Diversity Recruiting--Don't Start with Sourcing

The subject of diversity recruiting (however “diversity” is defined) is coming up more often in my conversations with recruiting executives. The timing appears to be right: there is greater choice in the labor market, a larger variety of individuals coming through educational institutions, and less requisitions overworking the Recruiting team. It’s a pretty common conclusion—build diversity representation now to get on our way to becoming a “great place to work” for diversity hires.

The hard part about diversity recruiting, though, is that it’s not completely within the control of Recruiting. To encourage diverse people to join, you have to provide evidence that they will feel comfortable within your organization. In other words, senior executives need to support diversity initiatives to promote a welcoming environment for diverse hires. Similarly, to make sure your diversity recruiting isn’t just re-recruiting for those diverse hires who have left, you need to engage and retain diverse hires. In other words, HR needs to support diversity engagement and retention efforts to ensure Recruiting’s work is not undone.

In short, diversity recruiting is just one part of a “virtuous cycle” of diversity within your organization. Don’t kick off your diversity recruiting initiative by identifying the best sourcing channels or recruiter targets. This narrow approach will turn the diversity cycle into a vicious one—diverse candidates won’t accept offers as frequently, and those that accept offers will have a high likelihood of leaving. Start it instead with some good conversations with senior executives and HR.