Oddly enough you have more control with the staff who you have hired than the staff that you “inherited”. Having a good diverse group reporting to you can make your job and ultimately your life easier. You need good people who can help you achieve your budget and department or group performance standards. Start by evaluating your hiring process:
- Does your recruiting and hiring process help or hinder your abilities to find a diverse workforce at all levels?
- Are you applying the concept of diversity to its fullest extent (gender, ethnicity, generational, cultural, lifestyle, etc.)? The components of ethnic background and culture are not the same thing.
- Are you using diversity to reflect your community, your customer base or both?
- What is your diversity scorecard now?
When evaluating your company’s process look, at the basics. First, do you have a system in place to recruit and hire a quality workforce or do you just “fly by the seat of your pants”?
- Do you have clear objectives as to the diversity issues to be achieved including career progression?
- Do you know where this diverse workforce is and how to attract them?
- How much of your current workforce (if any) reflects the recruits you’re trying to attract?
- What are your current practices in regards to using educational systems/institutions?
- What’s your level of involvement in civic, community or professional associations where your targeted recruits can be found?
However, by evaluating the hiring process before you begin, your objectives will be clearer and the process of recruiting diverse candidates will go smoother in the future.