5 Ways to Ensure Diversity in Your Hiring Practice

Does everyone who applies to your business look like you, sound like you, and maybe even want to be you? If the answer is yes, it’s time to take a closer look at your hiring practices.

Right now, we’re seeing in real time how dangerous it can be when diversity of thought, background, and experience gets eliminated; whether in government or business. While politics might not be your thing, the lesson applies directly to small business owners:

When you lose diversity, you lose innovation.

In my years as a COO, I’ve seen how diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones. They don’t just generate better ideas, they build stronger cultures, connect better with clients, and create long-term stability. And here’s the good news: you don’t need a huge budget to implement diverse hiring practices. You just need awareness and consistency.

Let’s dig into five simple ways you can make your hiring more inclusive today.

1. Write Inclusive Job Descriptions

Language shapes who applies. Avoid jargon, insider terms, or biased adjectives that unconsciously exclude great candidates. Focus instead on the skills and outcomes required for success.

Here’s a tip: before posting your job description, ask people from different generations, backgrounds, and experiences to review it. They’ll catch blind spots you can’t see on your own.

2. Broaden Where You Source Candidates

If you only post jobs on your own social media or LinkedIn, you’ll only attract people who already think like you.

Instead, post on a variety of job boards, professional associations, and community groups. Partner with women’s networks, cultural associations, or industry-specific groups that encourage diverse applicants. The wider your net, the more diverse your talent pool will be.

3. Standardize Your Interview Process

Unstructured interviews open the door to unconscious bias. To avoid that:

• Set clear, skill-based knockout criteria before reviewing resumes.

• Ask every candidate the same set of core questions.

• Use a scorecard to evaluate responses consistently.

• Offer multiple formats (written and video) so candidates with different communication styles can shine.

When the process is structured, you reduce bias and gain a clearer picture of each candidate’s abilities.

4. Diversify Your Interview Panel

No one person should ever make the hiring decision alone. A diverse interview panel helps balance out bias and gives candidates the chance to interact with different personalities, roles, and perspectives.

This not only helps you evaluate candidates more fairly, it also allows you to see how they respond to different types of people, which is crucial for team dynamics.

5. Track and Audit Your Data

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Track your applicants:

• Where are they coming from?

• What stages of the process do they reach?

• Who gets hired most often?

If you notice patterns, such as always hiring people from the same background. You’ll know where to make adjustments in sourcing or process.

Why This Matters for Your Business

When businesses eliminate diverse perspectives, they fall into “group think.” Without new ideas and fresh points of view, they lose their ability to adapt, innovate, and grow.

Diversity isn’t just a “nice-to-have.” It’s a growth strategy. The more diverse your team, the better your business will perform, because you’ll see your clients, your market, and your opportunities from multiple angles.

If you’re hiring right now, this is your chance to do better. Don’t just fill a role, build a team that reflects the diversity of the clients you serve.

Your business (and your bottom line) will thank you for it.

💡 What about you?
What’s one thing you’ve done to make your hiring process more inclusive? Share your thoughts, I’d love to hear how you’re approaching this in your business.