What does it actually cost, a diverse workforce?

A diverse workforce: more and more companies are taking it seriously. That raises the question: what does it cost? Willem Bos (Pro Contact) and Fleur Melkert (Equalture) on costs per hire and recruitment strategies.

'Every voice deserves to be heard', say the gurus of diversity in the workplace and inclusion in the labour market. There's no longer any room for discrimination based on colour, race, sexual orientation, age, religion, language, gender or political preference. But the business world can't escape the polarisation in society and the reality of today either. One of the best footballers in the world, the Black Brazilian Vinícius Júnior of Real Madrid, has to deal with racism. People who deliberately choose not to get a Covid vaccine are ridiculed, and voicing well-founded criticism of government policy on social media can get your profile removed.

In this complicated context, construction companies are being asked to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Everyone is welcome at construction companies, is the oft-heard principle. Commendable! And not just because of the principle of equality. Given the tight labour market, recruiters had better cast their net wide anyway: men and women, full-timers and part-timers, transgender and non-binary people, interns and experienced professionals, refugees with residence permits and career switchers. The question is what such a diverse workforce costs.

Cost per hire

Is diversity in construction an issue? Willem Bos, co-owner of recruitment agency Pro Contact, "never" speaks to construction business owners who say: I want diversity in the workplace. Bos: "They say: I'm five electricians short. They don't care where they come from." Pro Contact's campaigns mainly run on social media. If a company wants more women, Pro Contact runs the campaign on Pinterest. If a company's workforce is ageing and it's looking for young people, Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok are used. "That increases the chance of reaching young people. But we can't filter on age, race, vaccination status or someone's opinion on the climate."

Pro Contact has run recruitment campaigns for several construction companies. On the website, costs per hire of around 3,000 euros are mentioned for estimators, account managers and project managers. Bos: "We aim for a good reflection of society, but we can't guarantee a diverse result because we can't predict which candidates will respond. Our assessment does help, though. You can compare it to the theory test for your driving licence. If you make more than five mistakes, you fail. That's unbiased and has nothing to do with exclusion."

A diverse workforce makes the labour market fairer

Equalture, a tech start-up in recruitment, strives for unbiased recruitment. "We want to make the labour market fairer," says co-founder Fleur Melkert. "We offer game-based assessments to assess candidates objectively on the basis of potential rather than experience. Equal opportunities for everyone, that's what we want. We ask our clients to let go of their prejudices and not to fixate on CVs."

What does recruiting for diversity cost? Melkert prefers to turn it around. What does it cost if you don't pay attention to it? According to her, companies without a clear diversity policy are pricing themselves out of the market: "Research by Glassdoor shows that 1 in 3 candidates don't want to work for such companies. The tight labour market is almost forcing companies to choose talent they wouldn't normally choose. On top of that, there's a strong business case behind diversity. Within a diverse workforce, teams are more creative and productive. Carry that through into your recruitment. Make sure you have objective expectations and a good scorecard in job interviews. You can implement that tomorrow and it costs zero euros. 'We don't have the money for this' is a nonsense argument."

Discriminating talent out of the market

Equalture aims for the right balance across all target groups, such as gender, age, nationality and also neurodiversity. Melkert: "People with autism can be incredibly suitable candidates, even if they find it harder to click in a first interview. 'First impressions' and gut feeling are hugely subjective criteria, and in all honesty, they make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. We all tend to look for people who are like us. 'You have to be able to have a beer with them,' I hear people say. We need to get rid of that, because that's how talent gets discriminated out of the market."

For Melkert, not everyone needs to be facing the same way at all: "Within an inclusive workforce, it has to be okay to disagree with each other, including about politics. Agree to disagree. There has to be room and respect for each other's opinions. You shouldn't want to employ fifty identical people. The trick is to add people who bring something new, and that starts with the recruitment strategy. Our advice? Try screening applicants with two completely different employees internally, for a broader perspective. Also think about your working environment for non-stereotypical employees. Become more aware of behaviour and language. Calling someone 'gay' as a joke is really not okay anymore."

Source: Cobouw