How to recruit a diverse and inclusive team

Our industry is not as diverse as it should be which is a social and moral concern and has financial implications as shown by the McKinsey study. Hiring people with different perspectives and backgrounds who challenge the status quo will create better digital advertising to appeal to a diverse global audience

When to use this
To increase the diversity of talent in the industry so it can do better work. Consider this at every recruitment opportunity and make it standard practise for anyone involved in the hiring process.

Things you can do

• Do and don’t interview questions – set out types of questions you should not ask and examples of those you can get information without discriminating

• Blind CVs – take all personal information off CVs before sharing with hiring managers so decisions to interview is based on experience and skill set only

• Scorecard criteria – create scoring matric for interviewers based on the requirements of the job so candidates are only assessed on whether they can “do the job”

• Diverse interview panel – in terms of gender, age and ethnicity etc, to present company as it plans to hire, and broaden perspectives when evaluating candidates

• Recruit from a diverse pool e.g. recruitment agencies with a focus on diversity, job boards outside of the industry, work with diversity schemes

• Job descriptions & language – don’t request number of years of experience or a degree and consider the gender and tonality of words used to ensure neutrality

• Include a section on every job description to encourage applications from all backgrounds and commit to it

• Unconscious Bias – understanding the importance of all stages being the same for every candidate, being aware of our natural biases and discrimination

Watch outs

• Ask recruitment agencies about their policies. Ensure they are aware and are aligned with your diversity and inclusion strategy

• Ensure recruiters share CVs with someone who can remove personal details before sharing them with hiring managers

• Hiring people known by employees – may mirror the majority of people in the company. Encourage people to network and meet those outside their circle

Longer term ideas

• Engage with future talent initiatives to encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to for roles e.g. Founders4Scools, Princes Trust internships, Media Trust

• Connect with schemes that support groups from different socio-economic backgrounds, neuro-diverse individuals etc looking for work