Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job sites, today released new data,1 revealing greater resources are expected to be devoted towards improving a lack of diversity over the coming year. One in three (35 percent) hiring decision makers expect to increase investment in diversity and inclusion efforts and only three percent expect it to decrease; the remainder are continuing to invest at the same levels. The report, conducted among 750 hiring decision makers (those in recruitment, HR and responsible for hiring) in the U.S. and UK, also finds that job candidate demographics are one of the most important recruiting metrics to hiring decision makers.
“In today’s era of the informed candidate, job seekers are hungry for as much information about a company as possible before they take a job. Job seekers want insights into what businesses are doing to build a workforce that is diverse in all aspects of the word be it age, gender, ethnicity or thought,” said Carmel Galvin, chief human resources officer of Glassdoor. “Driving toward greater diversity in the workplace is a high priority effort for many businesses. With increased investment in diversity and inclusion programmes, it signals that employers are recognising the value these efforts are having on recruiting and on financial performance.”2
Investment in Diversity & Inclusion Impacts Recruiting Efforts
The report also shows recruiting is less effective when companies do not invest in diversity and inclusion programmes. Nearly three in five (59 percent) hiring decision makers report that a lack of investment in diversity and inclusion is a barrier or challenge their organisation faces in attracting and hiring quality candidates. Candidate demographics are a highly important measure of recruiting success. In fact, the costs a company incurs for generating applicants and securing a hire are the only two measures of recruiting success more important than candidate demographics, according to hiring decision makers. They report candidate demographics are more important than recruiting data points like: how long it takes to fill a role; how long it takes to deliver a job offer; and the success a company has in converting job seekers to applicants, and applicants to hires.
Information on diversity and inclusion efforts can help sway candidates. Nearly one in five (18 percent) of those surveyed report that diversity and inclusion initiatives are among the top elements that have the greatest influence on a candidate’s decision to join their organisation.
“The opportunity today for employers is to highlight and leverage their company’s diversity and inclusion efforts by enabling their recruiters, employees and others to speak about it online and off so that job seekers can gain access to this valuable information where and when they need it,” added Galvin.
Improvement in Diversity & Inclusion Efforts Can Help Make Recruiting More Efficient
While only one in four (28 percent) are optimistic that they will make more progress towards achieving their diversity and inclusion goals in the next 12 months, the benefits of achieving those goals can be quite fruitful. Of this group, more than half (52 percent) responded that they expect the quality of hire to improve compared to 20 percent that expect quality of hire to worsen. Plus, of the hiring decision-makers that responded that diversity and inclusion will improve over the next year, they also reported that they felt six times more likely to convert applicants to quality hires.
In addition, not having a diversity and inclusion focus could be costly to more than just a company’s recruiting funnel. Ten percent of hiring decision-makers believe employees will voluntarily leave their organisation in the next 12 months as a result of no diversity and inclusion programmes.
To learn more about what defines informed candidates and the value of an informed candidate for recruiting and business, please visit Glassdoor’s informed candidate research.
To learn more about your company’s candidate demographics on Glassdoor, visit the Glassdoor Employer Center by accessing a Free Employer Account.
