As the United States continues to roil in the aftermath of events all across the country to protest systemic racism and to support Black Lives Matter, many companies and employees struggle to find the right thing to say or do.
The pressing concerns about what to do are heightened for those in talent acquisition and other parts of HR because your jobs are entirely about other people — you are the “human” in human resources. So, you want to be at the forefront of addressing pervasive problems confronting any group of people in your organization.
We have curated a guide for TA and HR professionals that can serve as a first step. We’ve started with resources that are tailored to your roles — tips on how to source and hire talent from underrepresented groups and how to create diversity and inclusion within your organization. Then we’ve linked to sources that can help you become an ally or take action at an individual or company level.
This list barely scratches the surface, but it’s a place to start. Because we know that while it’s a time to listen carefully, it’s also a time that demands more than silence and inaction.
How to diversify your sourcing
“There just isn’t enough diverse talent out there” is never an excuse. Talent is evenly distributed; opportunity is not. Up your diversity recruitment efforts by exploring new places and new ways to find employees from underrepresented groups.
- How to Create a Diverse Talent Pipeline: 4 Tips from Shopify, PowerToFly, and Vrbo. Three experts share thoughts on how to find potential candidates from underrepresented groups.
- Diversity Sourcing Strategy: 3 LinkedIn Search Tips from Boolean Master Glen Cathey. A sourcing expert outlines three ways to use the LinkedIn platform to source women and people of color.
How to recruit and hire with diversity top of mind
TA teams can make an enormous difference in whether their companies have workforces that reflect the diversity of their customer base or the communities where they reside.
- A Diversity Hiring Platform’s CEO Shares 4 Tactics for Building More Diverse Teams. The CEO of a career advancement platform for underrepresented groups details how to improve diversity hiring.
- Why Using Data Is Your Key to Increasing Diversity, According to This Tech Leader. An African American high-tech veteran explains how to leverage data to make sure your performance evaluations aren’t biased and to reward diverse referrals.
- How a Diversity Scorecard Helps Salesforce Keep Equality Top of Mind for Its Leaders. Salesforce has developed tools that allow for an ongoing assessment of how different parts of their company are doing hiring and promoting women and people of color.
How to build diversity, inclusion, and belonging into your culture
Most companies want robust diversity — it’s the right thing to do and it elevates the bottom line. But diversity and inclusion can’t fall just on the recruiting team. It needs to be baked into everything the company does at every level.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for All. LinkedIn Learning has unlocked seven video courses (they’ll be free through August 31) that will help you understand and confront bias, communicate about topics of difference, and create change that will lead to stronger companies and communities:
7 Tactics to Bolster Diversity and Inclusion at Your Company. From the very practical (build diverse interview panels and standardize your interview questions) to the philosophical (know the business case for diversity and inclusion).
- 50+ Ideas for Cultivating Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace. Dozens of ideas, big and small (and mostly low cost), for promoting D&I.
How to practice allyship
Being an ally for your black colleagues requires humility, courage, and ongoing learning. Here are a few resources to help start:
- 5 Tips for Being an Ally. A short video (3½ minutes) that is smart and funny and makes the reality of privilege understandable for everyone.
- Guide to Allyship. An open-source guide to help you become a more effective ally.
- Be an Ally. Tips on educating yourself, being a role model, practicing accountability, and taking action.
How your company can help level the playing field
Companies can do so much — from putting some of their cash in black-owned banks to “banning the box” (getting rid of the question about previous convictions on job applications) — that will help push their country toward racial justice.
- The 10 Commitments Companies Must Make to Advance Racial Justice. An article in the Harvard Business Review calls for businesses to commit to pay equity, make Election Day a paid holiday, lobby for good, and take seven other actions.
- Corporate America: It’s Time to Stand Up Against Racism. A moving plea from the state treasurer of Connecticut for businesses in the United States to take action. Now.
- Corporate Responses to Racial Injustice. This article published on LinkedIn lists six symptoms of race-based injustices in the workplace that range from workforce demographics that don’t in any way mirror the broader community to diversity and inclusion professionals and employee resource groups being expected to remedy injustices perpetuated by managers and colleagues.
- U.S. Businesses Must Take Meaningful Action Against Racism. Two business professors share some do’s (give employees of color “the space to be angry, afraid, disenchanted, or even disengaged from work”) and don’ts (“do not rely on Black or brown people to educate you about what happened in order to justify their hurt and outrage”).
How to take action as an individual
You may feel tongue-tied or even paralyzed at times, but there is so much you can do — from educating yourself (reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching shows and films) to supporting criminal justice reforms.
- 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice. A widely circulated article with a list of actions that is primarily focused on reforms to the criminal justice system. But there are also plenty of thoughts on what to read and which businesses to support — and not. Point No. 7 stresses the need to recruit, hire, and support black employees.
- White Supremacy — Covert Versus Overt. A one-page illustration that lists racist behaviors and actions that are unacceptable (for example, hate crimes and racist jokes) and acceptable (housing discrimination and Eurocentric beauty standards).
- An Open Letter from Latinxs to Our Families (in English and Spanish). A 2016 plea to members of the Latinx community to embrace #BlackLivesMatter.
- Asian Americans Need to Talk About Anti-Blackness in Our Communities. An exploration of tensions between the Asian American and African American communities with a call to work together.
Where to donate
If you or your company would like to donate money to an organization or fund that can make a difference, here are some starting option.
National organizations:
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice.”
- The American Civil Liberties Union. The mission of the ACLU is “to realize [the] promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.” The organization has been at the forefront of every major civil rights battle of the last 100 years.
Minnesota-based organizations:
- George Floyd Memorial Fund. Organized by George’s brother, Philonise, to help the family pursue justice.
- Northside Achievement Zone. A nonprofit that promotes economic and educational advancement for people of color in North Minneapolis
To receive blog posts like this one straight in your inbox, subscribe to the blog newsletter.
Topics: Diversity
Related articles