The need for a diverse talent pool and the need to expand talent pipelines are making their way into boardrooms around the world, but many think that diversity is something that came to fruition a few decades ago. The truth is that it has its roots firmly set in the 1960s civil rights movement and since then, it has grown to include sexual orientation, gender, religion, and other identities.

While DEI has been around for more than 60 years, it has taken decades for organisations and decision-makers to understand the value it brings and, perhaps more importantly, what it means to be truly diverse and inclusive.

Even though the conversation around DEI has been gaining more traction, the statistics tell a different story. For instance, in the UK alone, the employment rate of ethnic minorities is only 62.8%. Minorities also hold only 1 in 16 top management positions in the country. Research also shows that Black men with the same qualifications as their White colleagues earn $1,500 less.

In order for organisations to improve on these figures, strategies that expand talent pipelines and create a diverse talent pool need to be implemented.

Diversify your brand

According to Glassdoor, UK employees pay a lot of attention to reviews and ratings of a company before they move forward with the job application process. Today, diversity has become such an important differentiator that candidates are refusing to take up career opportunities that offer higher pay if the company has a negative reputation.

Showing prospective employees where you stand when it comes to DEI not only helps you become a preferred employer but can also help you diversify your talent pipelines.

Implement blind hiring

Blind hiring involves removing any demographic and personal information from the recruitment process, leaving only the candidate’s ability to be assessed. The purpose of this type of hiring is to remove any potential for unconscious bias, clouding the judgement of the recruiters in an effort to create a more diverse talent pool. 

Today, this process is becoming more widespread among leading organisations such as Google and BBC. By increasing the anonymity of the candidate, the opportunity for any biases to work their way into the decision-making process is limited. It’s important to remember that this isn’t a surefire way to eliminate bias since a person’s identity can still present itself in more subtle ways, but the key is to make sure that you improve your processes and control any form of bias within the hiring process.

Reach out to candidates that decline your offer

In today’s economy where many job-seekers are finding it difficult to find opportunities, they’re unlikely to decline a job offer, but if they do, it’s probably because they have a good reason to do so. It’s important to do a proper follow-up with the candidates who have declined your offers to find out what influenced their decision. 

Communicate with them and receive their feedback. This will give you a better understanding of what your drawbacks are and what you need to improve to attract and retain talent. Building a diverse talent pool requires you to have a well-thought-out strategy that enables you to reap the benefits of a more vibrant and multifaceted workplace culture.

Prevent unconscious bias

Regardless of how impartial we try to be, we all have unconscious biases and while there are ways to limit or eliminate these biases, it’s also important to understand that having a recruitment panel that reflects the diversity you’re trying to achieve can go a long way in helping you achieve your talent pipeline goals.

Make sure that your recruitment panel has the proper training on unconscious bias and that they take the necessary steps to identify and mitigate any challenges that could arise.

Final thoughts on building a diverse talent pool from Kinhub

The past few years have greatly changed the way we work and inspired us to think far into the future. Leading organisations today have embraced diversity and inclusion and are setting the benchmark for how other businesses should build their brand to showcase their diversity and inclusivity.

Every employer has a responsibility to their businesses and their employees to create diverse talent pipelines. By doing so, more underrepresented groups will have better opportunities to close these gaps and create a workforce that represents the entire community.