Diversity isn’t a buzzword anymore. It’s critical for the successful running of a business.
While most of us would agree that diverse hiring is a positive thing for both the economy and our clients, the reality for recruiters is often quite different. It goes without saying that for many, it’s still a highly contentious topic.
Among those who have embraced it, hiring managers are increasingly struggling with meeting the diversity quotas they’ve set for themselves while we also ironically find ourselves considering at a diminished number of candidates when we know there’s a quota to fulfil.
While global thought leaders agree that there are great benefits afforded to businesses who adopt diverse hiring, I think there are also serious incentives for recruiters that may have been overlooked by our industry.
1. You’ll be market-leading
Encouraging clients to recruit a range of candidates from various backgrounds is still, unfortunately, an unusual practice. However, communicating the advantages of diverse hiring will position you as a market leader who thinks beyond traditional stereotypes. Approaching the topic and explaining the rationale can only serve to open their minds.
For example, it’s a fact that emerging generations are actively seeking more diverse workplaces; explaining this and giving clients the tools with which to strengthen their employer branding is simply a win-win for both client and recruiter.
2. It makes us better recruiters
We are, sadly, influenced by unconscious and conscious bias daily. Embracing diversity as recruiters will encourage us to challenge ourselves as we’re forced to push traditional boundaries and think outside the square. In doing so we’ll also need to seek new and innovative methods of sourcing and placing talent.
3. It makes our job easier
Culturally, organisations that embrace inclusivity and diversity within the workplace are ones that tend to prize respect and collaborative practices. It goes without saying that when we’re speaking to candidates – whatever their ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or background – if we’re able to speak about those values that are intrinsically embedded into the business culture, it will undoubtedly make them a more attractive employer.
It’s both attraction and retention of talent that promises to be improved. McKinsey’s Diversity Matters report shows there to be a real correlation between higher diversity and increased employee satisfaction.
Finally, if we’re opening the doors to more candidates from a range of backgrounds, we’re much more likely to win the war for talent and overcome the hurdles to finding suitable candidates.
4. Good for business
McKinsey’s report explains how ‘companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians’. Put bluntly, if our clients are making more money, it’s better for us and better for the economy. For recruiters, embracing diverse hiring means we’ll be working more innovatively, which in turn enhances our client service and produces a positive impact on our bottom line too.
Recruiting diverse talent also future-proofs our businesses as we strengthen our long-term management pipeline; future leaders are inevitably going to develop and equip themselves with the tools required to deal with varied ways of thinking.
5. You’ll reap the rewards of diversity too
Encouraging diversity in your clients will inevitably lead to the same practices within your own firm. This means that you too will experience all the rewards outlined above: increased employee satisfaction, higher retention rates, improvements on your bottom line, and of course improved employer branding and stronger candidate attraction.
About the author: David Morel is the CEO/Founder of Tiger Recruitment, one of London’s leading secretarial/administrative recruitment agencies. David founded Tiger in 2001 and has written extensively in the press and wider media advising both employers and job seekers on best recruitment practice.
