How to Make Your Recruitment More Inclusive

Every company wants “better hires,” and a strong, diverse team is at the core of innovation and success. But simply wanting diversity isn’t enough. The path to building a truly inclusive workforce starts long before the first interview—it begins with your recruitment process. Creating a welcoming, fair, and equitable hiring funnel isn’t just a corporate buzzword; it’s a strategic decision that widens your talent pool, uncovers hidden potential, and ultimately, builds a stronger and more resilient organization.

Use Inclusive Language in Your Job Ads

The words you use in a job ad can have a significant impact on who feels encouraged to apply. To cast the widest net possible, you need to audit your job descriptions for exclusionary language. This means moving beyond generic terms and avoiding gender-coded words (like “rockstar,” “ninja,” or “aggressive”). It also means clearly defining the essential skills and responsibilities rather than listing a long and often-arbitrary list of “requirements.” By using neutral, direct language that focuses on the core functions of the role, you show that you value skills and experience above all else.

The Power of Blind CV Screening

Unconscious bias is a natural part of being human, but it can create serious barriers in hiring. A powerful way to combat this is through blind CV screening. By removing identifying information such as a candidate’s name, gender, age, or university, you force a hiring manager to focus purely on the skills, qualifications, and experience listed. This practice helps ensure that candidates are judged on their merits alone, leveling the playing field and allowing you to discover top talent you might have otherwise overlooked. It’s a simple change that can have a profound impact on fairness and objectivity.

Diversify Your Hiring Panels

Once candidates move past the initial screening, the interview panel becomes the next critical point for ensuring fairness. A homogeneous hiring panel can lead to a lack of diverse perspectives and an unconscious tendency to favor candidates who are similar to the interviewers. By creating a diverse hiring panel, you introduce multiple viewpoints and reduce the likelihood of “likeability bias.” A panel with a mix of genders, backgrounds, and departments ensures that a candidate is evaluated from different angles and on a broader set of criteria, leading to a more comprehensive and impartial decision.

The transition to an inclusive recruitment process is a powerful investment in your company’s future. By taking deliberate steps to remove bias, you’re not just doing the right thing—you’re strategically improving your ability to attract and retain the best talent. These actions send a clear message: that your company values all people and is committed to building a team where diversity can flourish and innovation can thrive. For candidates, knowing what these practices are can help you identify a company that truly values inclusion.