Inclusive recruitment for people from culturally diverse backgrounds

Meet with your Talent Acquisition (TA) Specialist at the initial stages of recruitment

Your TA Specialist will provide guidance throughout the recruitment process and can advise whether targeted recruitment may be an option to attract diverse talent. You don’t just need to advertise on iworkfor.nsw.gov.au.

Consider using a specialist service provider to source talent

Your agency may have partners who provide free recruitment services for Aboriginal, disability and refugee employment. By working with these vendors, you will support diversity targets and will reach, attract, and potentially hire candidates who best reflect the community we serve.

Ensure that your interview panel is culturally diverse

Your panel should reflect the wider community. If you are undertaking targeted recruitment or an identified role, you should have at least one panel member with lived experience. Provide your panel’s composition (by name and position/organisation) as part of the interview invitation.

Be aware of unconscious bias

We all have biases that can affect our hiring decisions. Learn more by completing the Unconscious Bias e-learning module on LinkedIn Learning and Harvard’s Implicit Association Test. And remember, having a diverse panel can help mitigate unconscious bias.

Offer recruitment adjustments

Explain that you can alter the recruitment process to ensure all candidates have an equal opportunity to succeed. Remember, it’s about creating a level playing field while assessing the same capabilities – that doesn’t mean doing the exact same process or assessment for everyone.

Provide the interview questions ahead of time

Seeing questions before the interview can be beneficial for everyone – especially people from culturally diverse backgrounds. Think about the role you are recruiting for. If staff will be expected to research or gather information, providing interview questions 24 hours (or a week) in advance may be the way to go.

Be welcoming and encouraging

Try to get the best from culturally diverse candidates by being welcoming and encouraging. It’s OK to contextualise questions or ask them in a different way. A Yarning Circle (informal style of interview that feels more like a conversation) may be a good approach.

Be aware that some assessment tools like group assessments and timed tests might not be culturally appropriate

Assessments should be relevant to the role and be reflective of the work performed. A practical assessment where the candidate sits in the actual role may be better than a timed written task.

Provide feedback to unsuccessful candidates

Provide timely and tailored feedback to applicants who are unsuccessful at interview. This can help them to improve their chances next time and can create a positive experience that they may share with their colleagues and community.

Prepare for onboarding so your recruit feels valued and included from Day 1

Recruiting for diversity is important, but it’s even more important to develop an inclusive team culture so your new hire feels valued and included. Learn more by watching the video Be an Inclusive Leader on the Public Service Commission website. A module on Supporting Newly Arrived Refugees in the Workplace may be available on your e-learning platform.

The Department of Communities and Justice and Transport for NSW have an exemption under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 to provide targeted programs and recruitment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a disability and refugees who are eligible to work in Australia. This means they can advertise some roles as ‘identified’ and almost all recruitment as ‘targeted’ for particular groups. 

Rule 26 of the Government Sector Employment (General) Rules 2014 allows NSW Government sector agencies to change their recruitment and selection process to help employ people from designated groups in non-executive roles. The rule helps people who may otherwise be disadvantaged when seeking employment in the sector and includes people who, on or after 1 December 2015, enter or have entered Australia on a Refugee and Humanitarian (Migrant) (Class XB) visa issued by the Commonwealth.

Research by Diversity Council Australia shows that diversity and inclusion deliver a range of positive organisational, team and individual outcomes. A diverse and inclusive workplace is clearly linked to improved performance, innovation, creativity, talent management, engagement, and wellbeing.