When we conduct a recruitment review, we analyse careers page story-telling and imagery, hiring channels, shortlisting decisions, interview guides and onboarding practices. The goal is to reduce unconscious biases that can inhibit the diversity of who applies for roles and who is selected. The upshot is recruitment decisions that are genuinely fair and objective.
There’s new evidence showing that information about an organisation (conveyed through an organisation’s website about diversity as well as independent websites where current and former employees share their opinions about an organisation) has a clear impact on who applies. MIT Management Sloan School advises hiring managers to pay more attention to the information that’s already out there about their organisation or about the open job (to attract more women applicants) and less to language used in job descriptions.
One company we’ve recently advised is Transurban. Here’s what Maggie Partsi, Transurban’s Diversity and Inclusion Lead, said about the value of our review of their entire recruitment approach with a diversity and inclusion lens.
Q: You recently refreshed your Careers website to help reach a broader candidate pool. Can you share three changes you made and why they were important?
Maggie: ‘We created three new pages to reflect information that prospective candidates couldn’t already find online. This includes an overview of our Benefits, Diversity & Inclusion, and our Values. We included a range of media, such as imagery and video, to make sure we weren’t just saying who we are and what we do but showing it.
‘We showcased a variety of employees to provide a range of diverse perspectives. We wanted to give candidates a glimpse into what life at Transurban is really like, so that if they do decide to apply for a role or proceed to an interview, they are armed with all the information they need to set them up for success.’
Q: Why is this important to Transurban?
Maggie: ‘Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our business, and we strive to create an environment where everyone belongs. Being transparent about our benefits, values, and diversity and inclusion initiatives is extremely important to us. It enables us to share our day-to-day work-lives and inspiring employee stories with those who are interested in learning more about the business and what a career at Transurban could look like for them.’
Q: How did working with Diversity Partners add value to your recruitment review process?
Maggie: ‘Working with Diversity Partners enabled us to get a thorough, independent, best practice perspective of our recruitment approach from a diversity and inclusion lens, including internal policy, data collection, candidate experience, recruitment marketing and more, with practical recommendations we could implement quickly.’
If you would like a conversation with us about reviewing your organisation’s recruitment approach, please contact us at info@diversitypartners.com.au. You may also like to read our recent blog on recruitment practices that support neuro-diverse talent.
Transurban’s website:
https://careers.transurban.com/our-values/diversity-and-inclusion
