Far from the political sphere, away from indignant reactions and posturing by elected officials, you will find compliance professionals putting in the work. They grind away day in and day out, outlining and implementing sound affirmative action compliance programs for their organizations.
Why do they do this? For one thing, it’s the law; for another, it just makes good business sense. In recruiting, you want to make it apparent that your organization has thrown open its door as widely as possible to the biggest pool of potential applicants.
Sound communication skills count for everything, especially with misinformation and misperceptions clouding the reality of what compliance professionals deal with each day. So let’s get some clarity on what compliance professionals are not focusing on and dispel some affirmative action myths.
- They’re not leaving their thumbs on the scale to make “the numbers” work. People often assume the inverse is true — that organizations are making sure they have a certain number of one type of person and a certain number of another. But that’s not how any of this works. Rather, compliance professionals watch for possible imbalances that may stem from illegal activity and then troubleshoot until either the problem resolves itself or the imbalance can be addressed.
- They don’t only concern themselves with discrimination against women and people of color. True, most of the regulatory language at issue here was put in place when those groups were being confronted most heavily by discrimination, but the law goes both ways — protecting women, men, Latinos, Asians, Blacks, and Whites. The law is clear: Employers are obligated to remove all artificial barriers.
- They’re not solely driven by a need to meet regulatory requirements and goals. Yes, regulatory language may guide the main thrust of their initiatives, but the language isn’t an end to itself. Just because the regulations only strictly refer to “women and people of color” doesn’t mean that’s where the messaging has to stop. Compliance professionals must constantly look for new ways to draw people in and use words that speak to them.
Recruiting and talent acquisition are only the tip of the spear of an organization’s compliance efforts. It’s their job to make clear that the organization is open for business, that people should “come work with us,” and that all are welcome. When they succeed, the benefits of affirmative action in the workplace are considerable.
Although recruiters may not particularly enjoy being told how to do their jobs, compliance professionals must meet them on their own terms and ensure that the recruitment team has an action plan they can actually execute. And that they’re documenting everything.
These conversations with your recruitment personnel about the need for diversity and inclusion don’t just happen. And the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements have only emphasized what happens when we kick the can down the road and don’t prioritize valuable conversations. Besides being the right thing to do — which is reason enough — creating a workforce in your organization that resembles the diverse tapestry of American life simply makes for good business.
Let these best practices guide how you engage in those vital conversations with your recruiters:
1. Stress that you’re on their side. Really. Again, no recruiter wants to be told what to do. They’re even less excited about the federal government barging into their organizations and dictating affirmative action policies. That’s where you, the compliance professional, come in. Your job is to make theirs easier and to keep the federal regulators at bay.
2. Encourage recruiters to include compliance measures in their performance review process. The goal here is a thorough documentation of the whole operation — not simply a cataloging of the numbers of women and people of color under consideration. You want the right performance metrics rather than just check marks on a to-do list.
3. Ask for recruiters’ feedback. Compliance professionals can only understand what works when the communication loop is open at all hours. Don’t just say, “Come to me if you have any questions.” Set up a meeting, thrust a business card in their hands, and ask, “What can I help you with today?” It’ll take some legwork, but compliance and recruitment teams can see eye to eye on the need for diversity and inclusion. And when they do succeed in assembling and strengthening their affirmative action compliance programs, there’s no limit to how much their organizations will benefit.