Small businesses committed to increasing diversity within their organizations often think first of hiring, of diversifying their workforce. But what does your hiring process look like? When was the last time you assessed your interviewing and hiring processes for inclusiveness and equitable practices?

Becca Carnahan, who writes on diversity and inclusion for the Harvard Business School, offers some advice for businesses looking to attract diverse employees. The most important consideration, she notes, is to adopt a principle of inclusivity throughout the entire hiring process, from how your write your job description to the setting you choose for your virtual interviews and the way you ask questions during the interview.

For example, does your job description and job posting use gender neutral language? Do you explicitly cite your commitment to being an inclusive workplace? If you are interviewing virtually, what background are you using? What assumptions are you making about the background of your prospective hire, who is probably at home?

Assess your interviewing strategy make a point to ask questions purposefully, prioritizing capability over experience:

“Instead of asking, ‘Have you done x or y or z?’ you want to ask, ‘How would you approach doing x or y or z?’ This shift in question lets you learn someone’s capacity to think with you.”

"Inclusive language" is not another term for "politically correct." It is not simply a list of things to say or not to say. Inclusive language is a commitment to embrace people as whole beings, not simply a set of descriptors. It puts people first.

Organizations with a culture of commitment to inclusive language see better hires, and retain employees longer, because their employees feel a strong sense of belonging.

"Employees who feel like they belong at a company are 50 percent less likely to leave, according to research from BetterUp. A sense of belonging also improves the way people feel about their employers, making them 167 percent more likely to refer the company to a friend or colleague."

Six things to do when hiring:

• Craft inclusive job descriptions that welcome candidates
  
• Educate interviewers on the benefits of diverse teams to counter “just like me” bias
  
• Level the playing field during video interviews
  
• Use the same set of questions for all candidates
  
• Select questions that focus on capabilities
  
• Use work samples to assess skills equitably

Resources:
6 Best Practices to Creating Inclusive and Equitable Interviewing Processes

70 Inclusive Language Principles That Will Make You a More Successful Recruiter

Zendesk: Start Using Inclusive Language