Diversity Recruiting Case Study: Transforming Workforce Composition at a Multinational Investment Bank
The Situation
The Solution
The Impact
The Situation
A large multinational investment bank had made large investments toward increasing the diversity of their workforce but the ROI wasn’t showing.
They had built out a diversity recruiting function, hired a Chief Diversity Officer, and built partnerships with costly organizations promising access to diverse campus candidate pools.
When looking at their application data, they were finding that ethnically diverse candidates were indeed applying but were being declined during the resume review and initial asynchronous interview stage.
Making matters more immediate, their lack of making meaningful changes to the diversity of their workforce was picking up steam in major news outlets and leading clients to raise concerns over the lack of representation in deal teams.
Before this bank reconsidered its sourcing strategy, it wanted to investigate solutions that will facilitate better throughput of their diverse candidates.
The Solution
Early Identification and Engagement
Starting from the sophomore year in college, the bank engaged with diverse candidates to influence their participation in relevant student organizations and enhance their resume formatting and interview skills.
Enhanced Use of CRM Technologies
These programs, both virtual and in-person, were designed to assess and develop candidate readiness. They required submissions of resumes, letters of intent, and video interviews. Each component was scored to tailor further engagement based on individual needs.
Exploratory Programs
The bank retooled its use of Avature CRM to track performance data from freshmen and sophomores, allowing for targeted interventions to improve their competitiveness for intern roles.
The Impact
The initiative led to significant improvements in diversity recruitment:
Record Diversity in Internship Classes: The bank hired the most diverse intern class in its history, marking a sustained upward trend in diverse hires from 2016 to 2019.
Recognition and Brand Enhancement: Success in diversity recruitment earned the bank a spot on the Forbes Best Employers for Diversity list.
Cost Efficiency: The internal programs enabled the bank to eliminate over $350,000 in annual costs associated with external diversity partnerships.
Cultural and Operational Impact
The initiative supported the transformation of the bank’s public perception, aligning its workforce more closely with the demographics of the college-educated candidate pool. This change, along with enhanced recruiting practices, led to higher satisfaction and retention rates among diverse employees. The recruiting team’s enhanced capability with CRM systems also improved overall recruitment efficiency.
Long-term Benefits
The success of the diversity recruiting initiative has had enduring benefits, including:
Enhanced Employee Engagement: Diverse employees are more involved in recruiting efforts, which has boosted satisfaction and retention.
Sustainable Recruitment Practices: The internal capabilities developed through this initiative have reduced dependency on external partnerships, ensuring long-term sustainability and cost-efficiency in diversity recruiting efforts.