Diversity Beyond Gender & Race: Embracing Different Experiences and Perspectives in Recruitment
When we think of diversity, the immediate thought often turns to gender, race, or ethnicity – the visible markers that define individuals and groups. However, true diversity extends far beyond these elements. It’s rooted in the depth of our experiences, the breadth of our perspectives, and the richness of our varied ways of thinking. When companies fail to expand their understanding of what diversity truly means, they risk missing out on new ideas and innovations that come from diverse lived experiences. Unfortunately, recruitment practices frequently fall into this trap, valuing "more of the same" over genuine diversity of thought.
The “More of the Same” Mentality in Recruitment
In modern recruitment, the phrase “we regret to inform you that we will be moving forward with other candidates whose industry experience more closely aligns with our requirements” is a common refrain. I, along with countless others in HR, have heard it time and time again. On the surface, this statement might seem like a neutral, practical decision, yet its implications are far-reaching. Essentially, it translates to a desire for familiarity – for replicating a version of an employee who has already "fit in" to a company’s mold. This way of thinking narrows the candidate pool to those who have only traveled a similar path, effectively stifling opportunities for different experiences, perspectives, and innovative ideas.
In reality, diversity means more than recruiting for gender balance or increasing representation from underrepresented ethnic groups. It's about building teams with varied life and work experiences, perspectives shaped by those experiences, and the ability to approach challenges from unique angles. If a company continues to hire the same type of candidates from the same industry, they're not just missing out on the chance to build a more diverse team; they're actively reinforcing a monoculture that limits growth and innovation.
The Value of Diverse Experiences
Modern HR theory places a strong emphasis on the need for diverse experiences within teams. Thinkers in the field like Adam Grant and Patrick Lencioni stress that having a mix of backgrounds, skills, and perspectives allows for greater creativity, improved problem-solving, and enhanced team performance. Different experiences bring with them different ways of thinking, and that’s the foundation for adaptability and innovation in any company.
Consider the hiring of a candidate from an unrelated industry or background. Their different experiences might help to solve challenges with a fresh approach or offer a perspective that the company may not have otherwise considered. These “outliers” often bring creativity and a spirit of experimentation that is essential for tackling complex business problems in new ways.
This does not mean disregarding necessary skills or competencies. Rather, it involves recognizing that the most qualified candidate may not always look like the "perfect fit" on paper. In fact, bringing in someone whose experience deviates from the typical path can be the very thing that pushes a team or company to grow and develop new capabilities.
Shifting to Experience-Based Recruitment
How can organizations broaden their approach to diversity and ensure their recruitment practices truly support varied perspectives? It starts by challenging biases around what makes a candidate “qualified.” If companies focus exclusively on industry experience, they will miss the broader picture of what an individual could contribute to their culture, strategy, and innovation pipeline.
An approach to achieving this shift is experience-based recruitment. This recruitment practice values what a candidate can bring from their life journey, skillset, and broader knowledge base, even if it does not perfectly align with traditional industry experience. For instance, hiring someone who has spent time working in a completely different sector – retail, healthcare, nonprofit – may mean they bring insights that enrich the company’s approach to customer service, empathy, or strategic planning.
Changing the Recruitment Narrative
Recruiters and hiring managers play a key role in this shift. They must be equipped to ask questions that uncover how an individual’s diverse experiences might add to the team's overall capabilities and culture. Instead of merely focusing on what candidates have done in their industry, recruiters should be asking:
What challenges have they overcome in their careers, regardless of industry?
How have their experiences shaped their problem-solving approaches?
What unique perspectives can they bring to the company's existing challenges?
By doing this, recruitment can become less about replicating the existing culture and more about enhancing and evolving it. It's not about hiring for diversity for diversity’s sake – it's about seeing the value in different life experiences and recognizing that variety in thinking makes a company stronger and more resilient.
Breaking Down the “Culture Fit” Myth
One of the biggest obstacles to experience-based diversity is the concept of "culture fit." Too often, culture fit is used as shorthand for hiring people who will "fit in" easily, meaning they look, act, and think like those already in the organisation. In contrast, hiring for “culture add” shifts the focus to how a candidate can bring new ideas, challenge assumptions, and enhance the workplace.
To hire for culture add, companies must look beyond surface-level similarities and instead seek out those who have a different take on the world, shaped by their unique experiences. This change in perspective opens the door to a more dynamic, inclusive workplace – one that benefits not just from diverse identities but from diverse ways of thinking and being.
A Call to Action for Businesses
The world of work is changing rapidly, and businesses need to keep up. To truly be inclusive, recruitment processes must evolve to embrace the depth of human experience, not just the boxes we are taught to tick. By expanding the understanding of diversity beyond gender, race, and industry background, and focusing on the richness of varied perspectives and experiences, companies will find they are not only hiring diverse teams but building pathways to long-term growth, innovation, and success.
In the end, the most successful teams are not those that all think alike but those who, through their differences, come together to create something greater than the sum of their parts.
