Matrix > Toolkit: Recruitment and Promotion > Reform and Indigenise Recruitment Processes
Reform and Indigenise Recruitment Processes
Here you will find examples and case studies of how other employers have reformed recruitment to bring in a more diverse range of candidates, and what the priority actions should be for any organisation to do the same.
Contents
Eliminating bias from recruitment processes - checklist
Some highlights are summarised on this page.
Each vacancy is an opportunity for you to take a fresh look at your job scope and description and clarify what is (and isn’t) required. It’s the perfect time to reconsider your job scope to identify what skills and experiences you may be missing in the role, team, and agency/entity, and think about what you may need in the future.
Base your job scope and description on the skills required for the role. Look beyond qualifications and/ or length of time in paid work and consider experience outside of paid work. This is a more equitable approach to employment and will reduce economic and social barriers. For example, a candidate may not have paid work experience but has developed relevant skills from working in their local marae or church. We recommend referring to Te Orowaru, a bias-free work assessment tool which has been designed for the Aotearoa context and is framed around the requirements of the Equal Pay Act 1972. Te Orowaru focuses on skills, responsibilities and effort required by the work.
Avoid fitting the job scope or description to a stereotype of who traditionally does this type of work, or who has held this role in the past.
Note the added value that cultural knowledge/intelligence, language skills, and/or international experiences could bring to the role, team, and agency/entity.
Consider what flexible options are possible for this role. Could candidates living in other parts of the country be employed? Have you considered whether the role may offer alternative employment arrangements (i.e. part-time and job sharing)? Letting people know flexible working is part of your agency/entity will attract a wider range of candidates. You can find more information in the Flexible-by-default guidance.
Involve employees, unions, and employee-led networks in reviewing processes for scoping jobs and developing job descriptions. For example, have a small working group of diverse peoples review your current job scoping and descriptions and see whether it resonates with them. They can also pick up on any barriers that you might have missed. See Kia Toipoto case study summaries.
Remove unnecessary skills or requirements from the job description and job advertisement. For instance, think of removing a requirement for a driver’s licence if the job does not involve driving. This is a barrier for those who do not drive, people living with disabilities and new migrants. Remove reference to non-essential qualifications, and instead refer to the skills and knowledge needed (e.g. “a sound knowledge of xyz gained through education, paid and/or unpaid work, mahi aroha, in local churches, marae, or other settings”).
Explicitly state that overseas experiences and qualifications are valid, unless the role requires a New Zealand qualification, such as a professional registration.
Ensure that the result of the work assessment informs the whole recruitment process, so that the job description, personal specification, advertisement, selection criteria etc. are consistent.
See also the full Kia Toipoto Action Plan guidance on improving workforce and leadership representation p.16-18 for a good summary of specific short, medium and long-term responses to low diversity in recruitment, including when:
Recommendations from Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry for employers
Make sure ethnic data collection covers contractors as well as employees.
Disclose the pay bands for jobs when advertised.
Refrain from asking about previous salaries during the recruitment process and remove confidentiality clauses from employment agreements.
Review and improve recruitment and progression policies to ensure they mitigate against bias and discrimination such as by implementing a blind CV process, ensuring recruitment panels have diverse representation, and rejecting non-diverse candidate lists internally and from third parties and recruitment agencies.
Implement a policy for suppliers that commit to furthering equality; for example, by prioritising Pacific-owned suppliers or suppliers committed to workplace equality.
Click here to download full report and list - Voices of Pacific Peoples: Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry.
Expand recruitment reach, including with support and partnerships
Kia Toipoto Case Study Summaries
The Police: Taking an intersectional approach and being data-driven in diversifying recruitment
“Tāne Māori were being recruited above their population level, but wāhine Māori were not. Police rolled out the Puhikura campaign, developed by wāhine Māori for wāhine Māori. This campaign includes online advertising and specific events held in communities across the country.”
“Police collect diversity information at application, enabling a review of success rates of different groups at each stage of the recruitment process… Taking this approach, Police can show that the chance of an applicant being selected is no longer affected by gender or ethnicity. Police will continue to monitor for potential bias in the process. Since 2017, Police have been recruiting at levels never seen before even in the tight labour market, which has been achieved largely due to enlarging their potential pool of recruits to previously underrecruited groups.”
Stats NZ: New templates and tools to relaunch recruitment
Stats NZ overhauled its recruitment processes with the help of a DiversityWorks audit. Including:
Redesigned application template: “Their existing job ad template focused a lot on the organisation and demanded a list of 'must-haves'. To make job advertisements more inclusive, the template was redesigned to focus on the candidate and to encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. Candidates were encouraged to include non-work information, transferable skills and experience, community involvement, or anything else they consider relevant.”
Redesigned landing page for job applications to focus on inclusivity.
Implemented a new ‘Screening Matrix’ for hiring managers to help them make decisions that are free of bias.
Department of Internal Affairs: Focus on Pasifika recruitment and progression
They identified that their Pacific people are clustered in lower-paying jobs and have a significantly lower average salary compared to other ethnic groups, and made the following changes:
Reviewed recruitment guides, flagging for managers where bias can affect decisions
Developed and ran locally relevant unconscious bias workshops for managers
Diversified places where jobs were advertised
Held face to face talanoa session with Auckland Pacific staff, leading to:
Physical changes to the interview room/ environment (e.g. using a round instead of a square table);
Offering interview questions to candidates pre-interview;
Option to start/finish the interview with karakia, prayer, or waiata;
For internal candidates who weren’t successful, offering them learning and training opportunities (e.g. shadowing and secondments);
Feedback template was created to help managers give meaningful feedback to unsuccessful applicants, including identifying potential development opportunities for internal applicants;
The creation of a successful Pacific Career Broker role focused on supporting progression and advising managers on better recruitment practices.
More examples
See the Uptempo employer landscape report for examples of workforce intermediaries in practice, partnering for recruitment and for internal transformation. Click here to download Uptempo Employer Landscape Report (see page 11).
See TSI social procurement for employment equity evidence brief for how they fit into a social value approach. Click here to download TSI Social Procurement for Employment Equity.
Retention - is it working?
Improving recruitment is not meaningful if Māori and Pasifika staff are not retained. The Kia Toipoto Action Plan (see page 19) notes reasons for low retention, as well as the overall changes needed to improve retention.
Employees from underrepresented groups leave or do not return due to:
feeling under-valued;
lack of recognition of their cultural skills or contribution;
lack of ability to make a difference for their communities;
dissatisfaction with organisational culture, including low cultural competence, and/or experiencing bias and discrimination;
poor working conditions;
wanting higher pay, or for larger or better-paid roles.
This includes employees who do not return after a career break.
It is important to make Māori and Pasifika staff retention a key target alongside improving recruitment. Click here for more on how to include and measure wellbeing and retention as key indicators of success in organisational culture.