91视频

Companies today need to have a diverse workforce to connect with their clients and communities. Recruiting a diverse workforce and then retaining that talent is critical to success.

Many companies seek outside help when it comes to recruiting and hiring employees.

鈥淓xpress Employment Professionals helps coach the client companies we work with on human resources best practices,鈥� said Sheena Karami, director of corporate communications and public relations. 鈥淲e serve as a consultant, helping educate our clients on current human resources and equal opportunity laws related to their company size. Regulations vary based on company size, so having our expertise to help navigate their recruiting needs is vital to the success of a company.鈥�

Bettye Taylor, managing director for Express Employment Professionals in downtown Oklahoma City, said, 鈥淚鈥檓 still approached by client companies who ask for a candidate with qualities that do not relate to the necessity of the position. I鈥檓 still amazed at how many companies aren鈥檛 up to date on what they can or can鈥檛 say to applicants 鈥� during the process. It鈥檚 usually on the smaller business level when companies don鈥檛 have their own internal HR professional. Of course, it鈥檚 not intentional behavior; it鈥檚 merely a lack of knowledge. That鈥檚 where Express helps fill the gap. Change is hard, and we work to educate and make that process easy to understand.鈥�

Specifically, where can a company go to recruit for diversity?

鈥淭here are so many organizations that are national that you can tap into and connect with that can help you with the pulse of the area that you are in, and also help with the recruiting efforts,鈥� said Josefina Bonilla, founder and president of Color Magazine and chief diversity officer for 91视频.

鈥淩ecruiting a diverse workforce starts with being intentional about your recruitment plan,鈥� said Risha Grant, founder and CEO of Risha Grant LLC, a diversity consulting and communications firm based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 鈥淔irst, develop a plan that includes goals about diverse recruitment 鈥� it should include reaching out to historically black colleges and universities, diverse organizations at colleges and universities such as Hispanic, LGBT, African-American and Asian-American groups. There will also be organizations for women, black fraternities and sororities, among others. The idea here is to intentionally go outside of your usual recruitment efforts. You can also join networking groups that are diverse or disseminate information to those groups about open positions at your company.鈥�

Recruitment is only part of the battle.

鈥淭he retention is a huge piece,鈥� Bonilla said. 鈥淵ou can spend lots of money on recruiting; you can get top talent. But if you bring them in the door, and then you don鈥檛 help provide an inclusive environment for them to be able to thrive in, then no one is going to want to stay.鈥�

To retain employees, companies are encouraged to focus on areas such as growth and development, engagement, and fostering a feeling of acceptance.

鈥淔irst and foremost, make sure that your company is creating a culture of inclusion,鈥� Grant said. 鈥淓veryone needs to feel they are a part of the process for the company鈥檚 success strategy. Another vitally important tip is to allow people to show up authentically, meaning when an employee can bring who they are fully to work, you receive the best they have to offer.鈥�

Growth and development is a vast domain and includes areas such as training, succession plans, and feedback. Grant suggests some ways to encourage development would be to build a mentorship program, promote internally and provide professional development opportunities.

To create a sense of engagement, companies have incorporated employee resource groups into their culture.

鈥淓mployee resource groups are helping employees stay in the place that they work,鈥� Bonilla said.

In these groups, employees find peers with similar interests, which helps with their sense of belonging.

鈥淩etention ultimately comes down to engagement,鈥� Karami said. 鈥淐ompanies make an investment recruiting their internal talent, and the cost of turnover or vacancies when talent chooses to leave can have a negative impact on a company鈥檚 internal morale, internal culture, and, ultimately, their bottom line.鈥�

The J.R. Simplot Co. has approximately 2,600 employees at its headquarters in Boise, Idaho, and employs more than 10,000 globally. Regarding recruitment, Raquel Sheil, director of global talent and culture, said, 鈥淲e have a university relations strategy, which is about engaging early talent, such as college students and high school students, and building brand awareness for Simplot. We have intern programs and development programs. From a diversity perspective, it鈥檚 understanding what universities and colleges have, the disciplines that are important to us at Simplot, with the functional areas and the skill sets, and then trying to understand how to reach those college students. It鈥檚 connecting to some of the minority associations 鈥� for example, women in engineering 鈥� and making sure our presence is diverse.鈥�

鈥淲e are also trying to understand where we might have gaps from a diversity perspective,鈥� Sheil said. 鈥淲e are trying to enhance programs or design new ones that really focus on a positive employee experience so that people feel that it鈥檚 an inclusive workplace, and that they can be their best self.鈥�