I have spent the past nine years recruiting for two industries that are renowned for lacking diversity – private equity and technology.  There is still a long way to go, but both industries have made a real push and have started to adopt hiring processes that encourage diversity – whether this be hiring all female associate cohorts in private equity firms or making a conscious effort to hire senior female talent at technology companies. 

This is an area I am personally passionate about.  I was the first in my family to go to university and was lucky enough to receive a university education and get a degree, which was a pre-requisite for the “entry-level” jobs I was applying to after graduation. But I genuinely believe that the softer skills I acquired from the various part time jobs I did to fund my studies are more relevant to the job I do today: teamwork, communication and problem solving.

Businesses are constantly saying to me that they are struggling to hire, particularly at entry-level.  I have heard repeatedly over the past few years the terms “war on talent” and “scarcity of talent”.   But there is a mismatch between the talent problem and the usual hiring approach: you look at the list of requirements on a job description and it narrows the field so much that it is no wonder businesses are finding it tough to fill vacancies.

Expanding the talent pool will increase the number of candidates that are available to firms – and it will also increase candidates’ diversity, which is good for social mobility and, according to a growing evidence base, is good for decision-making.

I have no doubt there are good intentions in the sector, but it is often let down by poor execution.  For example, I’ve seen many instances in which the aim of bringing in a wider profile of candidate is not backed up by an adjusted attraction and selection process. In my experience, diverse talent will take a different approach to uncover – these individuals are often less visible – and it is important to think where this talent is likely located, what are their barriers to entry and what is going to attract them (for example, more diverse hiring teams and interview panels, so that candidates can visualise working at that organisation and so that decisions are less likely to be unconsciously biased).

When well-intentioned efforts to recruit diverse talent fail, it is inevitable that managers revert to ‘tried and tested’ processes – which often result in the usual suspects being hired.   Teams will particularly tend to fall back on qualifications (specifically degrees) and relevant experience in that specific field, as opposed to focussing on skills, behaviours and attitudes.

The cost of these failed hiring processes in terms of time and money is huge.  We are missing out on talent and vacancies are going unfilled.  Using the same approach we have always used just does not work, and as the Generation report shows, the majority of businesses agree that an overhaul is needed.