I have seen many well-intentioned leaders and organizations go to great lengths to build robust, diverse candidate pools, and then struggle to objectively hire the strongest candidate. The result is stagnant teams and mediocre results.

As a leader, surrounding yourself with the best team is the linchpin to success. According to Gartner, diverse and inclusive teams can boost performance by 50% compared to relatively homogeneous teams. Both an inclusive environment and diversity are essential, and it starts with getting the hiring right. 

Here are 7 inclusive hiring practices to increase diversity within your team: 

1. Review the list of job qualifications. Are all of them essential? Are you looking for someone who is just like you or the rest of the team? If this is the case, you’re destined to miss out on the value that comes from diverse experiences and ideas.

2. Assemble diverse, cross functional interviewers considering multiple demographics such as: gender, race, ethnicity, age, geographic and national cultures.

3. Ensure the interviewers are aligned on the top attributes, capabilities, and experiences for success in the role before interviews begin. This ensures that everyone is assessing candidates against the same criteria.

4. Form interview pairs. Both interviewers who are together may hear something different, even when in the same interview.

5. As the interview ends, ask the candidate, “What have we not spoken about that you want us to know about you?” This gives the candidate an opportunity to cover anything that hasn’t been said or clarify a previous point.

6. Be intentional about the debrief process, setting expectations for candor and respectful, robust dialogue. Assign at least two bias champions to listen for unconscious bias in the debrief discussion. Having more than one will increase the likelihood of bias champions speaking up and being heard. Debrief around the pre-aligned attributes, capabilities, and experiences. This will keep the conversation focused on success criteria. Ask for specific examples to flesh out bias. When comments are made like, “I don’t think this individual will be a good fit,” get curious and seek more information. This is a good prompt to discuss the idea of culture fit vs culture add for incremental value from different backgrounds and experiences that don’t already exist in the team.

7. Finish strong by asking for feedback on what worked and what could have been better. This could be part of the conversation when making an offer to the top candidate. They may be impressed by your humble mindset of learning and continuous improvement. 

A leader is only as good as the team who surrounds them. Leveling up performance happens through objectively choosing diverse team members and creating an environment for everyone to be their best. The next time you’re hiring, I invite you to integrate some or all of these inclusive hiring practices and notice the impact. Like anything new, it might feel clunky at first. Adjust and try a few more times to see what brings value for you. Good leadership is inclusive leadership. 

WaveLeader: One who thrives in adversity, change and the unknown. A WaveLeader surrounds themself with others who are different than them to continuously learn and level up.