Research shows that when a company embraces diversity, it can become more innovative and competitive. These traits are especially important for tech companies as they continue to experience exponential growth, expand their applicant pool and hire more talent.
77% of people said it is very or quite important to have a diverse company.
Indeed Survey, December 2016
In a recent study, Indeed surveyed 1,002 people working for tech companies across the country to see how diversity is impacting the industry. To unpack these results and offer helpful recommendations, we asked Paul Wolfe, SVP of HR at Indeed, to share his work for creating an environment that embraces diversity and fosters an inclusive workplace.
Diversity is integral to the ecosystem of a company, it enables an organization to innovate and adapt in a fast-changing environment. Studies have also shown that a more diverse talent pool is pivotal to competitive advantage and economic success.
As a global company, we work hard to support and leverage the diversity of our workforce. We also understand that in order to attract and maintain a diverse workforce, we must ensure that we have an inclusive culture. Our Senior Leadership team is deeply committed to executing strategies and initiatives to promote inclusion and diversity within our organization.
We need to enhance our efforts in creating a more inclusive environment, so that we can attract and retain a diverse workforce. We should all be thinking about how to recruit great talent with a diversity of skills, experiences, culture, background and abilities to contribute to success of our company.
25% said their company is not taking any meaningful action.
Indeed Survey, December 2016
We are focused on developing programs that source a diverse slate of candidates. We have an experienced group of recruiters who are focused on creating an inclusive and supportive work environment.
With their help and expertise, I’ve learned that we need to implement a wide array of action plans to move the needle, which includes partnering with the right academic universities and organizations to create a diverse pipeline of talent, experimenting with how best to remove bias from job descriptions and focusing on specific populations that are underrepresented at Indeed.
Employee education is a main priority for my team. We need to enhance our efforts in creating a more inclusive environment, so that we can attract and retain a diverse workforce. We should all be thinking about how to recruit great talent with a diversity of skills, experiences, culture, background and abilities to contribute to success of our company.
This also means we need to do a better job communicating our initiatives and making people more aware of them. By getting more people involved, we can help attract more diverse employees and create a workplace where all employees are respected and valued.
Engaging in a holistic approach — from identifying conscious and unconscious biases that may exist in our talent acquisition processes to educating our hiring managers and all leaders on the benefits of a diverse workforce — is essential to creating and embracing inclusion in our overall business strategy.
Indeed partners with a number of groups that are committed to increasing workplace inclusion, including Girls Who Code, StemConnectors, Anita Borg Organization and Grace Hopper. These relationships have helped impact decision-making and success in achieving our inclusion goals, and we will continue to expand and grow this list. But we are one company in a specific corner of the tech space.
The tech industry recognizes that there’s a struggle to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce. Therefore, as employers, it’s our responsibility to make sure we have a supportive culture that’s committed to educating employees and investing in strategies to build a pipeline for the future.
Visit indeed.com/hire to start building a pipeline of diverse, high-quality candidates.
Methodology:
Survey of 1,002 U.S. tech workers currently employed (Dec. 2016)
