How to Get a Diverse Applicant Pool Using a DRP

As you work toward reaching your DEI goals, you may turn to diversity recruitment tools to help you attract the talent you want. However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all tools are created equally if you need to know how to get a diverse applicant pool into your hiring funnel. For example, some diversity recruiting tools have allowed companies to take a completely blind approach to hiring in the hopes that they will be able to eliminate unconscious bias by keeping applicants’ identity hidden. However, despite these good intentions, this approach has not resulted in increased representation of talent from underserved communities in the workplace.  

To increase the likelihood of hiring underrepresented talent, you need to know how to recruit underserved groups of candidates. You need a data brave approach that will inform you on exactly who is applying for your positions and how far down the hiring funnel they’re able to travel. You need a diversity recruiting platform, or DRP.

DRPs allow you to follow your progress when trying to attract talent from specific underserved groups because they collect that data directly from the candidates. People who apply for positions at your organization tell you who they are, so recruiters are not left guessing and possibly making erroneous assumptions. This way, you know the exact demographics of your applicants, which will help you determine how successful your recruiting methods have been.

In addition, data recruiting platforms allow you to evaluate your funnel on an intersectional level by looking at smaller groups of applicants. For example, in addition to determining how many Black candidates your company is attracting, you may also want to look at the intersectional group of Black women. Breaking down data in this way makes the picture of how successful your recruitment strategies have been more clear. 

Improving Your Applicant Pool

Before you can even get a DRP to work for you, you need access to a diverse applicant pool to begin with. To attract this talent, evaluate your recruiting practices from the very beginning to ensure that you’re creating an environment that is welcoming for candidates. The following are some questions you can ask yourself to determine areas where you may be able to make your applicant pool more diverse throughout each step of the hiring process.

1. Are My Sourcing Locations Effective?

Where are you looking for candidates from untapped backgrounds? Are some sourcing locations working better than others? Collect and analyze data on the effectiveness of these places to determine if you need to adjust your approach. Whether it’s a job board that targets a specific group or an event that you regularly participate in, you need to know how many candidates you’re attracting based on your efforts and try new tactics if some are not garnering the results you want. 

2. Am I Using Inclusive Language in Job Posts?

Your job posts can either get candidates interested in your company or turn them off. The language you use needs to be inclusive to project that your company values diversity and inclusion. To get the best results, create an inclusive language guide that includes best practices for talking about race, ethnicity, gender, age, and ability, and then edit job descriptions through this lens.

For example, if you want to attract more women to positions at your company, remove language from job descriptions that is considered masculine. Words like ambitious, competitive, and confident can be replaced with more feminine words like honest, loyal, and cooperative.

3. Am I Conducting Pre-Employment Assessments?

Another way to add fairness to the hiring process is by conducting pre-employment assessments that evaluate candidates based on their soft skills, industry knowledge, and personality traits. This allows talent to move through the hiring funnel based on what they bring to the table, rather than the impressions recruiters form based on irrelevant traits. 

4. Have I Standardized Interviews?

In order to ensure that unconscious bias is not creeping into the interviews you conduct, adopt a standardized process where all candidates for the same positions are asked the same interview questions and evaluated based on identical criteria. This eliminates the possibility of hiring managers asking questions influenced by their own biases, allowing candidates to be judged in an equitable way across the board.

5. Is My Company Publicizing Current Workplace Diversity?

If you have made strides toward reaching your D&I goals, you have to inform the community. Job seekers are extremely interested in working for organizations that make diversity a priority, so you have to let them know that your values align with their own. On your recruiting website, post your diversity mission statement, statistics related to the diversity of your workforce, and the benefits you offer employees from underrepresented groups. Also use your social media to put your company culture front and center, as well as outline your DEI goals and how much progress has been made toward achieving them.

If you need to know how to recruit underrepresented candidates, using a diversity recruiting platform is a great place to start. DRPs track your D&I goals so you know exactly which talent demographics are applying for positions at your company and which are not. And of course, if you don’t have talent from underrepresented groups applying to positions, you have no data to collect. That’s why DRP data goes hand in hand with reviewing your recruitment strategies, so you attract the talent you need in the first place. Remember your recruiting practices need to be handled in a holistic manner to be successful, and these tips can help you look at the bigger picture and make adjustments if necessary.