What is hiring for diversity and inclusion?
Recruitment diversity is when a business consciously employs staff members from different backgrounds and with a different range of experience across various ages, ethnicities, genders, races, sexual orientations, socio-economic levels and education with the aim of creating a diverse team.
However, inclusion doesn’t stop at recruitment. In order to retain a diverse workforce, every staff member needs to feel valued, recognised and treated fairly compared to their colleagues. And it is your job, as the employer, to ensure that this is the case.
Legal aspects of employee inclusion and diversity
Australia has a number of anti-discrimination and human rights laws that address diversity and inclusion in the workplace. As an employer, you need to be aware of these regulations and ensure that your organisation adheres to them.
The following laws apply at the federal level in Australia:
- Age Discrimination Act 2004
- Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
- Disability Discrimination Act 1992
- Racial Discrimination Act 1975
- Sex Discrimination Act 1984
The following laws apply in Australia’s different states and territories:
- Australian Capital Territory – Discrimination Act 1991
- New South Wales – Anti-Discrimination Act 1977
- Northern Territory – Anti-Discrimination Act 1996
- Queensland – Anti-Discrimination Act 1991
- South Australia – Equal Opportunity Act 1984
- Tasmania – Anti-Discrimination Act 1998
- Victoria – Equal Opportunity Act 2010
- Western Australia – Equal Opportunity Act 1984
Australia’s Commonwealth laws and its state or territory laws largely overlap and prohibit the same types of discrimination. Employers must comply with both federal and local laws in their state or territory, because both apply.
Benefits of employee diversity and inclusion
Several McKinsey studies have shown that companies with more racial, ethnic and gender diversity recorded above-average turnovers in their industries, and vice versa. So, there’s clearly a strong business case for diversity in the workplace.
Importantly, employee inclusion benefits not only the employer, but also the employees themselves. Let’s see how:
New impulses
Hiring employees who are all similar may make for a quiet life, but can lead to a homogenous workforce that lacks new impulses. Hiring candidates who can bring something new to the business will add to your corporate culture and can lead to innovative ideas and new creative approaches.
More business opportunities
A diverse range of cultures within the workplace can help you tackle the different nuances in today’s global marketplace. If your organisation does a lot of business with French companies, for example, an employee who can speak fluent French or has a French background is a real asset and can improve your business relationships with customers, suppliers and partners. Naturally, this will open up new business opportunities and strengthen your existing partnerships.
Positive brand reputation
Being known as an inclusive employer sends a clear signal to the outside world. Companies with a diverse workforce are often perceived as better employers, which will greatly enhance your brand reputation. What’s more, jobseekers nowadays want employers who are not only accepting and tolerant of all backgrounds, but also treat their employees fairly. So, if you are that employer, you’ll be highly regarded by potential new hires, partners and customers alike.
A more varied talent pool
If you pursue an open-minded, inclusive recruitment policy, you’ll naturally have access to a much larger talent pool. Being open to hiring suitable staff from any country, culture, race, sexual orientation or educational background makes it more likely that you’ll attract top talents in their fields. This can give you the edge over your competitors.
Related: How Hiring For ‘Culture Add’ Can Help Your Business Outshine the Rest
Hiring for diversity and inclusion best practices
There are a number of best practices you can implement in your company to improve your hiring for diversity. Some are more immediate than others, but they will all help you become a more diverse employer.
Analyse your hiring process
An important first step is to look at your recruitment process. Does it favour applicants from certain universities or geographical locations, for example? Do your recruitment stats show a tendency towards hiring more applicants of a certain gender or race than others?
If you take a step back and look at these figures as objectively as possible, you’ll get an indication of how inclusive your hiring process currently is and where there might be room for improvement.
Review your job ads
You may have inadvertently geared your past job ads towards a certain demographic without realising it. So, it pays to review your past job advertisements to see if some of the language you used would have attracted only a specific demographic or experience level. If this is the case, see how you can rewrite your ads to be more inclusive in your language in order to appeal to candidates from different backgrounds.
Set inclusivity targets
Metrics are the key to accountability across all areas of the organisation. Start by setting targets – such as having a certain percentage of employees from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds or a certain race – and then set up data collection systems to monitor how you’re doing.
Alternatively, you could compare the percentages of different genders or nationalities in your market or location, and compare it to your own company’s statistics to see how you are faring. Such comparisons are ideal for uncovering any potential shortcomings or areas of improvement.
Train staff in expectations
In order to act with inclusivity in mind, your staff might need to be trained in diversity practices and your expectations. Diversity training could be provided as part of the onboarding or induction process, for example, so all staff members are on the same page and know what’s important in your organisation. In addition, HR staff and other hiring managers can be trained in non-discriminatory recruitment practices.
Ensure equal opportunities
Hiring diverse employees is a good first step. But just having the right numbers on paper isn’t everything. You also need to make sure that employees from all walks of life are given fair and equal access to development and growth opportunities, such as training or promotions. This needs to be ensured on a permanent basis and continually reviewed.
Lead by example
It’s all well and good to hire a diverse workforce, but to be truly authentic and credible as an employer, it’s essential that you have a diverse management team as well. This will show staff that you’re serious about inclusion and make them feel represented. And if the executive team is demonstrably diverse, this will also send an important message to department heads down the line and give them more confidence to recruit a diverse range of applicants.
Your approach to diversity and inclusion should be genuine and be embedded in your corporate culture. This includes the way in which your executives and staff interact with each other, and with customers, candidates and suppliers.
Offer internships
If you want to attract young, up-and-coming talent from specific backgrounds, consider getting in touch with local schools or TAFEs and offer students an internship position. This helps non-traditional applicants gain experience and may lead to permanent employment later on, saving you additional recruitment costs and helping diverse candidates to kick-start their careers.
Make accommodations
Staff from various cultural or religious backgrounds will naturally follow a host of different conventions. Check your company dress code to see if you can accommodate the practices of staff from different countries or religions. For example, you may want to ensure staff are permitted to wear headscarves or other cultural head coverings, or you may want to revise your no-visible-tattoos policy to allow cultural tattoos and body art.
Related: Tattoos in the Australian Workplace – Policies for Māori Tattoos and Other Body Art
Now that you’re aware of the issues and best practices around hiring for diversity and inclusion, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a desirable inclusive employer. This will strengthen your brand and boost your business, while giving people from traditionally underrepresented sections of society a chance to start or advance their careers – a win/win situation!
