How to recruit more inclusively

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Inclusion means actively involving and respecting people from different backgrounds. It is important to take this into account when recruiting new employees.

We listed a few things that enable you to recruit more inclusively.

Priority to skills and competence

You can reach a more diverse range of job seekers when your primary focus in recruitment is on describing the skills and competence required for the job.

  • Define the job description clearly. In the job advertisement, describe the skills and competence that are the most relevant to the open position. For example, not all jobs require quick-witted and extroverted employees; sometimes it is more important to be precise and have the energy to manage routine tasks.
  • Anonymous recruitment helps you prevent the impact of prejudices and attitudes, including unconscious ones, and allows you to focus your attention primarily on the job seeker’s competence. In anonymous recruitment, job seekers omit any personal information not related to their competence or the qualification requirements for the task they are applying for. This information includes name, gender, age and ethnic background.

Inclusion in job advertisements

If you wish to receive job applications from people from different backgrounds, you can express this in various ways in the job advertisement.

  • If you want to give a job opportunity to a person for whom it is not easy to find employment, tell them that the work can be done part-time or that the work could also be suitable for a person with more specific work ability.
  • Pay attention to the language and any images used in the job advertisement. Drawing up the job advertisement in English, for example, in addition to Finnish and Swedish will also help you better reach job seekers who do not have full competence in Finnish or Swedish. Also pay attention to word choices and consider whether they equally encourage all kinds of job seekers to apply for the job.
  • Include information on the accessibility of the workplace in the job advertisement and on the organisation’s website.
  • Consider adding a diversity clause to the job advertisement. The clause allows your organisation to demonstrate that it appreciates diversity and encourages members of different minority groups and under-represented groups to apply for the job.
  • Openness about payment increases pay transparency. Bring up information about the salary or pay range at an early stage in the recruitment process so that the job seeker will not have to separately ask about the matter.

After reviewing job applications

When receiving job applications from people with different backgrounds, inviting them to job interviews and making recruitment decisions, you should take the following into account.

  • Remember that the CVs of young people, chronically ill people and persons with disabilities, for example, may contain little work experience and other activities or the related history may include gaps. This is normal and should not affect the selection of an employee too much.
  • A structured interview, i.e. a form interview, may be useful in some situations. In a structured interview, the job seeker fills in a form containing questions and ready-made response alternatives.
  • You will get concrete evidence of the job seeker’s competence and skills when you ask them to provide work samples or, for example, arrange a work simulation in which the job seeker’s aim is to manage situations that mimic actual routine tasks of the applied position.
  • For example, adjustments to working hours, tasks and the working environment enable work for job seekers with limitations related to work. However, the adjustments must be reasonable for you as the employer, for example in terms of costs. You can receive support for making arrangements for the work adjustments from the TE Office.

This list is partly based on a presentation that career and organisation psychologist, career counsellor and recruiter Päivi Montgomery held during the Työmaailman parannusviikko event on 10 September 2024.

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Mer information

How to promote diversity in recruitment? (ttl.fi)