Cyclical Tag

I have run an inclusive recruitment and executive search firm and a diversity, inclusion and equity consulting practice for over 14 years. Two questions keep coming back. First: where can we find diverse talent? And two: how do we increase our recruitment of diverse talent?

Having established what exactly is meant by “diverse talent” (generally referring to people whose identity falls within the protected characteristics of the Equality Act), I begin to point out the obvious: there is a war on talent. Every business wants the best people. Organizations become savvier and more alive because they have to work hard to improve this talent. Companies that have grasped this concept are leaving their competitors behind.

The talent market is full of exceptional professionals from diverse backgrounds who are all up for grabs. The challenge isn’t whether you’re fast enough; it’s about whether you prepare enough.

A constant challenge

The advice my teacher gave me during review periods and before impending class deadlines still stands: “If you don’t prepare, you will prepare to fail.” The same goes for attracting and recruiting talent. If you don’t prepare your workplace to proactively and effectively respond to attrition, you will lose your chance to find the best people to grow and grow your business.

Unless you’re a particularly lucky – or incredibly unique – organization, your need to find talent will be an ongoing activity throughout the year. Understanding this means holding yourself accountable for open, proactive, and consistent research to find and engage talent from diverse backgrounds.

You may be thinking, “Yes, Jo, we know all that.” Yet here we are. Organizations such as my consultancy are in constant demand to help companies large and small find top talent, diverse talent, talent that organizations struggle to find.

I can’t promise to solve all your cyclical recruiting problems in one column, especially because I would need to dig deeper into your HR strategy to understand your specific needs. But I can definitely point you in the right direction with practical, anecdotal advice from a passionate, proactive and constant talent scout.

The search for the best must be a continuous exercise

First: Have a people strategy contributed by all stakeholders involved in your recruitment process and establish your collective attraction and recruitment values.

The emphasis on proactivity and consistency must be at the heart of this strategy. Only by committing to constantly striving for the best will you stay ahead of your competition.

There’s no harm in constantly mapping the market for your organization’s critical roles. Try to establish who is in your industry and who is on track to be the best in your industry; this allows you to quickly respond to existing talent and establish a talent pool for future roles.

Set your terms and get everyone on the same page

Next, your team must answer critical questions. Do you practice accessibility, equity and inclusion in your attraction and sourcing approaches? What do these terms mean to you and your current employees? Is there consistency in the process and value of these terms – and how do you know?

Once clear definitions of these terms are established and effective stakeholder management ensures that each influencer knows why it matters to others, we move closer to creating a strategy that everyone feels invested in. and can see the delivery value.

Where to start looking for diverse talent

Then the in-depth work can begin. Be prepared to search in places you wouldn’t normally consider. Ask yourself, “If I applied for my dream job and hadn’t found one yet, what could I do?”

For me, it could be one or more of the following:

• Join a social media interest group that could create networking opportunities

• Follow social media accounts and thought leaders who share opportunities or have deep expertise in the field

• Attend career-related events. I’m not talking about job fairs, I’m talking about discussions on leadership or career progression, for example

• Establish which organizations I could engage with for their sector-specific webinars and free discussions with industry peers

• Find out if there are any organizations – charities or otherwise – that exist to support talent with their inequity

Once you identify these organizations or spaces, become strategic in creating meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with them. They will be able to vouch for your exact value of diversity and provide you with a mutually beneficial way to connect to their talent pools.

The above approach will take time; building trusting relationships and establishing your talent pools does.

To search for talent different from your existing profile, you must also recognize that you are looking for in-demand skills, not just “disadvantaged” candidates. You should recruit this talent based on the same values ​​you use for other “traditional” candidates.

spread the word

Additionally, I’m always surprised how few CEOs, senior leaders, or people considered influencers in their industry share open job opportunities within their organization on their own professional social media platforms.

Can your colleagues promote your work, especially those in the positions named above? I’m sure they wouldn’t be short of cold calls and hookup requests from potential talent.

Thinking this way can also inspire you when it comes to Google search terms. The saying “Google is your friend” will be extremely helpful at this point. Using smart and specific search words will attract a large number of organizations connected to talent pools at all stages of their careers. Again, invest in understanding their talent and their place in your business.

When you do this level of research as a starting point, you can become proactive in creating opportunities to meet talent throughout the year, encourage speculative and informal discussions with them, and know who to turn to when that role becomes unavoidable. appears.

Meeting talent doesn’t have to be a cafe. This could be inviting people to a lunch meeting, an internal event, or a talk given by a senior executive in your company. Start asking potential new hires to come check out your company to show you’re serious about hiring them. Good news also travels fast, and your best promotion is word of mouth, so this approach has multiple benefits.

Crucial questions for your recruiters

Finally: Put your research cabinets to the test. Many recruitment agencies have suddenly become incredibly passionate about diversity and inclusion. They have mastered creating storefronts that present the compelling and compelling story of their commitment to inclusive hiring. In fact, some are incredibly hardworking and proactive talent scouts. Others are not.

So, when briefing a recruiter, ask them right away to describe how they integrate diversity into their talent pool? How do they plan to reach diverse talent? Who were the last five people placed at work and what were their origins? Do they have the names of individuals that immediately come to mind? We would ask for this kind of detail for so many other things in our lives – we should apply it here too.

Why not take it a step further and ask the talent you attract organically what recruitment firms they know about, which recruiters they use and why, and which job boards they typically use? Don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues these questions. Again, word of mouth is as valuable to you as talent.

Avoid falling into the trap of using job boards that seem to cater to diverse talents. Again, the work is required by you. Who uses the website? Will advertising your role on this website ensure that your opportunities are seen by the wide range of talent you want to engage with? There are some successful job boards that specifically target diverse talent, and they do it very well. Make sure you know the difference and don’t assume that diverse talent will only use those that advertise themselves as diverse job sites.

Don’t be afraid to include a communication plan in your strategy: all of these activities take time. They force you to try out as many unique recruiting opportunities as possible with as wide a range of talent pools as possible. It may not be an instant result, but how great would it be if you were ahead of the competition when a position became available, because you were intentional, consistent and proactive?

Want to be ahead of the competition? Stay engaged, relentlessly pursue the ambitions of your people, go a little further and work a little smarter.