How to create a more inclusive hiring process

Creating a diverse team and implementing inclusive hiring practices are crucial components of any company. You may have heard this before, but why is it so vital?

Having a diverse team brings new perspectives and ideas to the table, fostering innovation and inclusivity. A team of individuals from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences can offer a broader range of insights and approaches to problem-solving. This variety of perspectives can lead to more creative and effective solutions to challenges as individuals draw on their unique knowledge and experiences. 

Embracing diversity in design has far-reaching benefits for employees and the organisation. It supports efforts to create more inclusive products.

Inclusive design is not a checklist of principles. It’s about designing with a diverse team from the start so that many perspectives are considered, and many barriers are removed before they even exist.

This definition from Kat Holmes's book Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design perfectly explains the pivotal role of inclusive teams in driving inclusive design practices.

However, creating a diverse team and establishing inclusive practices isn't simple, especially as part of a large organisation. Let’s explore together five strategies for creating a more inclusive hiring process.

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1. Blind screening

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Most recruitment systems allow hiding candidates' names and surnames to eliminate unconscious bias. 

Sometimes, we don’t realise that we make assumptions about people simply based on where they have worked or studied and their given names.

So, eliminating some of this information can support a fairer and more inclusive hiring.

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Unfortunately, Some of the software out there do not work as expected, and you are often at the mercy of technology. For example, some won’t hide names on CVs if in certain formats, and this can add loads of complexity for us when reviewing candidates.

However, I am sure the tech will follow if more hiring managers require these features!

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2. Streamlined process

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Asking candidates to go through many stages, jump futile hurdles, and do work for free doesn't provide the best candidate experience. That’s just a fact!

Some individuals may not have the time or mental capacity to dedicate to multiple stages, especially when applying for several jobs simultaneously. Recognising this issue is the first step in creating a more empathetic and inclusive hiring process.

In my experience, a three-stage process seems to be the soft spot. This is my current approach:

The first stage involves an internal recruiter asking a set of straightforward questions defined by the design team to vet all candidates.

The second stage involves a few design, product and tech team members engaging in informal conversations with candidates about design, education, and experience.

The third one is a presentation of the candidate’s work to evaluate the candidate’s technical skills.

Could we potentially combine the last two into one stage? I haven’t tried it, but it could be an option.

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3. Interview questions, in advance

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Interviews shouldn’t be conducted to catch anyone unprepared but simply to determine whether the candidate has the right experience and mindset to do the job. Interviews should be honest and seamless.

In the latest round of interviews, I decided to provide candidates with the interview questions in advance. This helped to support neurodivergent candidates and created  a better experience for all candidates.

When you go into a meeting, you already have context. Why wouldn’t you have that in an interview? 

The feedback from all candidates was astonishingly positive, and I didn’t feel like it jeopardised the quality of the interview process. I thought it allowed me to have deeper conversations with candidates.

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4. No tasks, please!

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Asking candidates to spend hours on tasks didn't align with our company values, and it shouldn’t align with your company values either. Therefore, I eliminated design tasks from the interview process. 

I never asked people to complete large tasks in the past, and I created company-agnostic tasks that focused on thought processes rather than clear visuals. However, I could have evaluated technical skills differently and removed this step altogether.

Alternatively, candidates were asked to bring a project they were working on and present it from their Figma file to the interview. The focus was not just on perfect visuals but more on the thought process and how they solved complex challenges.

This proved to be a better way to evaluate candidates and better understand how people work, organise their work, and collaborate with other team members.

Seeing the behind-the-scenes of a Figma File is invaluable. It provides insight into people’s design practices and helps us understand whether they are the right candidate for the job.

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5. Fair scoring

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I created a matrix to score candidates fairly and to ensure I was hiring the right person for the job. I didn’t want to hire just someone I connected with but who ticked the right boxes regarding design and product thinking.

I also introduced a blind scoring system to ensure we didn’t influence each other after the interview by discussing what we liked and didn’t like about the candidate.

So, everyone on the interview panel went to the matrix sheet and added their scores separately. Then, we revealed them and discussed whether or not the candidate fit the position. This made a significant difference in evaluating candidates, and it felt fairer than other methodologies we explored in the past.

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Beyond hiring

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The hiring process is pivotal in creating a culture that fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, you can’t stop at the initial stage of someone's journey with your company. I found it essential to carry on the effort with everything we do at work, from meetings to activities to socials.

This is why we started discussing inclusion and belonging as essential factors in the culture we wanted to create in the team.

We didn’t just want someone to join the team to tick a box; we wanted someone to feel a sense of belonging, participate in the company's life the way they wanted, and contribute to creating, enhancing, and evolving the culture.

The term "belonging" felt necessary to ensure we were always looking into new ways to get together as a team and to foster a culture that doesn’t benefit a small group of individuals but grows and evolves with everyone who joins the company.

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