Five Strategies To Improve Your DEI Talent Sourcing

What Is Talent Development? 

Talent Development or Talent Acquisition is the process of identifying, hiring, and retaining valuable employees. 

What Is DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) In Recruitment/Sourcing? 

DEI in recruitment is the effort made by recruiters to not allow internal biases and prejudices to affect a candidate’s chance of being hired. 

Internal biases can affect hiring in subtle ways. For example, resumes with white-sounding names are twice more likely to be invited to interview and hired than those with black or foreign-sounding names. 

Strategies To Improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) For Talent Management and Talent Sourcing Acquisition

Why Is DEI In Hiring Important? 

DEI is important to today’s candidates. A 2019 Yello survey reports that 70% of employees consider leaving their employer if they don’t support diversity. Promoting a culture of inclusivity at your organization can help you find and retain valuable talent by becoming a place where everyone feels comfortable. 

A lack of diversity can also cost you money. According to Business Insider “US companies are leaving $1.05 trillion dollars on the table by not being more inclusive.” DEI hiring not only makes sense for improving company culture, it makes business sense as well. 

What Strategies Can You Use To Increase Your DEI During Sourcing? 

When creating a talent pool you should: 

  1. Get executive buy-in. Creating a pool of talented, diverse talent is hard work. This hard work will be wasted if minority candidates don’t have a real chance of being hired because you lack executive support.
  2. Target colleges and universities that have a diverse student body. Attending career fairs and speaking at higher ed organizations that have a well represented student body can help your company get more diverse talent pools.  
  3. Make sure your website clearly states your company’s mission to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity. Your careers page should describe the efforts your organization makes to helping minorities feel comfortable and safe. 
  4. Be aware that if you have only one minority in your hiring pool, studies show that statistically their chances of being hired are almost zero percent. Harvard Business Review expounds on this by explaining that being the only minority candidate “highlights how different they are from the norm. Deviating from the norm can be risky for decision-makers, as people tend to ostracize people who are different from the group.”
  5. Define what successful DEI hiring means for you and your organization. Outline what goals you have for making DEI a priority in your company culture, hiring, and retention efforts. 

What Challenges Do DEI Sourcing And Talent Acquisition Leaders Face? 

Companies may struggle with DEI because the work environment is not friendly to minorities. To mitigate this problem, you can require DEI training such as this LinkedIn course on unconscious bias or have a DEI expert come speak at your company.

Another barrier talent acquisitors face is retaining minority workers they already employ. Frequent training on being a safe place for minorites to work is essential to ensuring they feel comfortable and appreciated. Make sure that HR complaints of racism, sexism, and prejudice are taken seriously and dealt with swiftly. Consider asking your minority employees what things stood out to them during the recruitment process and what things could be improved. Becoming a safe place for minorities to work is an essential part of DEI sourcing and employee retention.