15 Ways to Improve Diversity LGBT Candidate Cultivation

Your talent acquisition group works hard to develop LGBT candidate pipelines for all your company’s job roles. Trying to identify gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer candidates on traditional job boards is difficult. On your own company job board candidates don’t always self-identify as LGBTQ due to past recruiting and employment issues including discrimination. You need to be out loud and proactive to attract quality LGBTQ diversity and inclusion candidates.

Diversity hiring is the most embraced recruiting trend with 78 percent of talent acquisition leaders responding that they are tackling hiring diverse talent, head on. Why? Well, 78% of companies indicated they are prioritizing diversity to improve culture, and 62% are doing so to boost financial performance.*

The LGBTQ population crosses all other demographics. Therefore a strong LGBTQ talent cultivation effort will also yield candidates fitting other top diversity categories as well. LGBTQ people all ages, all genders, all races, all ethnic backgrounds, practice all religions, in all socioeconomic category, all branches of armed services, and all levels of abilities and disabilities. One might conclude that putting forth a concentrated effort on LGBTQ recruiting can ensure you meet all your diversity recruiting goals and targets.

Biggest barriers to diversity recruiting

• 38% of responding recruiters stated that finding diversity candidates is their toughest job.*
• 27% stated retaining their diversity employees is a huge problem. *
• 14% stated their biggest barrier is getting diversity applicants through the interview process.*
• 8% indicated they have a problem getting diversity candidates to accept their offer of employment.*
• Only 14% indicated none of these issues apply to them.*

Think about your company. How, if and where do these apply to you? What internally can be done to improve?

42% of diversity recruiting fails due to the bias of the interviewer.* Ensure all persons involved in the interview process are trained and aligned with the company mission of diversity, inclusion, and belonging.

LGBT candidates want to hear from you

40-45% of potential candidates are extremely to very interested in hearing from prospecting recruiters with another 30% somewhat interested.* That is 70-75% who are very receptive to hearing from diversity recruiters seeking to fill positions.

70% of candidates are passive and 30% active. This means that diversity recruiters must find LGBT candidates who are not actively looking for another job at this time. Talent goes online to explore new opportunities with 60% using job boards (76% of those are satisfied in their current role), 56% leveraging social networks, and 50% utilizing word of mouth. OutBüro fills all three of these areas with a focus on LGBT professionals.*

Making the calls and getting it right

The very last thing you want is to lose the very best candidates due to bad processes and interactions. You just might if your gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer candidates have a bad interview experience.

No matter how well you well you pitch your open job during a phone interview, most are still unsure about the job and company until the interview. Getting the interview right win will over top talent and getting it wrong can severely hurt your recruiting effort.

83% of applicants say a negative interview experience can change their mind about a job or company they once liked. While 87% of applicants say a positive interview experience and sway them about a job or company.* Those are huge numbers that you cannot afford to ignore.

Steps to attracting quality LGBTQ diversity candidates:

1. Leverage the OutBüro’s Job Portal with a growing database of active and passive LGBTQ candidates.
2. Enhance your company’s reputation in the LGBTQ community by inviting your current and recent past employees to rate/review your company on OutBüro’s Company Reviews. If your company is currently present simply claim it, and if not you may add it and claim it in one process. OutBüro’s Company Reviews are for any company or organization of any size and in any location globally. Complete your company profile including the required responses if your company as the following policies and practices in place:
   1. Sexual orientation non-discrimination policy
   2. Gender identity non-discrimination
   3. Domestic partner benefits
   4. Supports LGBTQ equality globally (if it operates in more than one country)
   5. LGBT inclusion competency
   6. Public commitment to LGBTQ equality (Tip: participating on OutBüro is one way to demonstrate this)
   7. Requires similar policies for contractors and vendors
3. Get involved in OutBüro’s online community by connecting directly with professionals and creating relationships to woo the passive candidate
4. Create a Group in OutBüro’s related to your company brand, industry, product, services or other topics of interest that can demonstrate your leadership in the space. Be the first on industry topic so that your competitors will forever wish they took that position of authority first and had all the privileges that come with being a group admin/owner such as being able to directly communicate with all group members even if not connects one to one.
5. Post articles via your profile that will become part of OutBüro’s blogs and be distributed in its weekly new blog update email to all site members. Available to premium members accessed from your profile main menu under “Articles”.
6. Join OutBüro’s LinkedIn Group – the largest LGBT professional networking group on LinkedIn.
7. During the initial call, communicate the job requirements inquiring if it might be a good fit for the candidate.
8. If yes, then continue to describe your company and include your diversity culture with every candidate. Include a quick rundown of the above-mentioned policies if you have them. If you do not have ones mentioned you might strongly consider being clear about that too. It will inform those that fit a diversity category and for those that don’t, it will convey the company policies and culture. Even if someone it’s a diversity candidate it’s important they know from the outset what kind of culture you have and striving to support.
9. If things continue to go well, be sure to review the interview process. If a candidate is to come to your location be sure to include detailed instructions on access to the location such as if there are security checkpoints to go through. Your interview staff does not communicate significant logistics to applicants.
10. Follow up with an email confirming the time, location, and logistics. It seems apparent to assume to bring multiple hard copies of their resume, but still, include that in your follow up email so it clear.

11. On the phone and in this email describe who the applicant will be meeting with. Not being clear about the logistics can be stressful for applicants which and lead them to appear flustered or annoyed during an interview. Being clear and upfront creates an easy experience for all.
12. Ensure people on your interview team know how to interview in a structured manner to ensure consistency from an applicant to applicant. Bear in mind, interviewing does not come naturally to everybody. Strong cooperation between your HR staff and the hiring staff can alleviate these difficulties. Hold an interviewer training to examine the way to evaluate and participate talent, such as what to not. Your team’s recruitment experience, along with your hiring team’s domain experience, will cause a much better interview experience for everybody. Also, ensure everyone understands the company’s diversity, inclusion and belonging mission since 43% of diversity recruiting fails due to interviewer bias.*
13. Ensure your interview team is prepared. They know the process and schedule including requirements to follow up with candidate feedback in a timely manner. Boost efficiency and cooperation by sending an interview prep checklist to all important stakeholders. This can help them know what they can do to prepare for interviews so that they leave a favorable impression on the candidates. Remember that the candidate is interviewing the company as much as the company is interviewing the candidate.
14. Provide the candidate feedback in a timely manner. On several occasions recently I have had friends tell me they received an offer from companies they interviewed with 3-4 months prior. In the meantime, they heard nothing and moved on to other opportunities. The companies on each occasion missed out on great talent. In the process, the company reputation within that circle of friends has been tarnished. Leaving your applicants hanging may turn a fantastic interview encounter sour. Do not let this happen. Collect and discuss interview comments as swiftly as possible to ensure all candidates understand where they stand. Be timely.
15. Review all touch points you have both internally and with your candidates. Ask for honest constructive feedback to improve, from candidates that didn’t cut the mustard. Be open to new ideas. Seek to be ever evolving to be more inclusive as well as improving your processes. Candidate polls can be an excellent source of advice, as can article comments – such as the articles you submit on the OutBüro blog via your profile – Submit Articles.

Data source:

* – 2018 LinkedIn Talent Trends Report

About the author: Dennis Velco

An LGBTQ social entrepreneur who focuses on strengthening the global LGBTQ+ through connecting, engaging, online, and in person.