Hire diversity? Or Hire the best candidate?
A recent article in The Economist talked about ending sexism in Tech Firms. It was called “The Valley of the Dudes.” The article reminded me of a lot of times in various other industries and even in the public sector (not just Tech Firms).
I was reminded though of the continuous but often conflicting, chatter I hear about meritocracy and diversity balance. It has become an issue that forward thinking leaders need to sort out.
Virtually every industry I work in as strategic advisor, I hear executives professing the need to have a fair and equitable meritocracy based culture. A culture where they hire the very best people available and then compensate their people based on the value they contribute.
Then, sometimes in the executive’s very same speech, I hear them talk about the dramatic need to increase the number of visible minorities, handicapped or females or males in the workforce.
I have actually sat in a presentation where the CEO of a 25,000 employee organization was talking to his Vice Presidents and sharing a PowerPoint presentation, complete with groovy graphics, and said “We have too much ‘Blue,’ and need more ‘Pink’ in our business.” He went on to say that from that moment forward, all new hires that were male, had to be reviewed and approved two-layers above the hiring manager. Yet, he also continuously talked about meritocracy. I sat there completely dumbfounded.
I have always based my hiring and retention decisions of team members based on their superior ability to do the job – It has never mattered to me if the candidate was Pink, Blue, African-American, Asian, short, tall, thin, wheelchair bound, etc. And I have always made sure whoever was doing a job was receiving salary compensation equal to their peers and were rewarded with bonuses based upon their going above and beyond in creating value.
If we as leaders in the business world are ever going to build an environment where we have a philosophy of hiring the very best candidate possible, then we need to start looking for and hiring the very best candidates. No quotas on Pink or Blue. No bias toward a particular age, race, religion or culture. We need to start today and lead with integrity and always do the right thing when it comes to building a culture of meritocracy and equality.
Robert Murray is an Author, Global Speaker and Business Strategist. You can find Robert’s books on heart based leadership here. For further advice, ideas and inspiration on leadership, follow Robert on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
