Diversity and Inclusion Series: Hiring Managers’ 2021 Diversity and Inclusion Resolutions

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And, it’s time to make some resolutions for 2021.

And while 2020 turned out to be the Year of….So Much (in recruiting and everywhere), perhaps one of the most essential things HR departments and recruiters have realized is how crucial it is to hire for diversity and inclusion.

That said, here are seven diversity and inclusion resolutions we feel hiring managers might want to make for 2021.

1. I will always remember the importance of diversity/inclusion hiring.

Many companies started to note the importance of D&I hiring in the summer, after the killing of George Floyd and the demonstrations and riots that took place in cities across the country for several weeks/months after.

Many employers took a sincere and hard look at their hiring practices, unconscious biases, and other “less than stellar” recruiting and hiring practices and vowed to “do better.”

In fact, many businesses – including The Intersect Group – dutifully argued that hiring for D&I made great business sense. Yet, according to the Harvard Business Review, that case really hasn’t been made.

That doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if a business will be more successful if it hires a more diverse and inclusive workforce. We believe it’s simply the right thing to do because everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves in the marketplace.

2. I will keep reminding myself about how important D&I in hiring is because… as a country, we’ve been a bit “distracted” these last few weeks.

As in: presidential election, anyone?

It feels as if the November election has pretty much sucked the air out of every room. That, plus news of what appear to be highly successful vaccines on the horizon, coupled with too many people on the brink of financial disaster as 2020 ends and other IMPORTANT NEWS coming at us Every. Single. Day, has pretty much shifted our focus from hiring for D&I.

So don’t forget: keep hiring for D&I.

I will expand what I think of as “diversity and inclusion” in hiring.

Chances are, the first thing you think of when thinking of hiring for D&I is “we need to hire more women and people of color.”

That’s fine. In fact, that’s great!

But don’t forget about hiring older job candidates, members of the LBGTQ community, disabled individuals, people of different religions, and so on.

4. I will look closely into my HR policies and practices at every level.

Are you transparent about your D&I initiatives on your job listings and career boards? What about your internal practices, such as pay policies?  Do your employee benefits, perks, career trajectories, etc., really meet all employees’ needs regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and physical (dis)abilities?

I will evaluate our diversity training initiatives.

How often does your company hold diversity training sessions? What do they cover? Has the training been effective?

Remember that diversity training should be a continuous thing, not just a “one and done” session every year or so.

6. I will tie management goals with D&I goals.

A great way to get departments – and the hiring managers within them – to hire more for D&I is to link managers’ goals to how well they meet D&I goals. A good idea also might be to link compensation and bonuses to departmental (or full organizational) D&I hiring goals.

7. I will remind myself to continue – or even increase – departmental conversations on D&I.

Are you and your colleagues and manager talking about how to increase D&I in your department? Are you talking about unconscious bias in hiring? Are your conversations respectful and honest, and can employees voice their concerns about inequities they perceive with honesty and without fear of retaliation?

Make hiring for diversity & inclusion a regular part of “doing business.”

Next year will be quite busy: hiring will pick up, and RIFs probably will decline as the economy opens up as the vaccine’s get to work. It could be relatively easy to “forget” about how important hiring for diversity and inclusion is, and your focus on it could wane.

Let’s make 2021 not only the year of the world’s recovery from the pandemic, but also one where we gather more and more together – we embrace each other’s different outlooks, backgrounds, skills, and knowledge.

What are your recruiting resolutions for next year? Let us know; we’d love to hear them!