Building an inclusive workforce requires deliberate recruiting strategies to reach a broad range of candidates, especially African American community members. Companies with higher racial and ethnic diversity are significantly more likely to outperform their peers. The numbers back this up, as one McKinsey report found that businesses in the top quartile of racial and ethnic diversity are approximately 35% more profitable in most cases.
The roadblock in hiring Black talent often comes from a significant bias shown by the companies doing the actual recruiting. According to the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, resumes with what recruiters or hiring managers perceive as “Black names” receive about 50% fewer callbacks than those with more European names, even if the resumes are identical to ones submitted by people with more European names. A survey by Pew Research found that 64% of Black adults view racial bias as a serious challenge in hiring.
Addressing these challenges means understanding systemic barriers and taking intentional steps. But how can that be done meaningfully? These recruitment strategies for African American community members will help attract and retain Black talent.
Leveraging Community Partnerships
Building trust with African American community members starts long before a candidate sits down for their first interview. Its true beginning is in the formation of authentic partnerships with organizations and events that support Black talent.
Developing relationships with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), coding boot camps (for brands in tech niches), and Black professional associations gives businesses the foundation they need to connect authentically with diverse talent pools. A few places to start include the National Society of Black Engineers or Black Women in STEM.
Participating in the annual AfroTech Conference, other Black tech networking initiatives, and local career fairs designed for Black professionals provides recruiters and hiring managers the face-to-face time they need to build trust with candidates in the African American community. At the same time, it sends out a beacon that a company is committed to inclusion.
These connections often yield high-quality referrals and demonstrate respect for the community. Don’t underestimate how important this might be to candidates who value fairness and transparency.
Acknowledge AI’s Hiring Bias
Hiring and recruitment strategies for African American community members must confront the systemic hurdles that block equitable job access. Implicit bias and stereotypes, for instance, can creep into screening and interviewing. AI screening tools are not immune to bias, either. In fact, they can make things worse.
An investigation by Bloomberg found that GPT 3.5’s ability to select candidates based on resume analysis is heavily biased based on perceived race and gender. The investigation also discovered that the platform favored names associated with some demographics more than others. If two resumes were equally qualified, the AI would favor one with a typically “white” name.
To circumvent this programmatic bias, recruiters who use AI screening tools to screen resumes should train and fine-tune their learning models before deployment to mitigate bias. Double-checking the rejected resumes doesn’t hurt either.
Building Equitable Talent Pipelines
To build an equitable pipeline, businesses must widen their candidate sources and nurture them over time. One key recruitment strategy for building a pipeline within the local African American community is partnering with HBCUs and similar institutions on internship programs, co-ops, hackathons, or case competitions. These schools produce numerous talented African American graduates, especially in STEM, business, and healthcare fields. Collaborating with them allows students, who could become prospective candidates, to familiarize themselves with businesses looking to hire diverse talent.
Businesses can also consider establishing or supporting mentorship programs for Black students to prepare them for the workforce. If those students get hired when they graduate, the mentorship program can also provide a smoother transition to their entry-level role in the business.
Research underscores the value of this investment. Black employees who lack mentors are twice as likely to consider leaving their jobs as those who have them. Mentoring and support systems are crucial not only to recruitment strategies but also to retention strategies.
Inclusive Employer Branding
How a company presents itself plays a huge role in attracting African American talent. When committing to an equitable and diverse recruitment strategy, businesses must audit their employer brand and materials for inclusion.
Marketing diversity can be a subtle way to emphasize a brand’s dedication to inclusion. Brands should use photos and success stories featuring Black employees on their website and social media platforms. Consider explicitly mentioning a commitment to equity in job descriptions and outreach messages. One way to do this is to highlight employee resource groups (ERGs) for Black professionals or DEI initiatives. These efforts signal to candidates that they will be supported.
Diversity cannot just be at the marketing level, though. It needs to be present in the company’s day-to-day operations. In one survey, 53% of Black employees said it was extremely or very important to work at a place with a mix of races and ethnicities. So, including Black employees in marketing materials without actually hiring Black people is performative, at best, and manipulative at worst. Highlighting the experiences of Black employees without actually providing resources to support their success, like mentors, ERGs, and access to Employee Assistance Programs, is just tokenizing them to appear inclusive and equitable. When developing recruiting strategies for African American community members, businesses must ensure they’re actually taking action to create an inclusive and equitable workplace.
Inclusive Sourcing
While it seems obvious, recruiters who want to hire diverse talent need to broaden their sourcing channels. Instead of the usual rounds of LinkedIn, Ziprecruiter, and Indeed, cast a wider net and post openings on niche job boards or newsletters serving the Black community. While that’s happening, recruiting professionals should take the time to reach out and engage on social platforms popular with Black professionals.
Don’t disregard the importance of specialized recruitment tools, either. Talent Infusion’s platform, for instance, leverages a unique unified search engine to find Black and Brown candidates across meticulously curated talent pools. By expanding sourcing beyond generic channels and portraying an inclusive culture, companies ensure Black employees feel welcomed.
Reducing Bias in the Recruitment Process
Minimizing bias at every hiring step is essential. One technique for doing so is blind screening. It’s a part of skills-based hiring, and it can go a long way in removing bias from the process. This practice is on the rise, with a survey of 800+ HR practitioners in the US indicating that 20% worked for organizations that used it. Blind screening strips identifying information (names, alma maters, etc.) from resumes to eliminate biases. Employers are left with what’s important: what a prospective employee brings to the company.
Though expanded talent pools and blind screening can help open the door to an interview, they don’t eliminate biases within the interview process. Structured interview templates or scripts can help ensure that every candidate has a similar interview experience and an equal opportunity for success.
Some larger brands incorporate interview panels. When using this strategy, it is crucial to take a step back and examine the panel’s composition. Does it accurately represent a diverse talent pool? One of the best recruiting strategies for African American community members is incorporating interviewers with a wide variety of backgrounds. The end goal is to create a space where a homogeneous group doesn’t make decisions.
Companies should ensure that their existing recruiting staff is well-trained on unconscious biases and how they impact the hiring process by providing bias-awareness training for anyone on the hiring team.
Regularly audit pipeline metrics. Compare the demographic mix of applicants, interviewees, and hires to spot any drop-offs that could indicate bias. In short, systematic checks and transparent practices guard against both conscious and unconscious discrimination, giving African American candidates a fair shot.
Recruiting Strategies for African American Community Members Benefit Everyone
Skills-based hiring, inclusive workspaces, and mentorship programs benefit not just Black employees but employees of all backgrounds. When these strategies work together, employees will enjoy the benefits of a welcoming, inclusive workspace.
The most successful workplaces make diversity, equity, and inclusion a core part of their recruiting strategy. Talent Infusion’s platform is designed to help implement these strategies through a curated talent pool and specialized search engines designed to help brands hire Black and Brown talent based on skill. By taking intentional steps today, companies can build sustainable, inclusive hiring pipelines that benefit both their organization and the African American community.
