ensure a fair process.

• Focus on skills, experience and potential: a candidate's name often provides clues about their gender and possibly their ethnicity. Anonymising applications and CVs by stripping out all personal/confidential details can help eliminate any unconscious biases.

By implementing the above, you can reduce biases in the recruitment process, ensuring the best person gets the role based on their merit.

Taking the first steps to creating an inclusive workplace 

From job descriptions to your hiring process, implementing equitable hiring practices can help foster an inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels valued and as if they belong.

Ultimately, people want to feel like they can bring their true selves to work, and the first step to this is ensuring fairness and promoting individuality. 

If you're looking for more advice, check out our full webinar session, where we discussed a wide array of other areas, including closing the pay gap, utilising data and fostering innovation. 

Watch the webinar here: Building winning teams - why equitable hiring fuels success.

Guest author: Dianne Hoodless