We all know that recruiting a diverse workforce is the right thing to do. Moreover, McKinsey research reinforces the link between diversity and financial return. The report suggests that diverse teams perform better and attract the best talent. Our members agree – 76% of employers cited the desire to secure top talent as the primary reason for focusing on improving Diversity Recruitng.
The importance of enabling diversity in the selection process is reflected in the ISE annual recruitment survey findings reported in Inside student recruitment 2019. It shows that a key aim of many organisations’ attraction and selection approaches was to ensure organisational diversity. And the selection process is evolving to address diversity – almost half of firms (46%) provided diversity training for staff involved in the selection process. The survey also showed that employers are giving a higher priority to all diversity issues than they were last year.
Positive candidate experiences provide an opportunity for the company to gain advocates, strengthening its reputation and potential to attract top talent.
A refined selection and assessment strategy can improve your entire recruitment process and organisational diversity. Too often the wrong people are hired, promoted, or developed for the wrong reasons. The result – wasted time, labour and money. Poor recruitment decisions can have significant direct and indirect consequences for the company.
There have been a variety of changes to improve diversity recruiting such as increased use of name and university blind recruitment. This highlights that selection and assessment is a complex process – not just a written test.
Stephen Isherwood is CEO of the Institute for Student Employers and spoke at Oleeo’s D&I seminar in London on 24 Jan 202.
