Within 25 years, people of color are projected to be a majority in the United States. As this key demographic rapidly expands, businesses of all sizes across America are realizing the need to hire diverse talent in order to develop products, services, and experiences for a changing population. Further, research shows that companies that have more diverse workforces outperform and out-innovate those that don’t. According to a 2018 McKinsey report, companies in the top-quartile for workforce diversity are 33% more likely to financially outperform their less diverse counterparts.
A Data-Driven Approach to Hiring More Diverse Talent
Lessons from the Professional Golfers’ Association of America.
December 10, 2019
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Summary.
There are plenty of reasons companies should strive to be more diverse: to develop products, services, and experiences for a changing population in the U.S., for example, or to outperform or out-innovate competitors. But many companies aren’t sure how to go from wanting to be more inclusive to actually hiring employees from underrepresented groups. The PGA of America was in this position and, in collaboration with the career advancement platform Jopwell, uncovered several strategies to start their efforts. First, they collected data. This is important because many people anecdotally have a hunch about what the barriers are, but gathering actual data points motivates, validates, or disproves current strategies. Second, they took action on that data. This meant improving accessibility to its available job openings; increasing awareness of the organization among underrepresented communities; and creating systems of accountability so diverse job-seekers move through the application funnel.