Canopy Strategic Partners works closely with key client leadership when conducting executive search engagements to identify, assess, evaluate, and recruit not only the most qualified leader but one who we know can best succeed within your organization and community. In doing so, we aim to move through the recruiting process in an unbiased manner. As we strive toward this goal, we found the following webinar very informative and hope you will as well.
Introduction:
“An organization’s culture is only as strong as its commitment to its workforce, and as public gardens start to create a culture of inclusivity, we need to learn how to support our new workforce. How can we attract and hire diverse candidates to open positions? More importantly, how do we ensure we are creating supportive environments for the people we hire?” –APGA
Panelists:
- Kevina Devereaux, Senior Director for Social Responsibility & Inclusion, Desert Botanic Garden
- Ivana Lopez Espinosa, DEI Manager at Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum
- MaryLynn Mack, Chief Operating Officer of South Coast Botanic Garden
- Toshi Yano, Managing Director of Earth Equity at the Perfect Earth Project
Takeaways:
Job Position Posting
- Review job requirements – do you need higher education or college degrees to do the job? If not, remove as could be a barrier to applicants.
- Examine wants vs. needs.
- Is diversity being reflected on the job posting page?
- Examine your recruiting/HR web page messaging to the public.
- Is it welcoming or exclusive? If it’s too “polished”, that puts up a wall to the applicants.
- Don’t use subjective descriptors.
- Does it need to be bilingual?
- Be transparent – add the salary in the job position prior to the end of the interview process because everyone has a budget.
- Be creative with compensation packages – what else can you offer to make up for a lower pay or less degree?
- Add vacation time, remote work opportunity, or education funding benefits.
- Highlight “hidden benefits” – include review periods with small bumps in pay to show candidates you’re working together to get them where they need to be pay-wise.
- Pay for moving, relocation, or three months of rent.
- Ensure that Boards and executive leadership are supportive of diversifying and are empowering you to do so.
Interviewing Guidance
- Be aware of biases and get training to understand your biases prior to conducting interviews.
- Confirmation bias – listening for answers based on what you want them to say.
- First impression bias – appearance, voice, etc.
- Similar to me bias – candidate reminds you of your younger self or someone you know, so you are more inclined to hire that person.
- Recommend an interview panel of people, perhaps even include an external person to help check your biases. (Watch “What’s in a Name?” YouTube video.)
- Consider using redactive resumes – exclude age discrimination (dates), gender and heritage/cultural bias (names), and education bias (schools). Include only qualifications for review. Makes you hyper-focused and removes some biases.
- Look beyond the titles and skills on resumes. Maybe someone doesn’t have executive leadership experience because they weren’t given the opportunity because they’re a minority, but they have the skills to do it.
- Use a matrix to score candidates that focuses on the gaps you’re looking to fill and rank candidates.
Measures of Success in Diversifying Recruitment
- Employees feel like they belong; they invite others to join the organization; they want to stay and move up/around in the organization.
- Partner with community organizations to learn how to reflect the community in your organization.
- Passive recruitment – posting a job and waiting.
- Active recruitment – searching for your candidate.
- Conduct a Boolean search – type in job requirements.
- Reach out and ask people to apply if interested.
- Inclusion is different than a sense of belonging. You can be included, but if you are an “only” then you don’t feel like you belong.
How to Improve Your Organization’s Institutional Culture
- If there’s a strained relationship with marginalized communities –
- Invite them to have a seat at the table to help plan events and provide input.
- Allow them free access if charge admission.
- Give them access to free space to host their events on site.
- To create a relationship of trust; don’t tell the community how you can help them – go into the community to introduce yourself, then be quiet and listen to learn how you can help them – be humble.
- When hosting cultural events, i.e., Lunar New Year, etc., an organizations’ heart is in the right space, but they still may need assistance. These events need to be authentic, so involve members of the community to celebrate these holidays/events. The process can be longer and messier but is worth it. Don’t try to plan something for someone else if you’re not part of that community.
How Not to Be Rooted in Able-ism
- We assume what people can and can’t do when we hire them (another bias).
- Send interview questions beforehand so interviewees have extra time to competently process the questions – some people need more time.
- Create a safe space so people can feel comfortable to be open with you; i.e., during the interview process, talk about your ADA accommodations.
- Eye contact – sometimes this is a requirement for an interview, but maybe it’s a want not a need. This could be a cultural issue or related to anxiety – but won’t hamper a gardener position, for example.
- Accommodate other needs as best possible. Ex., for sensory issues – allow for noise-cancelling headphones.
How Can Your Organization Begin Diversifying Recruitment?
- Create goals for yourself of which areas you’re trying to reach, including numbers.
- Identify gaps in your organization.
- Create an Idea Committee.
- To make change you have to change. Prioritize your schedule to plan for change. Plan for evaluation, discussion, and action.
- Don’t expect people of color or DEI people to make that change. It’s an organization-wide responsibility.
How Can Your Organization Improve Pay Equity?
- Conduct wage and promotion studies to examine the gaps, ranges, and retention over the past five years with a DEI lens.
- How are you evaluating DEI through your annual reviews?
- Excellent case study on the living wage by Filoli Gardens
Future APGA-sponsored IDEA Cafes will include an IDEA Lounge free-form discussion on Disability & Inclusion in Recruitment in April; a focus on institutional culture and policy in May – exploring how to read data to advance the work you’re doing; and a physical IDEA Lounge and IDEA Café session at the June APGA Conference in Dallas.
Learn more about Canopy Strategic Partners’ executive search service and contact us if you would like assistance with your next hiring engagement.
