The Great Resignation is a Chance to Get Serious About Diversity Finding, developing and retaining diverse talent doesn't have to be a daunting task.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Companies have done a substantial amount of talking over the last 18 months about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Now their promises about hiring to reflect the population are becoming due, and leaders are getting nervous about their diversity theater being called out. Myths about a lack of qualified Black talent persist, even though they're not true. And they have served as an excuse for the leaders of large corporations to continue talking about how hard it is to diversify their workforce.
The good news is that delivering DEI doesn't have to be a Kabuki dance. When leadership gets serious about it, the tools and methods are academically proven and risk-managed, and I should know. My organization has applied them with more than 65 corporations around the globe. The so-called great resignation also provides a new impetus for leaders to get serious. Forty percent of the global workforce are considering leaving their jobs in the next year. So I have been asking leaders: Do you have systems in place to ensure not only that you get great candidates in the door to replace them, but that those candidates will be diverse enough to help you meet your DEI goals? How do you plan to convince your investors that you're serious about meeting those commitments?
Related: 4 Trackable Metrics to Move the Needle on Diversity and Inclusion ...
In many cases, I find leaders seem to be suffering under a delusion. They think they're doing everything they can to change their status quo. But they're not.
The tools and the platforms to make these changes exist. We have the data proof points to show they work. In 2005 I founded a nonprofit that recruits and trains diverse and marginalized candidates, and works with companies to fill much-needed roles. When I read the hiring numbers, I know what leaders are doing wrong: they're relying on the same tools they've always relied on to fill new roles. That means they're finding the same candidates they've always found. Incremental changes, like adding recruitment stops at Historically Black Colleges and advertising with affiliation groups, can move the needle. But if company leaders truly want to diversify their workforces, and not just by race but by socioeconomic background and experience, they need to tear up their whole recruiting playbook and throw out the image they have of the ideal candidate.
The best candidate to help you meet your business, company culture and DEI goals is out there, but they may not have worked in your industry yet, they may not have a college degree and right now they may not even have an Internet connection to look at your job ad. How can you connect with this stellar candidate? And how can you invest in doing so, safely, in a way that minimizes risk?
Related: Avoiding the Sea of Sameness: How Hiring for Culture Improves DEI
You might find your candidate in a lecture hall at their local community college, or through an event in a community organization. You may even find them at a local job fair, but it's doubtful they would come directly to your booth, because they don't know anything about your industry or how they could fit in. If you did encounter them out in the world, you'd find that they're smart and personable, but they're short on experience. And they certainly don't have training in the role you're looking to fill. This candidate is a fast learner, and after a period of training they could be one of your top performers. But they still don't have Internet access or even consistent transportation. Their partner is an essential worker so sometimes they have to watch their kids during the work day.
Things are adding up here, and as much as this candidate seems like a great person, you just don't see how it's possibly going to work. Leaders tell me their HR functions need to be efficient. Still, if you want to build a truly diverse company, you not only need this candidate, you need many more people just like them, each full of potential but facing blockers that are keeping you and them apart. What you need is a middle man and not just any middle man, but one who can help your candidate eliminate all the roadblocks that are keeping him from being able to work with you. To start, someone to find them. Then someone to train them so they're ready to join your team. Once they're on the team, someone to mentor them during their huge life transition, to help them navigate the new company culture. And someone to help them eliminate the roadblocks that could keep them from succeeding with you: to pay their Internet bill, to assist them with emergency childcare, to subsidize their transportation costs to get to work, maybe even find them an apartment and pay their rent.
When I thought about these roadblocks, I saw an exciting challenge. It's why I founded an organization to help these candidates topple these roadblocks, one-by-one. We find, train and support candidates in underserved and minority populations. We hire them, and then through partnerships with institutions like Georgia Tech, Penn State and Rutgers, we train them in certificate programs for jobs including mechanics, full-stack developers, call center and help desk support, programmers and more. We remove barriers to employment: If someone needs the Internet, we pay for it. If they need transportation, we pay for that. If someone is currently unhoused, we will find them a home and pay their rent. For all candidates, we pay 100 percent of their healthcare costs. And we do this while they are training and apprenticing with the organization until they decide to hire the candidate full-time. The retention rate of the employees we have placed is 90%. And there is no cost to employers to take on our people, full time. Better yet, their fees to our organization come in the form of tax deductible donations.
Developing talent, like we do through WOS, is one of the best ways that you can create a diverse workforce in your company. So far we've matched more than 6,000 people with more than 65 corporations in more than 60 locations around the planet.
On DEI, it's time for a little less conversation and a little more action. And we're excited to partner with leaders to make it happen.
