An organization is only as good as its culture—and building that culture is not only a role for HR, it’s every manager’s and employee’s responsibility. As today’s headlines prove, an inclusive work environment is not just nice-to-have, it can make or break a company. You can help make your organization a more supportive and engaging place to work by understanding the perceptual, institutional, and psychological processes that impact the ways people interact with each other. To build a truly aware and inclusive work culture, start with employee engagement, then identify unconscious bias and specific diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.
Companies with more inclusive business cultures and policies see a 59% increase in innovation and 37% better assessment of consumer interest and demand (International Labour Organization). Employees with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives bring new ideas that help companies better understand and serve their customers, who come from a variety of backgrounds and have different needs and preferences themselves. Moreover, a diverse workforce that is inclusive and equitable will generate loyal employees, increase job satisfaction, and attract and retain top talent.
How Executive Recruiters Contribute
While hiring managers have a strong desire to enhance their diversity and inclusion efforts, those tasked with recruiting a leadership team often struggle with where to begin. The competition for top people is as steep as ever. As is the incentive for building workplaces around diversity, equity, and inclusion. After all, it’s people at the core of innovation and inclusive groups that tend to yield better results.
Executive search firms are used by organizations to find top-level candidates for mission-critical positions that are vacant or need to be upgraded. These high-level executive recruiters commit to fully understanding both the functional responsibilities of the position and the cultural environment of the client.
As outside contractors, these executive search professionals are not biased toward existing employees or networks, helping to diversify the pool of potential candidates. Additionally, because of the consultative nature of executive search, executive recruiters act as talent advisors, making recommendations to ensure the entire hiring process is inclusive and equitable from start to finish.
- Provide a diverse pool of candidates
Executive recruiters look beyond traditional recruitment channels and have exclusive networks in diverse communities and organizations, allowing them to attract a wider pool of candidates. Furthermore, recruiters take the time to understand the function of each position and can help ensure that job descriptions and qualifications are inclusive and nondiscriminatory.
- Screen for cultural fit
Using competency-based behavioral interviews, executive search firms identify candidates who are not only qualified for the position, but also a cultural fit for the organization. Because competency-based interview questions are centered around specific abilities that align with each company, the candidate’s past behavior responses shed light on intrinsic attitudes, ensuring personal values and company values are compatible for a long-term fit.
- Facilitate an inclusive and equitable interview process
Executive recruiters are trained to tailor their interview style to each unique candidate, ensuring that all candidates are given an equal opportunity to showcase their skills and qualifications. This builds trust, allowing the candidate to feel comfortable contributing their unique perspective, which results in a more insightful, effective interview for both parties.
- Offer post-placement support
Executive search firms offer post-placement support, such as coordinating onboarding programs to help new hires feel welcome, introductions to key stakeholders, and regular post-hire check ins with the client and executive placement to ensure continued success.
How Torch Group Can Help with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Torch Group is a retained executive search firm that partners with clients and becomes an extension of their organizations. As talent advisors, Torch Group can help define your recruiting strategies and have proven they can execute searches that deliver diverse, equitable, and inclusive candidate slates.
To learn about our search services, please contact Susan Acker, VP, SR. Account Manager at sacker@torchgroup.com or 203-536-2249 or complete and submit this form and let us know how we can help.