Diversity is now a priority for fresher hiring

Organisations globally are paying more attention to diversity, equity and inclusion in their hiring strategies. Emerging technologies, the Covid-19 pandemic and social justice movements in 2020 have compelled companies across countries to lay greater emphasis on diversity. In India too, the trend of diversity in recruitment is ever-growing, more so in hiring freshers off campuses.  Diversity in a workplace is when a company employs a wide range of diverse individuals with different characteristics such as people of varying genders, age, religions, race, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, languages, education, abilities and disabilities etc. An inclusive workplace is where employees feel valued. Their differences are not just acknowledged but these differences add to the organisation’s overall culture and business outcomes. It includes groups that are underrepresented or marginalised in society and helps create an accepting culture that has a strong positive effect on individuals and the organisation.

Companies that are launching Diversity Programmes focus on developing an inclusive hiring process that not only meets the mandate and improves employer branding but also helps to attract talent from all over the country. Besides, organisations with a diverse workforce tend to financially outperform because using diverse perspectives to find solutions to business problems is likely to yield better outcomes, especially when faced with complex challenges. Employees and job seekers also consider a company’s diversity to be an important factor. A CNBC workforce survey reports that 78 per cent of employees prefer working at an organisation that prioritises diversity and inclusion. Glassdoor found that one out of every three candidates would not apply to companies that lacked a diverse workforce. Virtual hiring, remote work and untapped talent pools have emerged across the globe and driving us further towards diversity in recruitment.

In India, diversity is also making strides in campus hiring drives. Companies such as Accenture, Intel, PayPal, Cognizant, Capgemini and many more are adding a lens for diversity and inclusion in their campus recruitment programmes. This is done by sensitising their hiring managers and stressing on diversity of gender and sexual orientation while hiring from campuses for internships and full-time roles.

Listed below are three clear benefits of a culturally diverse workforce:

Builds a good talent pool

When new employees with different personalities, varied skill sets and mindsets work in a team, they develop distinct opinions, ideas and solutions. As a result, the team has a variety of ideas to choose from and can adopt different approaches to a problem. Workplace diversity also improves the conflict resolution skills of the team members and managers, leading to better overall performance.

Fosters inclusivity in the team

Diversity in campus recruitment helps new hires feel included and valued, which promotes a healthy and positive work culture. These young professionals are enthusiastic, excited and knowledgeable. They bring the unique benefits of diversity to a team, including high cultural competence and awareness. When people from different backgrounds work together, there are possibilities of building strong bonds with one another through cooperation and better communication.

Cultivates a competitive workforce

A focus on diversity in campus recruitment is the first step to building a competitive workforce. When the workforce includes people of different ethnicities, personalities, cultures, languages, races, age groups etc., it fosters a sense of competitiveness. Employees strive to perform better as they are compelled to think differently and come up with creative and innovative solutions, which, in turn, increase the team’s productivity and performance.

Closes the gap

When a campus recruitment plan is designed with the goals of hiring for diversity in mind, it seeks to remedy an existing gap of underrepresentation of certain marginalised members, communities and groups. In addition to strengthening the team with a broad range of skills and viewpoints, prioritising hiring diverse candidates is an important step towards closing these existing gaps.

Hiring for diversity has become an essential part of today’s recruitment strategy. Diversity in campus recruitment has led to an expansion of the talent pools of companies where youngsters from diverse backgrounds, values, skill sets, orientations and different cultures come together. When companies give emphasis to diversity hiring, greater innovation and higher profitability are some of the real and tangible benefits that they gain. Companies need to harness diversity in recruitment to build successful teams if they are to build and sustain an inclusive workforce that is productive, creative and competitive.