Ask any great CEO or leader, and they will tell you that diversity of culture is critical to their success. Most surveys back up this claim that a diverse workforce, especially ethnically diverse, is much more likely to outperform their peers. Unfortunately, diversity and inclusion approaches by many companies are limited to their external communication or marketing efforts. A brand that posts its support of a particular minority segment of the population often demonstrates nothing more than virtue signaling.
As the great John Wooden stated,
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.
The same could be said for Corporations. Instead of focusing on the outward messaging or reputation, corporations should be focusing on the character of their workforce. And this starts with hiring suitable candidates that reflect your culture of diversity or ethos.
Social media screening can arm HR with the tool they need to ensure their hires reflect the corporation’s values regarding D&I initiatives. By weeding out those making derogatory remarks or speaking publicly against specific minority groups, companies can begin to affect their overall culture positively. Social media screening has the added benefit of giving the organization the ability to remove the ad-hoc reviews of candidate’s social media that are being performed today by their hiring managers. What studies have shown is that most employers, and more specifically the hiring managers, are simply logging onto their personal Facebook or Twitter accounts and casually browsing the candidate’s social media posts. By centralizing this role and following FCRA and EEOC guidelines, the company can ensure hiring manager’s implicit biases aren’t creeping into hiring decisions. This not only ensures you will abide by government rules and regulations, but you can ensure that the process is both consistent and thorough.
In summary, if companies want to move beyond D&I lip service, then it is time to invest in tools like social media screening that can ensure companies are genuinely building a diverse culture and workforce that reflect their brand.
To learn more about Validity’s Social Media Screening solution reach out to abenz@validityscreening.com.