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For many businesses diversity and inclusion (D&I) encapsulates the idea of embracing and valuing diversity as well as creating inclusive cultures that allow individuals to be a true reflection of themselves, regardless of their background and experiences.
As part of this, inclusive hiring aims to level the playing field for applicants by making the initial hiring process fair, ensuring the onboarding process is accessible, and aims to remove any barriers that could hinder or prevent them from joining.
It’s important to highlight that inclusive hiring practices and cultures go way beyond the typical protected characteristics, but manifest across culture – for example from the way people feel to how they are treated. While the idea of making people feel valued and welcomed as individuals should be a given, sometimes there are challenges when it comes to execution.
Here we’ll explore what diversity and inclusion really means for your business, and 3 steps you can take to create more inclusive and accessible onboarding experiences.
1. Candidate-centric approach to hiring
With the seismic shift adopted by a huge number of businesses to transition their workforce to a remote working environment seemingly overnight, in many instances this may have favoured a more candidate-centric approach to hiring. By this we are talking about the empowerment of candidates, as this has opened the door to global opportunities, increased flexibility and a level of accessibility in the hiring process we may not have seen before.
With so many choices at the fingertips of candidates, employers are having to sell themselves and their cultures, as the competition for talent is higher than ever. On the other hand, there are clear benefits of having a diverse and inclusive workforce for the employer, some of these include:
Strong correlation to employee retention, due to the feelings of acceptance and respect.
Cognitive diversity: referring to the diversity of thoughts, values and personality which can become key to a thriving and innovative workplace – this can enhance team innovation by up to 20%
35% more likely to have financial returns above their national industry averages
2. Tackling bias in the hiring process
While it may be difficult for us to think we would ever discriminate or judge an individual based on certain characteristics, unconscious bias can even contradict our own values. By unconscious bias, we mean negative stereotypes that we hold outside of our conscious awareness.
The background check process, managed via a trusted screening partner such as Sterling, can provide the tools to help mitigate bias in the onboarding process and associated discrimination through an impartial and technology-enabled approach. For example, for Social Media searches, Sterling leverages consistent automated processes to screen publicly available online content to identify any negative or positive behaviours to better inform the hiring decision. While the statistics suggest that nearly half of employers check up on their staff via social media, getting this right ethically, while avoiding recruitment bias and discrimination, can be a tough task to achieve – which is one reason many businesses take the decision to outsource these kinds of checks.
3. Guided Background Checks
Whether you have a senior executive that’s lacking in time, a candidate with limited access to technology or perhaps needs a little extra assistance, Sterling’s guided background checks are all about welcoming and creating a great first impression — after all, they do last. When a candidate has made it through the interview process, accepted the offer, and succeeded through what may be the toughest part of the process, the rest should be straightforward and simple!
Guided Background Checks also help to ensure nobody gets left behind in the onboarding process, with accessibility and convenience a key factor in enhancing the experience for candidates. The candidate or employee can schedule a phone call with one of Sterling’s dedicated concierge team members and be personally guided through the screening process allowing information to be captured quickly and efficiently – all through a single point of contact. All of which, streamlines and accelerates the screening process.
Learn more about Guided Background checks and help your organisation create more inclusive onboarding experiences.
