The Evolution of DEI in PG's Hiring Process

The Evolution of DEI at PG

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is at the forefront of most companies today. For PG though, it's been imbedded in just about everything we do. From my first day, it was clear that building and sustaining a safe, inclusive working environment was the priority. There has always been an elevated awareness of fostering a culture that values speaking from the heart and giving more than you take. Most importantly we’ve been intentional about creating an organization where everyone has an opportunity to succeed regardless of who you are.

Over the years our internal DEI strategy has been refined significantly. Through our journey we’ve identified and overcome challenges with attracting and retaining talent, upskilling our teams, and creating a measurable plan to increase our impact on the community.

DEI Challenges in Hiring

Attracting and retaining diverse talent takes strategy. It’s critical to develop hiring teams that are consistent in their DEI practices throughout the entire hiring process. This includes recruiters and hiring managers. It’s equally important that your organization values DEI as part of how the business operates.  

67% of job seekers on the market say that diversity is an important factor when considering which company to join. 83% of participants in the Diversity in the Workplace Job Seeker Survey indicated that an employer's commitment to diversity is a factor in deciding whether to accept a job or not. Therefore, to reduce the risk of losing a potential good hire, everyone in the hiring process must be committed to DEI.

Leveling Up Our Game

Internal recruiters are the gatekeepers to bringing in new talent to the organization. Thus, why it was essential for us to invest in the DEI capabilities of our recruiting team. All Internal Recruiters at PG go through a Certified Diverse Recruiter certification which educates them on diverse hiring practices, diverse sourcing, and recruiting strategies. They learn how to identify and attract the most inclusive and diverse talent pool for our selection process. We’ve implemented 3 initiatives to help us find the best talent.

Artificial intelligence (AI) programs are dominating the talent world, but for Populus Group, they are a cause for concern. Although AI programs may be “faster” at sorting resumes, they have been noted by several studies to have bias. Thus, potentially disqualifying deserving candidates. We take pride in humans hiring humans. As a policy, we “flip the resume” and take into consideration a person’s unique and valuable attributes like grit, humility, and teamwork over work history or degrees earned.

This training is designed to educate the community on what bias is, and how it shows up in the workplace. It also arms each participant with the tools to mitigate the negative impact bias may have on themselves and others. Our recruiters, hiring managers, and anyone else eligible to participate in the hiring process are required to take the training. It's had a notably positive effect on both candidates and managers by alleviating potential unfairness in the process.

3. Diverse Interview Panels

We’ve evolved our interviewing process to a panel style vs. 1-on-1 between the hiring manager and candidate. With a 3:1 ratio, (with no more than 2/3 of the panel being the same race, department, or gender) we open up the opportunity for the hiring team to challenge each other's thoughts, offer perspective, and hold each other accountable for checking biases.

Our goal is to remove barriers that may prevent us from selecting great talent. By having the diverse panel part of the process it cuts down on the amount of interviews to hire, paints a clear picture of our commitment to DEI, and creates safety during the interview for the candidate.

Measuring Impact and Looking Ahead

Research shows that DEI is key to a successful organization. Companies that have diverse management teams have 19% higher revenue. Diverse companies are 1.7 times more likely to be innovative leaders in their market segments, and 85% of CEOs say that having a diverse workforce improves their bottom lines.

Our internal recruiting team has been consistent with our DEI goals set for 2023, which resulted in great success last year. We’ve been intentional about how we tap into candidates on the market, and we’ve effectively trained our hiring teams on DEI practices, thus increasing diverse talent within our organization. The feedback received from both candidates and hiring managers on the selection process, including diverse interview panels, has been overwhelmingly positive and created a pleasant experience for all.

As we progress in our DEI journey as an organization, we plan to continue collecting qualitative and quantitative data to help us evolve our strategy and find innovative ways to close gaps and reduce challenges. We have an unwavering dedication to giving everyone an opportunity to succeed.