Don’t know where to start? Here are four ways you can make your recruitment process more accessible.

1. Avoid unconscious bias when recruiting

There are many ways to make your hiring process more accessible, but the first step is to address your own unconscious bias. Unconscious bias refers to an attitude or deep-rooted belief held subconsciously about a specific group of people. It can seep into recruitment practices and create further inequalities and disadvantages to minority groups, including people with disabilities.

To address your own unconscious bias, you must first acknowledge that it exists. Be honest with yourself and consider what type of candidates you tend to lean towards. Are they consistently from a majority group – i.e. able bodied or neurotypical people? If you tend to disregard people with disabilities – whether physical or non-physical – acknowledge this may be an unconscious bias and seek to understand why your unconscious bias exists. 

Once you’ve acknowledged your unconscious bias, work to change your thinking and actively avoid generalisations or assumptions about candidates. It’s important for recruiters to understand that in many cases, a candidate doesn’t have to be neurotypical or able-bodied to be the best fit for the job. Recognising this is the first step towards promoting diversity and inclusion in the recruitment process, as well as creating an equal playing field for people of all abilities.

2. Using inclusive language 

People with disabilities often face many disadvantages in the workforce, including when they’re applying for jobs. If the position you’re recruiting for is open to people of all abilities, it’s important to clearly indicate this in your job ad, along with necessary practical information about the role’s accessibility (i.e., wheelchair-accessible parking and/or bathrooms, internal audio induction loops, Braille labeling, ability to work from home, etc.). 

A simple line such as ‘This position is open to people of all abilities’ will help job seekers with a disability feel more comfortable applying, in turn opening your recruitment to a wider and more diverse talent pool. 

3. Posting the vacancy on hiring platforms that promote accessibility, to ensure people of all abilities can access the job ad with ease.

Some job sites and hiring platforms can be difficult to navigate for those with hearing or visual impairments, which can prevent these candidates from applying and potentially cost your organisation to miss out on great talent. 

When advertising a role, ensure all platforms are accessible to those with hearing or visual impairments. Examples include: 

• The ability to enlarge text
• Adding alt text to images
• Website text and font with a high contrast
• Video and multimedia with audio descriptions and captions
  

4. Design every step of the hiring process to be accessible for all abilities

Every step of the recruitment process should be accessible for all candidates, regardless of their ability. Make sure you communicate with the candidate in a way that is accessible to them, and ask how they would prefer to communicate with you. For example, if a candidate is hearing impaired and relies on a hearing aid or lip reading, consider opting for emails rather than phone calls. 

Similarly, when scheduling an interview, ask a candidate if they would prefer to meet in person or remotely via video call. Video calls may be preferable for candidates with a disability for a number of reasons: they take the hassle out of travel and transport for people using wheelchairs or mobility aids, while allowing those with hearing impairments to lip-read or use closed captions. 

If you’re interviewing a candidate in person, ensure the location is accessible for people with all types of mobility aids, including wheelchairs, walking sticks, crutches, or guide dogs, and avoid noisy or overcrowded locations as this can become challenging for those with hearing impairments, autism, or sensory processing disorders.

The key here is that every candidate and every person with a disability has different needs. Ask a candidate what they would like in the recruitment process and offer ways to support them with this.  

Sally McKibbin is Indeed’s Career Coach and Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging expert. Sally has over a decade’s experience in recruitment and HR. Sally’s passion lies in helping people find jobs they love.

The post Four ways to make your hiring process more accessible appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.

Sally McKibbin, Career Coach at Indeed, spoke to Recruitment Marketing Magazine about the rewards and risks of using automation in recruitment, how your talent pool may be limited, and how you can overcome these limitations. Read her insights below.

What do automation systems achieve in recruitment?

Automation systems give recruiters time back to focus on the meaningful parts of the recruitment process. These systems offload a great deal of resource-intensive and mundane tasks throughout the recruitment process and almost every stage of the hiring process can benefit from automation.

Why are recruitment professionals turning to automation? What are the benefits?

There are many reasons why recruitment professionals and organisations are turning to automation. Automation in recruitment can be really beneficial as it often speeds up the process of matching the right skills to the right job and can broaden the reach of talent by disregarding their location. It can also reduce the time spent on tasks such as CV viewing and reference checking, which increases productivity for recruiters, and results in a faster hire time for recruiter’s clients.  

Importantly, recruitment automation systems can also help to mitigate unconscious bias in the hiring process, which is crucial for diversity and inclusion in the workforce, and enhances candidate experience, by automating fast and personalised responses and always ensuring that tasks are not forgotten. 

What are the risks of using automation of recruitment?

The main risk of using automation in recruitment is taking human interaction out of the process. It’s important to find the right balance so candidates don’t feel like they are speaking to a machine throughout their job hunt. There’s also the risk of technology issues – for example, algorithms not working as they should, which can lead to unsuitable matches or end up actually limiting your talent pool. 

In what ways can automation limit your talent pool?

Designed to recognise patterns and words, automation scans a CV for key words, such as experience or education that is useful for the role. With CV screening technology, there’s a risk that recruiters are missing out on great candidates who don’t meet the ‘on paper’ requirements of a particular role. 

CV automation won’t pick up a great writer or communicator, a candidate with innovation or creativity, or a hard worker. Although a CV itself at times may not show these characteristics, recruiters will likely be able to gauge these qualities during face-to-face interviews – far more than any automation could.

What things should recruitment professionals take into consideration with their automation system to overcome limitations?

When using automation systems in recruitment, recruiters must understand the risks and limitations and carefully consider how and when they choose to use automation. 

Many jobs have hundreds of applicants, so CV automation may be a valuable way to save recruiters time and resources. In our current job market, we’re seeing far fewer job seekers apply for roles, and talent is harder than ever to find. With this in mind, it may be a great time for recruiters to consider reviewing CVs the old-fashioned way to broaden their pool of great talent and consider candidates who don’t necessarily meet the exact requirements of the role but may be hugely beneficial to the client’s team.

Sally McKibbin is Indeed’s Career Coach and Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging expert. Sally has over a decade’s experience in recruitment and HR. Sally’s passion lies in helping people find jobs they love.

The post Is CV automation limiting your talent pool? appeared first on Recruitment Marketing.