7 Steps to Inclusive Recruitment: Do’s & Don’ts

7-Step Plan to Inclusive Recruitment: Do’s & Don’ts

TPR’s EDI guidance for pension scheme governing bodies suggests that appointing professional pension trustees can improve diversity. However, this only works if professional trustee firms are themselves diverse. And this often requires recruitment to address any diversity gaps. We set out below a 7-step plan to create an inclusive recruitment process and help you achieve a diverse workforce.

1. Prepare and (regularly) review your DE&I Policy

DO … be specific. If you want to hire more females write down how many!

DO … regularly (e.g. annually) review your policy to measure progress, using metrics such as the spider charts and litmus tests above.

DON’T … treat it as a “tick-box” exercise that is never updated.

2. Write inclusive Job Adverts

DO … think about the language you use in job ads and how it might appeal to different demographics.

DON’T … include unnecessary qualifications (e.g. if the job doesn’t require a degree, don’t say that it does!)

3. Widen your Talent Pool

DO … ask diverse colleagues to recommend other diverse candidates.

DO … use a recruitment agent to headhunt and provide diverse shortlists.

DON’T … rely on adverts placed in only one place, e.g. LinkedIn.

4. Use Blind CVs

DO … consider anonymising CVs (a recruitment agent can help you do this or even act as an unbiased ‘CV sifter’).

DON’T … ignore ‘unconscious bias’. Acknowledge it and manage it.

5. Run an inclusive Interview Process

DO … use a diverse interview panel.

DON’T … require in-person interviews at 9am for a fully-remote role!

6. Make a competitive Job Offer

DO … request Remuneration & Benefits Benchmarking from BWD.

DON’T … assume the candidate’s only motivation is money!

7. Onboarding and Feedback

DO … ask new hires for feedback on your recruitment process.

DON’T … ignore the candidate after they have accepted your offer. Recruiters can help to stop new hires “getting cold feet”.

Click on the icons for information on how BWD can help you develop an inclusive recruitment process to achieve a diverse workforce.