Attraction
Attraction refers to how an organisation communicates with their potential applicants to attract suitable candidates for a job vacancy. The attraction channels selected by the employer should inform jobseekers about the organisation and how the vacancy that’s been advertised represents an attractive employment opportunity for them.
To consistently engage, develop, progress and retain diverse talent, the messages delivered at the attraction stage need to also be explicit in communications that are used at the recruitment and progression stages.
A survey showed that BAME graduates in particular say that an interesting work package offer, a positive work environment and a workplace that aligns with their personal values are the top three diversity and inclusion factors they look for in an employer.
Recommended actions
The following actions will give you a breakdown on the tools your organisation can use to support diverse and inclusive candidate attraction.
-
Devise an appropriate candidate attraction strategy
Your organisation should ensure that recruitment is integrated with your organisational goals, and choice of candidate-attraction channel. Where you advertise your vacancies should depend on the type of vacancy and its target audience. The following channels are the most relevant and effective channels to attract ‘early careers’/graduate talent.
Your careers website
Using your organisation’s careers website to communicate with job applicants is an effective attraction channel. BAME Graduate jobseekers in particular are more likely to look for information on pay and benefits, flexible working, training and development and career-progression opportunities.
University and school-leaver communities
Recruitment fairs create a convenient environment for candidates to meet a range of employers and experience an informal interview screening process. Also, recruitment fairs are a good channel to achieve targeted recruitment, particularly if your organisation wants to encourage more applications from under-represented groups.
Social media platforms and mobile technology
Social media channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook can sometimes replace other candidate-attraction channels such as job boards, recruitment consultancies, employee referral programmes etc. Social media channels offer an immediate, two-way communication, reducing your employment process time to recruit, and can also improve the quality of your candidate pool.
A recruitment agency
Specialist agencies can be useful if want to target a diverse workforce. Always ensure that the agency is aware of their own equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy, and ask if they can provide an EDI policy to check that it has the same approach.
-
Create a good 'candidate experience' for prospective applicants
The process of engaging with candidates is often referred to as the ‘candidate experience’. As job applicants move from the application stage into the potential candidate stage, the level of engagement between prospective employees and the organisation will have a strong influence on how your applicants will view the organisation as their possible employer.
Potential candidates will also perceive their experience as positive when they can see that your organisation’s application process is open to a diverse range of applicants. Your organisation should therefore also ensure their candidate-attraction techniques do not exclude people because of their age, ethnicity, gender, religion or any other protected characteristic.
Your organisation should consider using the following methods to widen the pool of prospective candidates and attract people from under-represented groups, such as BAME graduates.
-
Use inclusive language
Job advertisements
Research shows that the language used in job adverts is often bias or exclusionary, and can deter prospective applicants from applying. This has previously been discussed in terms of gendered language – with words like ‘exhaustive,’ ‘enforcement,’ and ‘fearless’ more enticing to male applicants – and the same goes for BAME- exclusionary language; the word ‘stakeholder’ has been found to deter ethnic minority groups.
When advertising a job opportunity, it is integral to include a statement that makes clear your organisation’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Depending on the job that is being advertised, it may be appropriate to include a statement that infers your commitment to welcome applications from certain underrepresented groups, such as candidates from BAME backgrounds.
The language used in advertisements should also be inclusive and in plain English in order to welcome applicants from all backgrounds.
Incorporate representative Imagery
If images are used in adverts and any other communication channels, they need to be positive and representative of a multi-ethnic mix, different ages etc., this allows for a diverse group of applicants to initially identify and self-select as a potential candidate.
Remember images can be powerful, and also tell a story, so being inclusive within your imagery is a start, but thinking outside the box of traditional “roles” is how you really create an effective advert that not only resonates, but helps break outdated stereotypes and gets people thinking.
Adapt the person specification
When drafting the person specification, focus on the outcomes of the role by considering what skills candidates already need to possess to deliver the outcomes, and what can be acquired by training if they demonstrate potential.
Consider if the criteria can also directly or indirectly discriminate against potential applicants, and ensure that:
- Work and life experience can constitute qualities such as initiative and understanding.
- Essential qualifications do not exclude non-UK qualifications (where equivalent).
-
Position yourself as an employer of choice
Becoming an employer of choice means developing fair and attractive people management/human resources policies that will appeal to a diverse range of employees and potential candidates. This starts with promoting the following aspects of your organisation that will appeal specifically to your target group, (BAME) graduates.
Recognition and Reward
Implement recognition programmes by rewarding success with opportunities for development. You should ensure that all elements of reward and recognition, from appraisal to bonuses, reflect the racial diversity of the organisation.
Training and development
Your organisation should monitor and review the access that diverse talent has to training and development programmes and opportunities. BAME talent should be given the opportunity to access these programmes by ensuring potential is weighted as heavily as experience. Talking openly about career path choices with BAME employees will also help them understand what learning opportunities are available.
Flexible working
Increasing diversity and inclusion within your workforce, both culturally and generationally, also requires support for a greater range of flexible working arrangements and adapting organisational values to create meaning and value to work. These flexible working options should be emphasised throughout the recruitment process.
Having a brand and communications strategy that is attractive to a diverse talent pool is paramount to achieving a diverse workforce. This means that it is integral to pay attention to the language, imagery, profiles, benefits, and people programmes that your organisation incorporates within your attraction campaigns.
Your organisation should use a range of inclusive systems and processes to support candidate attraction. These processes range from capturing candidates' application details and starting an interactive communication process that should continue throughout the recruitment and selection stages.
The fundamental principles of how employers should attract the most suitable pool of candidates hasn’t changed significantly, but what has changed is the variety of communication channels that an employer (organisation) can use to attract prospective candidates, for example social networking.