Benefits of inclusive hiring: Why diversity is a competitive advantage

2 mins, 24 secs read time

What comes to mind when you think about inclusive hiring? Some people conflate it with making an unqualified “token” hire for the sake of it. They also might usually focus on factors that categorize people into specific groups like race, gender, age, cultural background and similar demographic designations. We should, however, expand what we know beyond checking off specific boxes, and view inclusive hiring as a competitive advantage.

Benefits of inclusive hiring

No matter what is happening in the world today or regressive opinions on “DE&I,” one thing is true – inclusive hiring can give your business a great competitive edge. Here are a few reasons companies continue to prioritize workplace diversity.

Access to a wider talent pool: By adopting inclusive hiring practices, businesses can attract a broader and more diverse range of candidates. This expands the talent pool beyond traditional networks, increasing the chances of finding highly qualified individuals with unique skills and experiences that might have otherwise been overlooked. You’re still picking the best candidate, but you have more qualified options to choose from.

Attract candidates (and get them to stay): People are drawn to companies that show they value diversity and inclusion. Less diverse environments can also be hostile for those who feel they don’t fit in. When people feel cared about and see that their peers are cared about, they stay – and they refer others.

Improve innovation and employee and financial performance: Ethnically diverse companies are much more likely to outperform their peers, according to a McKinsey study. Additionally, according to a Josh Bersin study, highly inclusive organizations generate 2.3x more cash flow per employee, 1.4x more revenue and are 120% more capable of meeting financial targets . Inclusivity = revenue. Those are definitely stats that can’t be ignored.

By building inclusive and supportive workplace cultures where diverse leaders and allies are truly heard, companies can chart a path towards impact beyond financial performance.
– McKinsey, Diversity matters even more: The case for holistic impact report

Extend your market: The internet has brought the world closer together, but a diverse workplace allows you to access this vast array of knowledge in real time. Your org has an opportunity to effectively market to a larger group of customers.

Not everyone may see the value of inclusive hiring, and that’s okay. You can use it to your advantage for stronger decision-making, creativity, engagement and financial performance. If you’re interested in getting ahead of the competition, look into recruitment tools like Greenhouse that can help mitigate bias in hiring and enable your team to make objective, data-based hiring decisions.

So, if you’d like your organization to improve retention, spark creativity, attract top performers, increase revenue and be all-around better, you know what to do.

If you’re ready to get started, check out these 10 tips to kick off your diversity recruitment initiative.

Check out the tips