Memorandum

To: Leadership in Hiring Committee

From: Molly Scherer
Date: September 28, 2018
Subject: Diversity Practices and Policies Recommendation

The purpose of this memo is to discuss strategies for eliminating bias in hiring and in the
workplace. The goal of the following recommended practices is to increase diversity of thought,
experience, and talents to stimulate better overall performance and innovation for the company.

Summary
In the recent past, connections were used to quickly fill roles at iNova, leading to hires that were
like-minded to existing employees. As we approach rapid company growth, it is critical we
reevaluate our hiring processed to attract a richer diversity of thought, experience, and talent. My
research has proved that increased diversity in the workplace results in increased performance
and innovation. To obtain and keep diverse employees, we must eliminate bias and create an
environment conducive to growth; therefore, I am recommending we implement a blind hiring
process that requires a statement of aspirations from applicants to be used in a new hire mentor
program.

Discussion
Hiring Practices
To increase diversity at iNova, we must eliminate diversity bias from our recruitment processes.
Hiring likeminded people creates a lack of diversity of personality and thought. Stephanie
Lampkin, a creator of a blind resume app, claims that a recruiter’s “mind isn’t racist, sexist – it’s
totally natural, and we’re trying to help circumvent it” (O’Connor, 2016). This tendency is often
unconscious, meaning we cannot simply tell our recruiters to stop being biased.

Since we cannot eliminate a recruiter’s bias, we need to eliminate the ability to exercise bias by
removing an applicant’s identifying information such as race, gender, age, etc. In a study where
resumes with the same qualifications, but different names were submitted for a job “those with
‘white’ names received 50 percent more callbacks for interviews than those with ‘black’ names”
(Miller, 2016). We need to be blind to surface level diversity to hire more diverse people.

When auditions for an orchestra started being conducted behind curtains, the number of women
in the orchestra increased from 10% to 40% (Morse, 2016). Implementing this blind selection
process in hiring would mean that a recruiter will not know the applicant’s race, gender, sexual
preferences, etc. when deciding if they are qualified for the job or not. This will lead to an
increase in the important diversity of employees: their diversity of thought, experience, and
skills. To choose a qualified candidate, applicants will need to take objective tests to showcase
their diverse abilities.

It is not enough to simply increase the amount of diverse people we hire. We must also
implement practices to retain our diverse employees. Another step in the recruitment process
should include the applicant providing a statement of their aspirations for their career. This is
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September 28, 2018
Page 2 of 3

important because it will provide their potential managers and mentors with a success plan for
the new employee. Diversity consultants advise companies to help employees “see the company
as a place to grow, not as a stepping-stone to something bigger and better” (Medina, 2014). The
employee will stay at the company when they have a realistic plan for success because they will
be more confident in their ability to advance at the company.

Company Policy
Once hired, it is important that every new employee is assigned a mentor to guide them through
their success plan. Mentoring programs are proven to “make companies’ managerial echelons
significantly more diverse: On average they boost the representation of black, Hispanic, and
Asian-American women, and Hispanic and Asian-American men, by 9% to 24%.” (Dobbin and
Kalev, 2016). Mentoring new hires is an easy way to greatly impact the retention of diversity.
Mentoring programs create companies that are “3.3 times more likely to be high performing and
five times more likely to be agile” (Tiao, 2015). The mentor programs achieve better diversity
and performance in the long term.

Mentoring programs also lead to increased diversity of leadership in the long term. A CEO
provided evidence that after five years of running a mentor program, “80% of all mentees had
climbed at least one rung in management” (Dobbin and Kalev, 2016). Generating more diverse
leadership will result in more diverse role models for new hires.

Professors of sociology determined that “mentors then come to believe that their proteges merit
these opportunities – whether they’re white men, women, or minorities” (Dobbin and Kalev,
2016). Mentor relationships not only lead to greater retention of new hires, but also provides
mentors with genuine appreciation for diversity that will positively impact the overall culture of
the company.

Recommendation
I am recommending that an applicant must take three objective tests and submit a statement of
career aspirations. Following their acceptance of the position, they will be assigned a mentor to
provide them with a plan of success.

A great employee needs to be intelligent, personable, and skilled in their specific job. All three of
these qualities can be measured successfully with tests, rather than biased interviews. General
intelligence will be measured with a standard, graded intelligence test. Personality will be
evaluated with a structured series of short answer questions that ask the interviewee how they
would respond in a certain situation or how they have responded in a certain situation. The
applicant will also take a test that specifically tests them on skills related to their potential job at
the company. The applicant’s responses will be scored without seeing their name, gender, race,
sexual preferences, etc., eliminating the implications of bias in our hiring practices to increase
diversity.

The applicant will also be required to submit a statement of career aspirations before they are
hired. Their aspirations will be used to determine if they are ambitious enough for the job. Once
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September 28, 2018
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hired, the statement will also be provided to their mentor to help them carry out a plan for
success at iNova.

The company policy that I am recommending is that all new hires receive a mentor that has a
leadership position at the company. Their mentor will provide them with the connections and
tools necessary to follow a success plan that reflects their induvial career goals. This mentor
program will increase the retention of diverse individuals by enabling the new hire to envision a
successful future at the company.
 References

Dobbin, F. & Kalev, A. (2016). Why diversity programs fail. Harvard Business Review, 52-60.

Medina, S. (2014). Why you should do more than just talk about workplace diversity. Fast

Company.

Miller, C.M. (2016). Is blind hiring the best hiring? The New York Times, 34.

Morse, G. (2016). Designing a bias-free organization. Harvard Business Review, 62-67.

O’Connor, C. (2016). Black woman engineer launches ‘blind’ job match app to take bias out of

tech hiring. Forbes.

Tiao, S. (2015). Mentoring works: diversity in organizations. Chronus.