Recruiters know how difficult it is for job hunters to chase after one application after another. The hiring competition can be challenging with fellow candidates also vying for the same job opening. Fortunately, many employers are mindful to assist applicants as much as possible so that they get placements appropriate to their skill sets and the effort they exuded to get hired.
What makes jobhunters feel supported in their journey towards employment and career development is that many companies are now more aware of their hiring processes and decisions. With society practicing inclusivity and diversity more consciously, prejudice has no more place in the professional realm, with practices like Equal Employment Opportunity arranged.
Does your recruitment process help promote a more diverse workforce, and are recruiters aware that they are evaluating applicants without considering race, gender, and disabilities? While it’s easy to say yes to these inquiries, the concept of Equal Employment Opportunity will ensure that discrimination will not happen during recruitment. Let’s dive in on what it is and how to practice it.
What is Equal Employment Opportunity?
Equal Employment Opportunity, or EEO, states that any individual should receive the same employment opportunities without prejudice or discrimination. When a person applies for a job, up to when they are employed (i.e., considerations for pay raise, promotion, even with disciplinary actions and termination), they cannot be treated based on their gender, cultural background, age, and so on.
There is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC for overseeing laws pertaining to discrimination in US workplaces. Congress formed it in 1964 to help enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The following year, they opened for business. As of 2021, they now have 37 field offices throughout the country’s 15 districts.
Even with EEOC and various organizations’ efforts to battle workplace discrimination, there are many instances of workplace discrimination in the US. In a 2022 study, it shows that (take note that the numbers here were sampled and not encompassing):
- Racial discrimination in the workplace has increased since the pandemic, with Asians reporting over 1100 cases only in 2020.
- Gender-based discrimination has made up 33% of workplace discrimination cases in the country in the past year. Transgender people in the workplace received the brunt of these cases; 90% of trans employees admitted to being subject to prejudice in their companies.
- 21%, or 14183, of current discrimination cases in the country, are related to age issues.
Work still needs to be done, and there have been stellar results. 90% of district cases filed to the EEOC were successful, and there are companies proud to be EEO practitioners.
Take ACS Professional Staffing, a recruitment firm located in Vancouver, Washington. On their Equal Opportunity Employer page, they are proud to say that advancements in a person’s career, such as in recruitment, will not be regarded on their sex, color, race, age, religion, nationality, genetic information, disability, or veteran status.
There’s more to practicing EEO than just celebrating inclusivity.
Becoming an EEO employer seems like the correct thing to do, to support national and even global efforts to alleviate discrimination once and for all. But for staffing agencies, it has a particular effect on the candidates you handle and company clients who wish to ask for your help:
- Today’s “consumers” are driven toward socially-aware brands. What’s great about today’s consumers, in your case, your potential hires and clients, is that they can detect a lack of sincerity in forwarding social causes but gravitate to companies that are true proponents of transformative branding.
- If your staffing agency is only ticking boxes regarding recruitment discrimination, your future patrons won’t be here for it. Consider aligning EEO practices with your agency’s company values if you are fully onboard with EEO.
- Possible clients will share this conscious effort. More likely than not, clients wanting to collaborate with your agency also have diversity and inclusivity on their minds. But imagine how they will feel once they learn of your EEO practices, that you are a proponent of change in your way as a recruitment firm.
- Possible clients will share this conscious effort. More likely than not, clients wanting to collaborate with your agency also have diversity and inclusivity on their minds. But imagine how they will feel once they learn of your EEO practices, that you are a proponent of change in your way as a recruitment firm.
- Businesses sharing the same values are more likely to forge longer relationships. Also, these connections have several benefits for you and your client: access to resources, help each other grow profit, and so much more.
- Encourage all jobseekers to avail of your services. It’s sad to know that there are job hunters, part of a minority, who delete any reference to their race or cultural background in their resumes in hopes of moving forward with an application. Applicants who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community also feel this lack of confidence.
- Hopefully, with the knowledge that your agency practices EEO, they don’t have to cover up anything about who they are. They may do well during the application by assuring that their evaluation will be fair and without prejudice, making them more confident. Your staffing agency can be why they get their proper placement without worrying about discrimination.
How can you get started with Equal Employment Opportunity?
Start working towards filing your EEO-1 Form to the EEOC. The EE0-1 Form is a document that tallies the racial and cultural/ethnic composition of your staffing agency based on work categories. Generally, companies with 100 employees or more must file the EEO-1 Form.
The “workforce snapshot period” sources data for this file. This is any pay period from October to December of an evaluated year. Payroll employees are the only employees to be tallied within that period. For 2022, this year’s data submission will start on April 2023.
Great news for first-time filers of the EEO-1! You can do so online, and you’ll have to create a profile on EEOC’s website. To prepare for filing this document, be ready with the following information for ease of documentation on your end:
- Your company’s employment data, the nitty-gritty of your organization’s workforce composition as per: race, ethnicity, gender, etc.
- What your company does in a nutshell, perhaps it does recruitment for client companies.
- If you filed the year prior, your employment composition has significantly changed since last year.
Achieve brand consistency and attract business opportunities with Allied Insight.
Becoming a staffing agency that adheres to Equal Employment Opportunities will do great things for your business and branding. But what will also help you get your agency’s good name out there is through tried and tested marketing techniques and a unique perspective on building a positive online brand. Allied Insight is your partner in achieving these.
We can assist you with creating brilliant marketing and communication strategies, personalized web content, and securing brand uniformity and cohesion. Aside from being an Equal Employment Opportunity recruiter, what else sets you apart? Reach out to us, and we’ll help you pinpoint what makes your company unique and turn that into your value proposition.
