Diversity Recruiting

Here are some guidelines for approaching this unique front in the war for young talent:

1. Define the diversity you want
   
   There are many reasons you may want to hire and retain a diverse workforce.
   
   Perhaps you want your team to reflect the diversity of your changing customer base. Many consumer product makers, for instance, seek to hire people of certain ethnicities specifically for their insights into an expanding ethnic market.
   
   Or maybe you just want to ensure that your employees can offer different perspectives to help you better tackle complex problems.
   
   Whether you want to add diversity along dimensions of ethnicity, gender, or physical challenges, the first step to finding talented people in your target group is to make your intentions and reasons clear to everyone in your organisation.
   
   
2. Use the same hiring process as for any other recruit 
   
   Many times a CEOs urgent directive for diversity hiring causes an HR department to get so worked up about getting the diversity hires they want, that they abandon their normal recruiting processes in the name of "getting the job done".
   
   But problems occur when recruiters overzealously handle the process of identifying, screening, and hiring top diversity prospects, for example, without involving the business units those recruits will work for, as they would have done with any other recruit.
   
   We've seen cases in which HR doesn't tell a business unit they are getting a new employee until only a few weeks or days before the recruit arrives.
   
   This causes two kinds of problems:
   
   

   1. The business units do not feel invested in the new hires, and may not be properly prepared or equipped to manage and mentor a new hire.
   
   
   
   2. The diversity recruits feel awkward when they talk to other recruits and realise that their hiring process was completely different.
      
      
3. Show some class
   
   Because diversity recruiting is so competitive, many employers unfortunately get desperate and display some very tacky behaviour.
   
   One company was focused on meeting Aboriginal students at a career fair. When a group of white students approached the employer's booth, the recruiter said, "Sorry, we aren't interested in you, but here's a gift, and do you have any black friends? We really need them". Of course, the comment made everyone uncomfortable, including staff at the fair.
   
   
4. Commit for the long term
   
   Companies are often bewildered when they get few applications after targeting their desired diversity segment. Potential employees are a bit skeptical of employers who pay special attention to them, as they know that the "over-the-top" interest in them can stop as soon as a letter of employment is signed.
   
   In the diversity recruiting arena, companies should be focusing on building a great career path, experience, and in retaining employees. Anyone can do the smoke and mirrors during the recruiting process, and most potential employees will easily see through that.
   
   Whether you drop in once, or invest in building long-term relationships with certain groups, they will notice. Minority groups have strong social networks, so be assured that word of your recruiting practices will travel fast - and it will stick.

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