Diversity Benchmarks: Take an Active Role in Building a More Diverse Workforce

It’s no secret that diversity hiring efforts take, well, a lot of effort. 

Every organization has a different starting point. Yet, very few Talent teams know how and where to even begin. 

To make things harder, there is little to no public information on where most companies are with diversity initiatives. This lack of insight leaves many recruiters, especially those just beginning their DEI programs, wondering: where do I start? How does my pipeline compare? What are competitors doing? What’s a reasonable goal? And how fast can I make an impact to build more diverse teams?

That’s where Diversity Benchmarks comes in. With the new feature, recruiters now have a tool to compare their top-of-funnel pipelines with companies of similar sizes and industries. By doing so, you can finally answer your burning questions, confidently set clear goals, and move the needle on diversity hiring. 

Spot (and fix) gaps early

Diversity Benchmarks gives recruiters like you a bird’s-eye view of how diverse your top-of-funnel is and where your gaps are—grouped by ethnicity and gender. Maybe you need more female representation. Maybe it’s more Black and LatinX representation. With a holistic view of where your strengths and weaknesses are, you can spot issues in real-time and redirect resources as needed to tackle the most critical opportunities.

Once you have an understanding of where your gaps are, you can take immediate action within Untapped's Diversity Analytics dashboard. Simply click on “start sourcing” to instantly build a more diverse pipeline from our shared talent pool. Or, if you already have great representation for a specific group, review applicants directly in Untapped and move them along the hiring process. Your candidate activities, updates, and actions will automatically sync to your ATS through our bi-directional integration.

Understand your top-of-funnel relative to like-companies ‍

One of the biggest challenges recruiters face is gathering the data they need. But let’s say you’re one of the few unicorns who knows every metric about your pipeline and performance. What now? 

Thoroughly understanding your own performance can only get you so far. Do you know if your pipeline distribution makes you the leader in the market? Or is it below standard compared to your competitors and companies in the space? 

Benchmarking provides perspective on what’s considered a “good” diverse top-of-funnel, and can be instrumental to measuring what’s achievable. You’ll be able to compare your pipeline representation with companies in similar industries and sizes to determine what’s optimal for your specific organization.

Prove that talent IS there ‍

One of the most pervasive myths in recruiting is that talent isn’t out there. This misconception affects every industry and company. 

Take Wells Fargo as an example. In a memo announcing Wells Fargo’s diversity initiatives back in June, Charles Scharf said, “While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of black talent to recruit from.”
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What's most concerning about his statement is that the problem isn’t a lack of talent. The problem is that opportunity isn’t evenly distributed. In other words, just because organizations aren’t currently finding specific groups of talent doesn’t mean they’re not out there. With Diversity Benchmarks, you can mitigate these false assumptions and excuses to show that companies are finding talent—and prove that talent is there. 

Instead of giving up on diversity hiring due to the “lack of talent”, consider what needs to change internally. It’s up to you and your team to re-evaluate existing processes, keep sourcing, and build the quality of relationships that attract underrepresented talent to your company as a favorable employer.

Confidently set expectations and hiring goals

As a recruiter, you know far too well the importance of setting clear expectations on what’s achievable and what’s not with internal stakeholders. Yet, it’s often natural to subjectively evaluate what hiring goals should be. But know this—data drives everything.

Even if you have a hypothesis, it’s important to back that up with data so that your internal teams can have a conversation and collectively collaborate on where the data is leading you. Even if you know you have a gap in a specific area, make sure you’re aligned on what kind of talent you need versus what type of talent you think you need. And the best way to do this is through data.  

Use Diversity Benchmarks to understand how far off your top-of-funnel pipeline is from your peers’ and what’s achievable to set realistic goals. It’s okay if you don’t build an organization that’s representative of the general population overnight. You still have to celebrate the small wins along the way because they ultimately turn into the larger wins.

Don't wait until the end of the quarter to realize you’ve overcommitted and set the wrong KPIs.  Instead, proactively set expectations with data and continuously make progress to hit every diversity hiring goal. 

Monitor performance in real-time without manual effort

If you’re using spreadsheets to track your top-of-funnel—or worse, not tracking at all, you’re not alone. But when you’re accountable to hit DE&I goals that you’ve made verbal commitments to, real-time data is key. 

Why? Because if you don’t look at the data and pinpoint the actual issues as they come up, you could be causing more harm than good. Benchmarking allows recruiters to take an active role in building a more diverse workforce.  
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With the new Diversity Benchmarks, recruiters can now benchmark your pipeline against companies of similar sizes and industries. You’ll be able to understand what’s possible, prioritize improvement opportunities, and ultimately, move the needle on diversity hiring.

Diversity Benchmarks is offered as part of Untapped's Diversity Analytics product. With Diversity Analytics, you can block out the noise to reliably identify and fix diversity gaps on an ongoing basis. 
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Stop wasting time, energy, and money. Instead, set yourself up for continuous improvement to effectively hire a more diverse workforce—faster.