• 
• Training
• Consulting
• Resources
• Events
• About Us
• Store

• » Articles
• › The Official Rules for Hiring Top Talent
• › Newsletters

What You Don't Know Can Hurt You

By Jason Weseman, March 21, 2006

As I look over some of the initial results from our research study on how top diverse candidates seek out and accept new jobs, one thing jumps out at me: you get it. Across the board, from companies big and small, you know the most important reason for implementing a diversity sourcing and recruiting initiative. (By the way, if the collective you I just referred to doesn't include you, let your voice be heard by clicking here to take part in this massive web survey. You can also send me an email at jason@adlerconcepts.com and we can set up a 20-minute phone interview. Either way, you'll get a free white paper compiling all of the results and if we do a live interview, I'll give you some free advice to boot. That's a pretty sweet deal for just answering a few questions.)

Read more articles by this author.

Related Topics:

Newsletter

Related Articles:

The One Question Interview Challenge

The Secrets of Top Recruiters Finally Revealed

Rethinking College Recruiting

Now back to you getting it. One of the questions that I ask is, "In your opinion, what is the most important reason for implementing a diversity sourcing and recruiting initiative?" When I created the survey, I figured that this would be the question that gave me the widest range of responses, since every company is at a different place in their journey towards a diverse environment. I was expecting to hear something altruistic like "It's the right thing to do" or the very practical "We need to make sure that we have a large pool of candidates." However, the two-word answer that I continue to hear over and over is this: competitive advantage. Congratulations, we have a winner!

This is about the bottom line, my friends. Buying power rests in the hands of people from all walks of life, and to take advantage of this, your workforce must mirror this new and emerging marketplace. Think of the distinct advantage that you have as a company if you can utilize the knowledge of your diverse workforce to relate and market to different groups of people. You are going to need new insights and strategic thinking into how to penetrate markets that have been underserved in the past. Trust me, if you don't figure this out, your competition will. And as we have seen time and time again, it never pays to follow.

It's not all wine and roses, however. We definitely have a great deal of work to do to move from 'getting it' to 'doing it'. The study bears this out as well. When asked how you feel your corporation's rate in the area of diversity sourcing and recruiting on a scale of 1 to 10, the average answer wasn't pretty: 3.8. That isn't great, but what was even more alarming was the number of "I don't knows" that I heard. I would rather know that my company has some work to do than have no idea if we have made any progress.

So how can we improve this number while also eliminating the killer "I don't knows?" First of all, you need to promote your diversity efforts. Get the word out that you are committed to a diverse workforce through referral programs, sponsoring minority events (don't just show up!) and showcasing your success stories, then let the world be the judge on where you are at. Diverse candidates need to be shown that a company is a good place for them to work and that different styles and ways of thinking will be valued. A great first step is to build a diversity message into your careers web site. Do yourself a favor and check out your site right now, this will give you a pretty good idea if you are even in the ballgame.

As it so happens, I'm feeling generous right now, so here's another freebie. Top diverse talent want to see people that look like them in upper management roles. If I look up and see people that look like me, I can be assured that I can get there if I perform. This is what it's all about. Use performance as the standard by which you measure and evaluate employees, and communicate this when recruiting top diverse talent, and you'll hire, evaluate and promote the best. If you look around the boardroom and don't see a group of people that mirrors your marketplace, it's time for action.

First, help me help you by completing the online survey or sending me an email and joining in the diversity sourcing and recruiting research study. Then join me on our free Diversity Recruiting conference call on Tuesday, April 18th at 10:00 AM PST, where I will reveal the results of our study and an industry leader will be online to answer all of your toughest diversity questions. You'll learn how to beat your diversity recruiting goals every time while building a stronger, more competitive company. You won't be sorry.