Pretty ProgressiveToday’s businesses must take the time to ensure their hiring, compensation, and career development practices are fair to everyone. Giving everyone a fair chance improves diversity and increases the number of perspectives you can access.
Affirmative action was designed to reduce racial inequalities in the workplace by outlining specific requirements for hiring. These are the basic components of an affirmative action plan.
Assess Need
The first step to developing a solid affirmative action plan is to do an internal audit to determine need. This review process will ensure you’re being proactive when hiring new candidates. All applicants should be considered equally, regardless of race, creed, or socioeconomic background.
Your workforce should generally reflect the demographics of the public at large. You may need to adjust your approach if you find any deficiencies in certain areas.
Determine Opportunities
After you consider your company’s needs, it’s time to start communicating opportunities to individuals that fit the role requirements. Skill, education, and performance should all be taken into account. However, ensuring you’re hiring from a diverse pool of candidates is also necessary.
Knowing which businesses need to have an affirmative action plan will ensure you stay compliant with the law during the hiring process. All government contractors and subcontractors must have a plan to ensure a diverse workforce.
Do Regular Audits
It’s not enough to simply onboard diverse hires and go on with business as usual. A good affirmative action plan should be implemented for the long term. Keeping your company compliant takes time and effort, so ensure your business is committed to the process before starting.
Timely audits allow you to collect and organize pertinent information about your business and its hiring practices. Targeted recruitment strategies offer minorities a way to overcome discrimination and participate in shared social activities.
Put Your Plan Into Action
It’s easy to ignore your biases and assumptions when running a business. Unfortunately, this can negatively affect society, making it harder to overcome institutional racism.
By learning the basic components of an affirmative action plan, you can do your part to improve equality and reduce bias in the workplace.
