The Role of Diversity and Inclusion in IT Recruiting

requestDev Media

Inclusive Hiring

Talent Diversity

Updated February 28, 2024•6 min read

Nowadays, IT organizations going beyond just hiring tech professionals. They seem to look for new perspectives people with different backgrounds can offer, all for improving the quality of their products or services.

Since many IT companies shift from the usual 9 to 5 into a more flexible work model, the recruiting purposes and processes change as well. Despite popular opinion, soft skills matter in the tech industry. Moreover, they help to better transform business objectives into IT solutions. 🛠️

In this context, people with different backgrounds, and therefore, perspectives offer indispensable expertise that can facilitate a better connection to your target audience.

In this article, we uncover why diversity and inclusion are important, why following the diversity and inclusion path can benefit your company, and the actionable steps for how to make your company or work environment more inclusive. 🌈

Why diversity and inclusion are important for tech companies

DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity), which you’ve probably already heard of, might be more important for your company than you think.

Statistically, people leave their positions because of unsupportive and unappreciative work environments, and common biases according to the book “Women in Tech: The Facts”. This tendency, of course, is not limited to women only. We see that the motivation for leaving the workplace can be much deeper than just searching for a better pay grade

Workers seek to feel accepted and included at their workplace; they seek for a company that sees the value of different life paths.

It leads us to a pretty straightforward answer to why DEI is important: an organization that ignores implementing practices to create an inclusive environment can miss out on professionals who contribute value to its products or services. But it is not the only reason why you should focus on being inclusive.

Creating a diverse and inclusive workspace also fosters motivation. Such a work environment encourages people to share their unique insights and utilize their skills. Of course, for a company’s workers to stay motivated there should be a combination of inclusive principles and in-team management. But, overall, within such conditions, employees are more likely to stay engaged, sometimes also for the sake of expanding their personal horizons.

If we look at it from a business perspective, a diverse team of professionals is more likely to cover the needs of your diverse target audience or customer base. Inclusion is not only about corporate ethics but also about the success of your organization.

In short, when you go into the DEI, you get a win-win situation both for your workers and your business. 🏆

How your company саn benefit from a more inclusive work environment

Now, if we cut to the chase of why you should consider being more inclusive, here are the opportunities DEI opens for your company:

Bigger talent tool 👀

Diversity hints “broader talent pool”. When employers don’t go beyond their usual recruiting strategies, the talent pool is unlikely to expand. And that means there’s a real chance of missing out on truly talented individuals.

Limiting your recruiting criteria is quite different from being concrete about what you’re looking for in your potential employee. There’s truly no gain in ruling out people based on their gender, race, cultural background, or any other related factor, but there’s every reason to create a corporate culture where every perspective is celebrated.

Reaching global audience 🌎

Technology in many aspects is global. As a business, you probably would want your product to be used by as many people as possible. Having a diverse team of professionals can help you achieve this goal.

Aiming to create more inclusivity within your workspace ensures that your tech solutions resonate with users worldwide, which promotes the visibility of your brand.

Innovations 🚀

In the IT industry, innovation is what will make your company stand out. There are a lot of IT solutions out there, and recreating products won’t grasp the attention of tech enthusiasts.

Having diverse teams across your corporate structure can help tremendously in coming up with something novel and fresh to develop. Complex challenges need new ways of overcoming them, and diverse ways of thinking can assist in succeeding throughout this journey.

Ethical responsibility ❤️

People seek work-life balance; it’s not just about “work until you die” anymore if it ever was. But work-life balance implies that the “life” part is added to the “work” body.

Being committed to creating an inclusive environment enhances the benefits for all people involved in your company’s functioning. Moreover, advocating against societal injustice by reducing bias means that you’re doing more than just ensuring that your business succeeds - it’s about making the world a kinder place.

5 strategies to promote more diversity and inclusivity within your company

Now, there are actionable steps you can take to ensure that the space you creating for your workers is inclusive enough:

1. Expand and depersonalize your job descriptions to fit a bigger audience 📝

Recruiting process that’s aimed at diversity is the first step toward inclusivity. It can imply an easy-to-understand format (yes, even for a tech position), including describing the skills you’re looking for in an accessible way. Simplifying your job descriptions opens a gateway to a wider talent pool, which can potentially make up a diverse team of professionals.

You can consider removing the requirement for candidates to share their personal information. It can help recruiters and HR managers to avoid being biased, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Also, consider reevaluating the importance of a degree. People come from different backgrounds, and some of them might’ve not had the means to pay for college or attend one. A person can be self-taught, but brilliant in terms of their way of problem-solving and the skills they’ve cultivated.

2. Create a work environment where people feel appreciated and respected 🤝

This is a problem employees face in many firms. Feeling like your work and effort are not valued will demotivate workers and can make them feel unappreciated.

The key approach here is respect, which is at the core of inclusion. Inclusivity in practice is about taking into account concerns that employees might have and making an effort to eliminate them for the comfort of workers. It is through actions that you can show how inclusive and considerate you and your company are.

3. Take into consideration the needs of every worker 💁

Having a diverse team of professionals brings about some responsibility. We recommend being considerate of other people’s needs and lifestyles.

If people have pets, consider making a workplace pet-friendly; if we talking about single parents, consider creating a dedicated room for children to play while a parent is working (not everyone can afford a nanny); if there are people with a physical disability, consider offering them a remote position; if there are religious people within your team, consider giving them a dedicated time and place to pray.

At the end of the day, it is important to try to make as many people as possible appreciated. It will positively reflect on their work. And it is through the dedication of every person that your company will succeed.

4. Minimize the importance of a hierarchy 👥

When we bring the concepts of diversity and inclusion, it is important to allow every worker to openly share their opinion without feeling like they don’t have the right to do so.

You can try changing people responsible for leading a project once in a while so that they get a chance to fulfil their leader potential.

Also, consider rewarding each team member equally no matter their position.

5. Measure your DEI 📊

Diversity, equity, and inclusion can be vague concepts, and you may have a hard time visualizing them in practice.

To avoid any confusion on that part, set goals you can measure and track throughout the recruiting process, for example. And hold team members accountable for keeping up with diversity and inclusion principles.