This article has been written by Lajan Lazar Miranda pursuing a Diploma in Strategic HR for Startups and Emerging Industries from Skill Arbitrage.

 This article has been edited and published by Shashwat Kaushik.

Defining  human resource and human resource management (HRM)

A human resource is a person who possesses the right skills and attitude to best fit into a role within the organisational structure.  Human resource management is the art and science of managing this best fit in a way that is beneficial both to the company and the individual.

It is the system of managing the employees hired by the company to perform the different roles within the organisational structure and achieve organisational goals by enhancing their efficiency and productivity.

Different facets of human resource management (HRM)

Human resource management (HRM) is a critical function in any organisation, responsible for managing the workforce and ensuring that the company has the right people, in the right place, at the right time, to achieve its strategic goals.

The different facets of HRM include:

• Recruitment and selection: This process involves finding and hiring the right people for the job. It includes identifying potential candidates, screening resumes, conducting interviews, and making hiring decisions.
• Performance management: This process involves setting expectations, monitoring performance, and providing feedback to employees. It helps to ensure that employees are meeting their goals and contributing to the company’s success.
• Compensation and benefits: This process involves setting salaries, bonuses, and benefits for employees. It is important to ensure that employees are compensated fairly and that the company is competitive in the job market.
• Training and development: This process involves providing employees with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in their jobs. It helps to improve employee performance and productivity.
• Employee relations: This process involves managing relationships between employees and the company. It includes handling grievances, disciplinary actions, and terminations.
• Health and safety: This process involves creating and maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for employees. It includes complying with safety regulations, providing training on safety procedures, and investigating accidents.
• Diversity and inclusion: This process involves creating a workplace where all employees feel respected and valued. It includes promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
• Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS): This process involves using technology to manage HR data. It can help to streamline HR processes, improve efficiency, and make better decisions.

The HR department plays a vital role in the success of any organisation. By effectively managing the workforce, the HR department can help the company achieve its goals and objectives.

Understanding the recruitment and selection process

One of the most critical and challenging functions of the human resources department in any company is to hire the best fit or the right talent for each of the roles on offer. This is achieved through the screen and filter process, more commonly referred to as the interviewing and shortlisting process. Here, the suitability of the applicants who have applied for the role is checked in various phases and any applicant found unsuitable is filtered out. 

The various phases of the interviewing and shortlisting process are as follows:

1. Preparation:
   • Determine the hiring needs and objectives.
   • Create a job description that clearly outlines the role’s responsibilities and requirements.
   • Advertise the position through various channels.
2. Screening resumes and applications:
   • Review resumes and applications to identify candidates who meet the minimum qualifications.
   • Evaluate candidates’ skills, experience, and qualifications based on the job requirements.
   • Create a short list of suitable candidates.
3. Initial screening:
   • Conduct initial screening interviews over the phone or through video conferencing.
   • Ask general questions to assess candidates’ communication skills, motivation, and interest in the role.
   • Narrow down the candidate pool further.
4. In-person interviews:
   • Schedule in-person interviews with the most promising candidates.
   • Ask more in-depth questions about candidates’ experience, skills, and qualifications.
   • Evaluate candidates’ cultural fit and personalities.
5. Reference checks:
   • Contact candidates’ references to verify their qualifications and work history.
   • Obtain feedback on candidates’ performance, work ethic, and interpersonal skills.
   • Further assess candidates’ suitability for the role.
6. Final selection:
   • Compare the remaining candidates and evaluate their overall performance.
   • Consider factors such as experience, skills, cultural fit, and reference checks.
   • Make the final hiring decision and extend a job offer to the chosen candidate.
7. Post-selection process:
   • Conduct onboarding activities to welcome the new hire and integrate them into the organisation.
   • Provide training and support to ensure the new hire’s success in the role.
   • Evaluate the effectiveness of the interviewing and shortlisting processes for future hiring needs.

By following a structured interviewing and shortlisting process, organisations can increase their chances of hiring the best candidates who align with their goals and contribute positively to the team.

Definition of inclusivity in interviewing

To expand further, inclusivity is the system of creating a short listing process that aims to eliminate or at the very least reduce prejudice for candidates coming from different backgrounds. This is done so that all candidates being interviewed feel that they are being treated fairly, regardless of their gender, physique, ethnicity or age.

For the recruiter to check whether a talent is both technically and culturally fit for the organisation, he or she needs to have a larger talent pool to screen and filter. This is because someone who is technically sound may not necessarily be a good fit when it comes to the organisational culture and vice-versa.

Demonstrating inclusivity in the interviewing technique

Have it in the company’s brand statement

The best way to achieve this would be to communicate inclusivity as a mission statement in the application process for the company. The mission statement of the company could be something like, At  XYZ Company, we believe in providing equal opportunities to everyone regardless of their background or identity. We strive for diversity in our talent pool because we believe that diversity brings different perspectives and, through them, more than one solution to a problem. At XYZ, we believe in empathy and engage in an open dialogue with every candidate throughout the interview process. This is to ensure that every individual feels valued and encouraged to anticipate a fair and consistent evaluation process at   XYZ, making it a great place to work.

Design the application in an inclusive manner

Describe the role in a clear and simple way by avoiding job related jargon, gender and disability specific language. An example would be to use terms like differently abled when trying to communicate opportunities for autistic candidates.

The language used in the role description should not carry hints about a particular gender. Example – not having titles like Mr., Mrs. or Ms. in the application forms. This will help transgender applicants represent themselves more correctly and help prevent discomfort for them during interviews.

Another example – that in a job posting for sales professionals, it would be better to name the role as sales staff or sales representatives instead of salesmen or saleswomen.

Stressing the responsibilities to be handled instead of the requirements to be met is yet another example of inclusivity in the role description. An inclusive job description will not contain words such as “fresh,” as this would automatically filter out candidates who are older or the term “senior,” as this would render people with minimal experience invalid.

Some equally important ways to ensure inclusivity in the hiring process

• Draft clear and distinct policy goals- like implementing equal opportunity for the physically challenged in the organisation or making managerial roles more gender neutral.
• Follow up on the plan with concrete action- explore how this can be done over a period of a year or two in a systematic way. For example, to implement equal opportunity for the physically challenged in the organisation, the organisation may have to think of including alternate pathways like ramps on the office campus. This will require a budget and a time frame, which will have to be monitored diligently.
• Having a multi-faceted interview panel- having panellists from diverse backgrounds and identities is a win-win situation for both the company and the individual. This is because candidates from diverse backgrounds and identities feel that they also have representation and, therefore, will receive a fair evaluation. Having a diverse panel makes sure that there is no bias of any sort and that a true opinion of the abilities and attitude of the candidates turning up for the interview is formed.
• Eliminate bias by introducing and specifying the role of each of the interview panel members for  example-
  • Panel members A and B are responsible for screening and documenting resumes. Here A screens through the application and helps panel member B document only the qualification and experience of the candidate, filtering out all the other details so as to make sure that they do not influence the decisions of the panel.
  • Panel members C and D will conduct the technical assessment. Here C will communicate guidelines like how the assessment will be marked, the time frame and who the candidate can reach out to in case they want clarifications. D will conduct and mark the actual assessment.
  • Panel member E will interact with the candidate and make notes to check whether the applicant is a cultural fit.
• Ensure a reasonable amount of comfort for the candidates.
  • If a candidate is physically challenged or neurodivergent, asking beforehand about the kind of accommodation they might need will make them feel more comfortable. For example, addressing the concern of a physically challenged candidate who might want to know whether the building has ramps or not.
    Have the entire interview process arranged in a single location across a single floor so that candidates who are physically challenged, don’t have to move around different locations frequently.
• Ensure that the job advertisements are posted on diverse platforms to attract talent from diverse backgrounds.
  • These can be university placement cells, placement agencies, social media and professional associations.
• Offer flexible timing and options.
  • Consider offering interviews at various time slots and on weekends to accommodate applicants from different time zones.
  • If candidates cannot travel to the interview location, consider offering a video interview option.

HRM’s role in promoting inclusive interviewing

• Policy development: Develop and implement policies that mandate inclusive interviewing techniques across the organisation.
• Training and development: Provide comprehensive training programmes to equip interviewers with the necessary skills and knowledge.
• Performance evaluation: Integrate inclusive interviewing practices into performance evaluations for interviewers.
• Monitoring and accountability: Regularly monitor the implementation of inclusive interviewing techniques and hold interviewers accountable for their actions

Advantages of inclusivity

• Brings in diversity- Brings diversity which in turn attracts a larger pool of talent. This not only makes it easier for the recruiter to hire the best talent but also fosters more innovation and creativity within the organisation. The end result is better problem solving and decision making.
• Decrease in the attrition rate is another obvious advantage of inclusivity, as it increases employee engagement and makes employees feel happier and valued. This makes the employees more productive and loyal to the company, thereby increasing their chances of staying with the organisation for a longer period of time.
• Increases brand loyalty – A diverse workforce can better comprehend the needs of a diverse customer base. This improves the quality of the services rendered, which in turn leads to increased customer satisfaction, resulting in higher profit margins.
• Gives the organisation’s corporate social responsibility a thrust- showcases the company’s endeavour to prioritise fairness and social equity.

A unique example of inclusivity in the workplace is the establishment of a happiness quotient across all companies in the RPG group. This is an initiative by the group to measure employee happiness in a tangible manner and make enhancements in its policies and practices to sustain the same.

Conclusion

In conclusion, HRM (Human Resource Management) plays a pivotal role in fostering diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. By incorporating inclusive interviewing techniques, organisations can create a more equitable and welcoming environment for all candidates, regardless of their background or characteristics.

References

1. https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/definition-of-human-resource-management/31830 
2.  https://theewgroup.com/blog/seven-steps-inclusive-recruitment-workplace-diversity/
3. https://expertpreviews.com/human-resource-management-definition-by-different-authors/
4. https://www.equalture.com/blog/tips-for-an-inclusive-and-unbiased-interview-process/
5. https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/create-an-inclusive-interview-process
6. https://www.testgorilla.com/blog/inclusive-hiring/