Recruiting and retaining the right team is arguably the most important process in any company — having a diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial to a company’s success. Not to mention, every single employee benefits from having a good hiring and interviewing process. But to assess the best candidate for a job, employees must have proper training. 

Hiring and interview training helps employers make sure they are asking the right questions and evaluating candidates objectively. It also ensures that you avoid making hiring decisions based on unconscious bias. This blog will tell you why inclusive hiring is important, which mistakes we commonly make during the process, and how we can have an effective hiring and interviewing system. 

Why is inclusive hiring and interviewing training important? 

There are plenty of reasons why inclusive hiring and interviewing training is important, so we bet at least one of them will persuade you of its importance! First, it’s an essential part of building a strong team. It provides valuable, transferable skills that can be leveraged by everyone on the team, regardless of their role. While not everyone may lead an interview right away, the skills learned through training can be applied to other work areas, such as asking better questions and thinking strategically. This is useful when working on projects or with stakeholders and can potentially lead to better outcomes and more successful projects. 

Uncovering biases is another important skill that can be learned through hiring and interviewing training, especially because we all have biases we need to work on. By understanding the biases that may exist in these processes, team members can work to eliminate them and create a more inclusive workplace. This can lead to better collaboration and a more positive work environment.

If, for some inconceivable reason, having a positive, effective work environment isn’t for you, then you might be interested to know that inclusive hiring is actually a legal requirement in the UK. The 2010 Equality Act protects candidates from discrimination during the recruitment process — failure to comply can result in fines for any company in breach of the regulations.

But that’s not all! Here’s even more evidence for why inclusive hiring is so important: 

• It’s fair: inclusive hiring levels the playing field against discrimination; it should go without saying that this is incredibly important! 
• It makes employees happy: employees work better if they feel included in an enjoyable, accessible work environment. On top of that, talented potential employees judge you during the hiring process as much as you judge them — and GenZ and millennial workers actively seek out companies with a greater commitment to diversity 
• It makes financial sense: diverse workplaces are demonstrably more profitable. Research by McKinsey shows that teams with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives lead to more effective decision-making, helping companies better understand and serve their diverse customers. Not to mention that ethnically and gender-diverse teams have more than a 25% higher chance of outperforming industry peers on profitability! 
• It helps with innovation: as GoodCourse shows in our Inclusive Interviewing micro-learning course, diverse talent interrupts groupthink, spurs innovation, leading to new clients and skills. It’s crucial in the long run: inclusive hiring is important not only for attracting talent but also for retaining it 

What mistakes do we commonly make when hiring and interviewing? 

Although your hiring process might seem effective, we often make mistakes without even realising it. For example, we might make decisions based on unconscious bias. This is where we make subconscious assumptions based on stereotypes without meaning to. These ideas might be formed during our upbringing or through our education or relationships and need to be unlearned. Otherwise, we’ll recruit people like us, failing to challenge the norm and missing out on opportunities. 

An example of this would be assuming what a disabled person’s limitations are without either asking them first or trying to understand their lived experience. What’s more, you might spend so long trying to work out their limitations that you fail to prioritise creating an accessible work environment that allows all employees to be the best they can be. 

How can we have an inclusive hiring and interviewing process? 

It may seem intimidating, but remember, having an inclusive hiring and interviewing process is essential to your company’s success. Here are seven steps to ensuring your process is effective:

1. Define what diversity and inclusion mean for your organisation
2. Write inclusive job descriptions, paying attention to the language you use
3. Make your career website accessible
4. Ensure that a commitment to inclusion is part of your brand
5. Establish diverse, well-trained interview panels
6. Measure your inclusive hiring practices, for example by tracking the longevity of your employees
7. Provide employees with vertical and horizontal career opportunities through an internal hiring process

Providing the education and resources needed for your team to succeed is a great way to create an inclusive and well-thought-out interview and hiring process. At GoodCourse, we have created holistic and specific training so that every team member, whether a manager or non-manager, can learn and hone the art of interviewing and hiring. To find out more, get in touch today.