How to Source Diverse Talent
Sourcing Diverse Talent
Trend Identified
From
To
Starter Implication
Alternative sources of talent (hiring untraditional profile, managing contractors as a key component of workforce)
Acquiring talent from the usual places (e.g., in local geographies) and for usual roles (e.g., permanent, full-time roles) with unusual skills (e.g., degree, x number of years experience in y and z roles)
Acquiring talent where it exists, regardless of geography.
Increase in incorporating new roles such as freelancers, part-time, partners, etc.
Diversifying talent pool to untraditional profiles, e.g., no experience in a given role or industry, but demonstrated ability to learn quickly.
Increased focus on diversity.
ATTRACTING TALENT: New approaches to recruiting.
CULTURE: New mindset in valuing and supporting diverse talent; new processes for performance management.
ONBOARDING: New processes for remote and hybrid workers; new support system for all talent.
Top Considerations
Attracting
Utilize hybrid / remote working models and policies to attract more diverse teams. Look beyond gender and bio-diversity to include new cohorts such as parents post-leave, seniors, spouses of military families, etc.
Institute and enforce diverse slate requirements into hiring process.
Engage actively and consistently with diverse organizations, e.g., universities, social groups, charities, etc.
Push beyond simple full-time, permanent, job models, e.g., consider job-sharing for woment returning to work, etc.
Leverage ERGs in sourcing efforts.
Culture
Create a collective belief in the value of diversity and inclusion.
Develop an authentic voice to differentiate. (This is a two-way street - what we are looking for matching who we are.)
Establish EI as an explicit part of overall company and, hence, sourcing strategy.
Require more active involvement of hiring managers in efforts to source diverse talent… not simply an “HR task”.
Onboarding
Train managers on how to adapt to new-hire work styles.
Demand more active involvement by the hiring manager to assure new talent is given what they need to succeed, including how to navigate the political climate within the organization.
Mentoring and buddy systems for new hires to help build an understanding of office culture… what works and what doesn’t within the organization.
Current Actions
What specific actions are we currently taking?
Attracting
Partnering with groups specifically targeted to help with hard-to-reach candidates (i.e. The Mom Project)
Enhanced referral programs
Looking at non-degreed individuals with specific skills
Centralized hiring for gig and contract workers in certain areas (engineering)
Rethinking roles that can be executed in different ways now (such as virtual healthcare) to attract wider pool
Breaking up the role into pieces to diversify the talent pool
Social engagement with local community groups
Connecting employees to purpose of org so they become natural ambassadors (free access to product, sharing history and origin, etc.)
Skills-based volunteering
Culture
Give attention to affinity groups and leverage them to help attract talent. Build a culture inside the company that accepts and supports members of these affinity groups, so they become ambassadors.
ERGs become employee-led, grass roots. Need leadership to partner with and embed in these activities.
Use culture connector network to get feedback on any change.
Refreshed values embedded in hiring and onboarding.
Global leadership development programs.
Developing managers around ‘Moments of Impact.’ Policies and procedure training are focused on the experience vs. output.
Creating pride and connecting employees to purpose of org so they become natural ambassadors (free access to product, sharing history and origin, etc.)
Onboarding
Exec team meeting with new hires to reinforce culture during onboarding, and to receive feedback re: onboarding process and / or first months of employment.
Buddies outside of immediate work groups.
Volunteer culture connectors available to be buddies.
Relaunch - a whole set of how to engage and onboard parents coming back into the workforce.
Using a service called “MentorClick” to match coaches with EE’s.
Develop a diverse new hire cohort to quickly scale social network with goal to develop 1st year growth goals.
Pre-boarding through tools like Slack or connecting them to cohorts / individuals.
Questions to answer -
What questions do we need to answer going forward with this work?
Attracting
How are companies changing actual interviewing processes?
How is technology being utilized?
How do we ensure career growth for individuals we hire for specific roles / IC’s (i.e. non-degreed)
How important is it to have a degree? How do we identify what is really required for a role?
Is it possible to centralize hiring for gig and contract work for areas beyond engineering?
How do we push beyond “academic snobbery” - only looking at specific “top” schools for pipeline of candidates?
Are organizations moving away from background checks and what is the impact?
How can we make the application process easier?
Culture
How are companies revisiting their values in context of EDI efforts?
How are companies moving DEI to be company norm / in the DNA, not an HR initiative?
How do we change systems to be more diverse, beyond diverse slate (i.e., diverse teams) to avoid dissonance?
How do we create pride / connect employees to purpose?
Coaching:
How do we diversify coaches to match population (i.e. if majority of coaches are women)?
Should managers be the “coach”?
If coaches are external, how do we keep them connected to the culture? And how do you connect EE’s to people in the org?
How do you match coaches to employees?
Onboarding
What are innovative onboarding techniques being utilized?
Who owns onboarding?
How to introduce DEI into onboarding?
How do we help managers to be relationship managers and coaches as the critical capability in our organizations?
How do we engage different onboarding needs for different cohorts (i.e. parents returning to workforce vs. new grads vs. non-degree)?
Panel Highlights
Most impactful actions our panelists are taking in their respective areas -
iRelaunch
Torch
A.Team
Expanding the search for “hidden talent pools” - iRelaunch is tapping into talent that has taken a career break for any reason, not just parental leave. This ranges from workers who hit pause to travel with spouses on an overseas posting, or for health reasons, or for elder care…
Invest in “trusted relationships” - Amy at Torch cites research showing that the top reason diverse talent (and non-diverse) leaves is they did not feel supported. So they are helping customers invest in coaching and mentoring that emphasizes wellbeing and offers opportunities for employees to share difficult truths.
Clarify Roles - A.Team uses a framework of Flexibility (as defined by the employee), Mission (not just company mission but function and team mission), and Shared Goals or Purpose.
Additional Resources from our panelists:
From iRelaunch - List of additional Resource links and Brief Deck
From Torch - “The Inclusive People Development Playbook”
From A.Team - What Tech Leaders Really Think About Remote, the Downturn, and the Great Resignation
Panelist Bios
Panel Highlights
Attracting
Engage diverse talent before hiring: Using Slack, community groups, or professional communities such as our guest Malur’s grou, Strides.ai
Don’t be afraid to demand diversity: A.Teams has put explicit diversity targets against roles, “which we filled without any impact on performance… It is on us to find and provide.”
Onboarding
Move fast to hire: iRelaunch notes that more companies are skipping long ‘intern’ or contractor ‘with intent to hire’ models and are moving towards faster, multi-week onboarding paired with mentorship and support to bring “hidden talent” onboard. “Our conversion rate is 85%.”
Impact of remote? iRelaunch went fully remote, including their onboarding program, with no issues. In fact, the returnees preferred a hybrid return model where they could ease from home to office without an abrupt full-time-in-office return.
“Power of the Cohort”: Torch screens for value alignment. Regularly reinforcing values and shared connections. They also see enormous value in onboarding as a cohort with shared experiences.
Retention
Transparent and cyclical feedback: A.Teams uses a frequent pulse, “almost like an NPS score,” to measure perceived team experience. This is published to everyone, so they all see the same feedback.
Storytelling to create opportunities for deeper sharing and connections: Torch is rolling out a monthly “water cooler” program, gathering remote employees into small breakouts to share / socialize around ‘fun’ questions (e.g., what candle scent would you be). This creates space for trust and then deeper sharing on topics such as “share a time you did not feel like you belonged.”
Check the structure of the ‘safe space’ for bias. We often design programs from the viewpoint of the majority. It’s important to take a minority perspective during the design process.
Rework Employee Resource Groups. Omada is leaning into the traditional ERG model but adding senior leadership sponsorship and broadening it to be a “belonging council.” Anyone and everyone that works at Omada can participate. We use our exec team to mentor.