After recentering, Pat moved forward. "So, what do you think?"

"I hear ya, Pat." Amy replied almost dismissively.

"I know you are new to your managerial position and you probably have your own ideas for who you want to hire."

"Yea, kinda! I mean, I have some friends from school who would be a perfect fit," Amy said.

Pat understood where Amy was coming from. "That's awesome, Amy! Please have them apply! And I would like to direct our recruitment efforts to new places to provide us with the best chance of getting great talent that will make us better. To be clear, we would only hire qualified candidates who also align with our business goals, job requirements, and are a cultural fit with the company and department."

Amy tilted her head as if in thought. She could see that Pat’s passion for the subject surfaced.

"By bringing together people with different thought processes, views, life experiences, and backgrounds, organizations are better prepared to innovate which strengthens their competitive advantage. In fact, I recently read a really cool article that said that investment partners from different ethnic backgrounds have about 30% greater success rates than those of the same ethnicity."

"But you also bring up a good example of why I suggested we broaden our hiring pools. Do you have any experience with the idea of ‘groupthink’ ?"

"Groupthink? I think it was discussed in one of our manager trainings. I think it’s when a group of people focus so much on not ruffling feathers that it leads to bad decision making within the group."

"That’s right! This is yet another reason why it’s important for us to foster a hiring process that actively seeks diverse candidates. If we keep going to the same pools for talent, we risk creating a company of people who think exactly the same. I’m not just saying of the same race, but even in perspective and thought. We want diversity in such things to help get our creative juices going! We want new ways of tackling issues, right?"

Pat went on, "Also, based on your earlier comment about tokenism; our efforts to expand our hiring pools shouldn’t be viewed as a token act and in order to hire diverse people, we need diverse candidates."

"It's been proven time and again that a diverse workforce leads to a culture of innovation which directly impacts a company’s bottom line. A diverse workforce promotes diverse thinking which ultimately helps create an environment where unique ideas are born and celebrated. Imagine building a company that truly reflects its value while delivering exceptional experience to the clients and leaving them happy. "

"You know, there was a Harvard Business Review article from a few years ago saying that a team member who shared a client’s ethnicity is more likelier than another team member to understand the client. What’s more, we have to help diverse candidates and talent feel welcome, which is where the inclusion aspect comes into play. And providing the resources necessary to succeed at the workplace is where the equity concept comes in."

Amy looked interested. "Are we doing anything about inclusion and equity at our organization?"

"YES! And I would love to pick your brain on some of the ideas I've floated around. Maybe we can chat next week?"

"Sounds good," Amy said.

"Great! I will send over some articles that might be of interest to you. Let’s see how we can take some of these best practices and make them our own!"

Key Consideration:

What would you like to do next?

Would you like additional resources to learn more about why hiring from diverse talent pools is good for the workplace?

⚙ Are you a TriNet customer? Learn about DEI Training, click here

⚙ Want to start posting on diverse job boards, but don't know where to start? Check out Diversity Jobs.

⚙ Are you a TriNet customer? Contact Connect 360 to learn how we can help you! If you are a small to medium-size business interested in learning more about how TriNet can help with talent recruitment, please reach out.

📖 Learn more about how diversity in the workplace can help with your compliance and culture: Compliance, Culture, and Competitive Advantage: Finding Opportunities with Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

📖 Learn more about the business case for diversity in the workplace from World Economic Forum: The business case for diversity in the workplace is now overwhelming. Or check out the resources outlined from Catalyst: The Business Case for D&I: Ask Catalyst Express. Or learn more about some of the financial returns from investing in diversity in the workplace from McKinsey & Company’s: Why diversity matters

📖 Learn more about how diversity can help reduce groupthink: Why Workplace Diversity Diminishes Groupthink And How Millennials Are Helping

📖 Learn more about how a diverse workforce can help with innovation,: How Diversity Can Drive Innovation

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