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How to Encourage Diversity in Job Listings

diversity in job posting blog imageryDiversity is far more than a buzzword for modern businesses. With diversity in the U.S. growing faster than expected, gaining a pool of applicants from many backgrounds can make your team unstoppable. But first, you may need to tackle the biases in your job listings to ensure you don't drive diverse talent away.

Unconscious biases are persistent. They show up in the language, processes, and tools you use to reach and screen candidates. When left unchecked, these biases are a major reason why great teams miss out on qualified talent.

Luckily, you can make an active effort to prevent unconscious biases from seeping in. We'll explain why diversity is so crucial and offer three strategies to encourage diversity in job listings.

 

Why is Diversity Important?

Diverse companies create powerful results. In fact, diversity is directly correlated to higher profits and more creative problem-solving. You can generate 19% more revenue from innovation just by including more perspectives on your management team.

Diversity can also help you foster better relationships with clients. When your team comes from all walks of life—reflecting your client base's diversity—you can better relate to the people you serve. When you increase your customer retention by just 5%, you can achieve up to 95% higher profits.

Contrary to popular belief, great minds don't always think alike. Building a diverse workforce can help you increase your earnings while doing social good for the world. Focusing on diversity can even help you increase employee retention to avoid the massive cost of turnover: 33% of an employee's salary.

So what can you do to encourage diversity in job listings? Let's take a look at a few effective strategies that help you make your first touchpoint with potential team members count.

 

Improving Accessibility

Not all language is inclusive. To create a job listing that's inviting to a diverse group of candidates, write using plain language.

According to TorHoerman Law, avoiding jargon and other complex phrases can open up your candidate pool to people of different ages and people with different abilities. Even catchy yet obscure job titles like "marketing ninja" can deter some candidates.

Similarly, a gender-neutral language like "they" or "you" is a must for keeping your position open to both men and women. Be deliberate in your phrasing to avoid appealing to one group more than another.

Of course, accessibility is about more than the language you use. Your job application should generally be easy to follow, even with limited tech knowledge. Offering flexible interview options — such as video-based, phone-based, and in-person — can further attract low-income candidates and don't have access to certain devices or transportation.

 

Showcasing Inclusion Efforts

The majority of job seekers want to work with companies that value workplace diversity. But just because you have diverse team members doesn't mean you'll automatically attract diverse applicants. That's why it's crucial to showcase your efforts to promote inclusion, the active practice of treating all employees fairly and with respect.

Show that you can walk the walk by highlighting your diversity and inclusion strategies on your careers page or even directly on your job listing. For example, you may promote the fact that you require ongoing diversity training. If your leadership team is largely made up of people from underrepresented communities, this can be an impressive fact that shows you value diverse opinions.

Highlighting certain employee benefits on your job listings can also help you encourage diversity. For example, workplace flexibility can attract people from diverse neighborhoods and people with disabilities and parents of young children. People with medical conditions may breeze past job listings that don't mention healthcare. Flexible holidays can attract people from different cultures, who may not celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

Diversifying Your Recruitment Strategies

Diverse candidates may not be on the lookout for companies like yours. You may need to come to them. Creating job listings on niche hiring sites, like those for people with autism or women, can help you expand your applicant pool.

Your recruiters and hiring panel should be diverse, too. This way, they'll create a more inclusive screening process that doesn't filter out competent clients before the first round. The recruitee suggests encouraging diverse team members to share job listings since each of their networks will likely be different from the last.

Even with a diverse team involved, make sure your recruiters know what gaps they need to fill. This diversity strategy can ensure you're actively recruiting the right candidates for the inclusive, multi-talented organization you want to be.

 

Make Diversity Your Priority

When you want to build the most effective team for your workplace, ignoring diversity is no longer an option. Diversity is a key driver of higher revenue that can encourage both customers and employees to stay loyal to your brand in the long term.

Get the best talent in your hiring pool by creating accessible and inclusive job listings today.

Creating job listings accessible and inclusive to a wide variety of candidates can help you get the best talent in your hiring pool.

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