Improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a top priority for companies nationwide, but many struggle with identifying results-driven strategies that will create the desired change. As a result, some have made little progress against goals despite having diversity recruitment measurements in place for years. With advances in AI techniques, TA practitioners have new opportunities to integrate data and analytics to provide better visibility into diversity recruitment. With data and analytics, you can better measure progress, identify where bias is entering the process, and prioritize targeted solutions.
Areas for diversity recruitment measurement
Tracking and analyzing candidate demographics throughout the hiring process can help companies identify where bias may be influencing diversity recruitment. Consider adding diversity recruitment measurement at these stages:
- Apply: Measure diversity in the percentages of candidates who applied for a job, which dropped off.
- Interviews and assessments: Measure diversity in the percentages of candidates that completed an assessment and were interviewed.
- Offers: Measure the percentages of diverse candidates that were presented with job offers and accepted job offers.
- Hires: Measure diversity in the candidates who were hired and were rejected.
Measuring adverse impact
Adverse impact is an essential diversity recruitment measurement for improving DEI and compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulation. The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures defines adverse impact as “a substantially different rate of selection in hiring, promotion or other employment decision which works to the disadvantage of members of a race, sex or ethnic group.” Classes legally protected from employment discrimination based on that characteristic include race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, and citizenship.
In the context of diversity recruitment measurement, one area where TA leaders can zero in on possible adverse impact is with pre-employment assessments. By combining pre-employment assessment data with protected class information, organizations can determine if members of one group score significantly higher or lower than other groups. If a protected group score lower by a certain margin, this gap could indicate the assessment is having an adverse impact on a particular class of candidates. Adverse impact is not necessarily illegal if the selection process itself predicts performance and meets professional standards. However, organizations should eliminate adverse impact whenever possible to support diversity recruitment and promote a fair hiring process.
Top-of-funnel diversity recruitment measurement
TA leaders can track recruitment marketing data to understand the diversity of their applicant pool better. The allocation of campaigns or resources directed for diverse hiring may need to be adjusted if the organization isn’t meeting DEI goals. TA leaders can also measure sourcing channel effectiveness with diversity recruitment. Based on this data, TA teams may need to expand their outreach to different events, social and professional networks, geographic locations and more to increase applicant diversity at the top of the funnel.
Insights into the candidate experience
Measuring and comparing the average hiring experience satisfaction rates of diverse and non-diverse candidates can also provide essential insights for diversity recruitment. New research indicates job seekers use referrals nearly as much as company websites and job boards to find new job opportunities, and word-of-mouth about a poor hiring experience can cause diverse sourcing channels to dry up. Diversity recruitment measurement of the candidate experience can be as straightforward as a survey with a single question, “How likely are you to refer colleagues or friends to work at this organization?”.
These are some of the essential diversity recruitment measurements TA teams can implement to improve DEI. Taking a talent analytics approach that integrates these measurements can yield the data-driven strategies TA leaders need to transform diversity recruitment and hiring. Learn about how future-forward organizations are using a talent analytics framework to bring diverse, highly qualified candidates into their workforce in this new Aptitude Research white paper, Redefining Success: Talent Analytics for the Future.