| |
Recruiting for
diversity
Purdue
University is committed to achieving a diverse workforce. Diversity is
understood broadly across many dimensions, including life experiences, work
experiences, education, talents, viewpoints, cultures, and demographic
characteristics. Diversity among the workforce has been shown to
promote improved problem solving, to increase creativity, and to result in a
“better product.”
This is the
vision underlying our commitment. But how do we
go about diversifying our workforce, and what do we need to do to make our
efforts successful? Below is a step-by-step approach to recruiting for
diversity.
 |
Find
out what your workforce looks like now. You probably already have a
good idea, and your Human Resource Services (HRS) compensation analyst can
provide you with more specific data about the demographics of your
workforce. |
|
Project your staffing needs for the next year. You will want to determine
your current turnover rate, identify needs for new positions, and
estimate how many positions may become available through retirement or
other reasons. |
|
Review your job descriptions with Employment and Compensation to make sure
the requirements for education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities
are realistic. |
|
Consider where you will find applicants for your position. Do you
need to look locally? The local labor market is the most likely
source for filling clerical and service positions. On the other
hand, if you anticipate having a high-profile position, you may want to do
a regional or national search. Your recruiter can help determine the
appropriate area to focus on. |
|
What
professional or trade organizations do people in your workforce belong to?
Your recruiter can contact these organizations to find out about posting
your openings on their Web sites. |
|
For
specific, hard-to-fill positions, your recruiter can provide sourcing
services. Recruiters using this technique seek out qualified people
not actively looking for work and then contact them about your position. |
|
Work
with Purdue Marketing Communications and/or a vendor to make sure your Web
site and your promotional literature reflect your commitment to diversity.
Often, job applicants want to see evidence that there is a culture that
supports diversity before they will be willing to take a position. |
|
HRS
keeps an extensive list of annual job fairs. If
you need relatively inexperienced, entry-level applicants, it may be
useful for your recruiter to attend specific job fairs at colleges and
universities. This approach takes time and is not as useful for
positions requiring experienced professionals. |
|
HRS
can provide supervisors and business professionals with techniques and
tools they can use at professional meetings and conferences to network and seek out
potential job applicants. |
Evaluating recruiting efforts
Ongoing evaluation of recruiting efforts is needed to determine the
usefulness of various techniques and strategies, provide some level of
costing information, identify potential barriers, and demonstrate progress.
The report may include a summary diversity recruiting activities and an
assessment of movement toward a more diverse staff.
In
addition to looking at hires, it will be important to monitor our retention
rates. For a diversity initiative to be successful, the organization needs
to take steps to develop a cultural climate that encourages diversity.
Steps in this direction include specific sensitivity and diversity training
designed to help people adjust to changing workforce dynamics. In addition,
it is important to build in support structures, such as mentoring programs,
to help the new hires have a successful work experience. HRS and the Office of the Vice President for Human Relations
offer resources to help you develop these kinds of programs.
If you
have questions, please contact Employment and Compensation at 49-40097.
-
Deb Turner
Employment and Compensation
|
