Equitable Hiring Practices: Make Sure You're Employing People Fairly

Equitable Hiring Practices: Make Sure You're Employing People Fairly

November 15th, 2022

One of the most important parts of running your business is finding the right staff. You want to hire staff members that not only have the skills necessary for your business but will also provide a good company image, represent your business well, provide a good customer experience, and will work well with your team. Practicing equitable hiring will ensure you get a well-rounded staff with people who have a variety of backgrounds, personal skills, and points of view that will help the longevity and growth of your business.

Giving Everyone a Fair Shake

Equitable hiring, sometimes called inclusive hiring, is the act of making sure your hiring process allows everyone the opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications for the positions they’re applying for. This kind of hiring not only helps ensure you have a diverse staff but also a wide range of applicants. A recent study shows that many applicants care about the diversity, equity, and inclusion practiced by employers. Not only does equitable, inclusive hiring appeal to candidates, but it’s also been shown to lead to better business results and ensure your business serves the needs of your community.

How It’s Done 

There are a number of equitable hiring practices. One important practice is to avoid relying solely on an applicant’s resume. While a resume can provide a decent amount of at-a-glance information about an applicant’s qualifications, things like personality, personal experience, and other qualities might not be immediately noticeable unless you speak with the applicant. Job skill tests are a good way of determining if an applicant can perform the duties a position carries. Another way is to use impact job descriptions. These are job descriptions that don’t focus on specific tasks and responsibilities, but on achieving specific outcomes and/or performances, which allows applicants who might not have had a specific duty at their previous job, but still achieved similar results, to qualify.  

It's important to be open to more than one application method. Recruitment-specific social media channels, such as Indeed.com and Linkedin.com, are good ways to get your job notices out to a wide range of applicants. Make sure that your recruitment process is as humanized as possible, making it easy and approachable. 

Equitability Inside and Out 

Equitable recruitment shouldn’t only occur outside the business, either. Allowing internal mobility through practices like promotion, remote work, and hybrid work will encourage your existing staff to stay with the company, as well as make your business look appealing to those applying for a job. You can also consider potential changes to your employee benefits program. While a paycheck is definitely an important factor in employee satisfaction, research shows it’s not the only priority. Among the top priorities for applicants are not only compensation but also work/life balance, flexibility in work arrangements, and opportunities to learn new, desirable skills.  

Make sure your business has a company culture that your employees will want to share with others. Word-of-mouth and reviews of your company on recruitment sites can draw or drive off candidates, so how your existing employees feel about your business, and how it does business, matters.  

Diversify Your Staff with Payroll Vault 

The hiring process can be a tricky one, with a lot of applications to go through, various channels to use for the application process, and finally, making the big decision on who to hire. Alleviate some of the hard work and stress that comes with hiring new employees with Payroll Vault. We’re a boutique-style payroll service provider that offers a range of both payroll and human resources solutions. We can help you with your recruitment process, including new hire reporting, background checks, employee handbook tools, and more. Find out more about how Payroll Vault can help your business by contacting Payroll Vault or visiting your nearest location today!