Employees want to feel included, appreciated and valued. The top 2 barriers to diversity and inclusion in the workplace are

• staffing and recruitment policies and practices
• the level of workplace accommodations and accessibility

A workplace that embraces equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI) and accessibility can

• foster innovation
• build healthy employer-employee relationships
• attract and retain talented employees
• increase overall job satisfaction and morale
• reduce absenteeism rates
• enhance employee performance

One way to create this type of workplace is by removing barriers in recruitment to access a diverse range of talented candidates. Here are some quick and easy tips on how to practice barrier-free recruitment to build your workforce.

• Offer flexible interview options. Flexible interview options make it easier for candidates who face barriers to in-person interviews. Offer online and in-person options for interviews. Ensure the in-person space is quiet and private to avoid distractions.
• Provide interview questions in advance. Providing questions in advance is a great way to eliminate many barriers in the interview process. Many job seekers have difficulty interviewing. This could be due to
  • nerves and anxiety
  • a disability
  • mental health challenges
  • language barriers
  • literacy challenges

Candidates will be more confident and provide more thoughtful answers when they can prepare ahead of time.

• Offer accommodations Mention that you offer accommodations in your application. Offer candidates the option to take advantage of accommodations on the application and in the interview. Make it clear that expressing a need for accommodations won’t hinder their application.  Give some examples of potential accommodations to help your candidate feel more comfortable expressing a need. Examples can include:
  • submitting an audio or video resume (rather than only paper resumes)
  • providing more time to complete tasks or answer questions
  • presenting questions in different formats (example: written, read out loud)
  • conducting virtual interviews

• Only ask for necessary information. Avoid bias by removing certain personal information from the application process.  When possible, avoid asking for the candidate’s
  • age
  • race
  • gender identity
  • nationality
  • disability status

This way you will consider only what’s important – the candidate’s skills and experience.

• Use structured interviews Research shows that structured interviews are less biased and better reflect a candidate’s suitability for the role.  This includes
  • developing interview questions ahead of time
  • including situational interview questions that relate to the position (for example, ask the candidate how they’ve done something in the past or how they’d respond to a situation)
  • sticking to the questions that you’ve planned
  • using the same interview questions for all candidates – if you want to know more, you can ask the applicant for more detail

You can download a standardized interview question template developed by the YWCA Hamilton. Remember to edit the template to include questions relevant to your workplace.

• Use a predetermined scoring system. Using a predetermined scoring system creates an equal playing field to evaluate candidates. This is a great way to avoid bias and assess each candidate based on the same criteria. Be sure to weigh items by importance (important items should be measured higher than less important ones). Everyone on the hiring panel should fill out a scoring sheet for each candidate they interview.

You can download a standardized interview evaluation tip sheet developed by the YWCA Hamilton.

You can download an interview question and scoring sheet template developed by Reach Volunteering. Remember to edit this template to include your own interview questions.

• Consider your hiring panel. Be thoughtful about who interviews applicants. Consider a panel of 2-3 individuals who reflect your stance on inclusion, and the community you live in. Be mindful of tokenism*.  Don’t expand your hiring panels just so you can say you did it. When a candidate sees themselves reflected in your staff, they’re more likely to feel connected with your business. Some businesses might have difficulty with this because they don’t have a diverse workforce. These practices can help you build diversity in your workforce. This will make expanding your hiring panels much easier.

* Tokenism means doing something only to appear inclusive. For example, a business is participating in tokenism if they put their only female-identifying employee on the hiring panel, but they don’t seek out female-identifying candidates in the hiring process. This business is trying to appear inclusive, but isn’t inclusive in their hiring practices or workforce.

Watch a short video on avoiding tokenism in the workplace.

Watch a video series on engaging the Indigenous Community in your hiring practices and workplace.