When selecting the best candidate your first thought isn’t always about diversity. It’s important to address all aspects of diversity, but it’s most important to your company to hire the best candidate. Let’s discuss then how you can improve your recruiting strategy while being inclusive and conscious of team morale. When it comes to talent management it’s essential to celebrate employee differences, while taking time to listen to them. Most employers will happily tell you they support diversity and inclusion. But how important is diversity to you and what value does it bring?

Be Inclusive of Team Morale

Prior to the hiring process, first look for employees that you can promote from within and provide leadership development opportunities. An inside hire already knows your team, the business and positively contributes to your culture, which mitigates the risk of diminishing team morale.

Improve Your Own Leadership Skills

If no one’s setting the example on your team, it becomes far too easy for your employees to become exclusive. Not only is that bad for productivity and morale, but it’s also the wrong way to lead. So, what are you doing to make sure everyone feels included? Here are some suggestions to Improve Diverse Hiring:

Make the Unwritten Rules Obvious

Every group and organization has cultural norms. But if they aren’t written anywhere, and are treated as understood, it can be harder for new members of diverse groups to know them. This is especially true on international teams where people from different cultures or backgrounds don’t know the rules and accidentally misstep.

Don’t Overlook the “Small” Stuff

When you witness someone being rude or dismissive to someone else, call it out. Don’t focus on finding fault, but stating what you notice and suggesting alternatives that include everyone. It sounds like this: “You know, not everyone in our group celebrates Christmas. I wonder what we could do this holiday season that would be both a chance to celebrate the holiday for those who do, and be a chance to involve others regardless of their faith?”

Understand the Advantages You’re Born With

Each person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, culture, physical ability, and religious practices afford them different levels of access and privilege. Even in simple tasks and asks not everyone feels safe. As a superior, you must believe that people are created equal but not the same! Inclusive leaders are able to notice and talk about differences without making anyone feel objectified or singled-out.

Here are six practical strategies for creating an inclusive environment:

  • Educate Your Leaders
  • Form an Inclusion Council
  • Celebrate Employee Differences
  • Listen to Employees
  • Hold More-Effective Meetings
  • Communicate Goals and Measure Progress

 

Finding the right fit who is a diverse candidate isn’t easy. Hiring managers need candidates who will fit in with the existing culture at their company. Candidates want to find a place that’s welcoming and makes them feel comfortable. Businesses and job seekers both want a rewarding and mutually beneficial exchange. It makes sense that having different perspectives and backgrounds on your team will contribute to newer and more diverse ideas to help solve problems and drive innovation. But the topic of diversity goes beyond just business results and performance. Building teams from qualified candidates regardless of their gender, background, race, religion or sexual orientation is long overdue, and a step towards true equality in the workplace.

If you are unsure of what steps you need to take in your organization, why not try a tool that is based on skills and cultural “fit” at the application level?

Interested in learning more about FIT and talent acquisition? Download this free infographic!

Fit-in-Test

FIT’s (Fit-in-Test) Talent Acquisition and Talent Management Solutions are specially designed to work with your team. Using our proven Learning Management System (LMS) for onboarding and new hire training, test customization that curates curricula to your organization’s essential talent question strategy, and FIT’s robust talent acquisition engine, FIT easily integrates into your organization. In conjunction with our robust data reporting tools, FIT can create, launch, and manage an unparalleled hiring solution for your team.

FIT combines all our performance hiring tools to provide you with a best-in-class workflow to fit your retention strategy. Contact us now for a free consultation today!

Visit the FIT site to learn more.  If you’re interested in learning more about FIT and Talent acquisition, download this free infographic. 

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