5 ms·

By picking the best candidates that apply and not thinking about "oh are we diverse enough"; but instead, lets make the best product we can, who will do the job

By picking the best candidates that apply and not thinking about "oh are we diverse enough"; but instead, lets make the best product we can, who will do the job the best for us. You're inherently being bias right from the start if you are saying "we make sure to have a diverse set of candidates in the interview pool".

paulcole 8y ago
Do you ever consider the possibility that the best candidate is the one with the highest potential? I believe that a candidate with unique perspectives and experiences might be able to contribute more over the long-term than the person who ticks the most boxes right now?
- savethefuture 8y ago
  A lot goes into choosing a candidate, my point was that we do not just pick someone because we need to meet a certain quota of diversity. I will add that we are diverse more than everyone might be thinking from my statement above. But allowing the diversity to be organic, natural, and not hand crafted leads to a much better work environment and culture (at least in our case).
  - paulcole 8y ago
    > But allowing the diversity to be organic, natural, and not hand crafted leads to a much better work environment and culture (at least in our case). How can you know this to be true when you don't seem to have tried "hand crafted" diversity at your current workplace?
    - imrelaxed 8y ago
      You don’t need to jump off a tall building to know it’s a bad idea. Even with less obvious things you can infer outcomes based on available data. Available data in social science and reported experiences suggests successful hiring is done based on two criteria: merit and cohesion with the team. That’s it. Outside of a few very particular jobs, diversity of workplace has no intrinsic value that somehow makes up for not hiring based on merit. On the contrary, some studies suggest that “diversity” can actually reduce team cohesion and trust.

paulcole 8y ago

Do you ever consider the possibility that the best candidate is the one with the highest potential? I believe that a candidate with unique perspectives and experiences might be able to contribute more over the long-term than the person who ticks the most boxes right now?

savethefuture 8y ago
A lot goes into choosing a candidate, my point was that we do not just pick someone because we need to meet a certain quota of diversity. I will add that we are diverse more than everyone might be thinking from my statement above. But allowing the diversity to be organic, natural, and not hand crafted leads to a much better work environment and culture (at least in our case).
- paulcole 8y ago
  > But allowing the diversity to be organic, natural, and not hand crafted leads to a much better work environment and culture (at least in our case). How can you know this to be true when you don't seem to have tried "hand crafted" diversity at your current workplace?
  - imrelaxed 8y ago
    You don’t need to jump off a tall building to know it’s a bad idea. Even with less obvious things you can infer outcomes based on available data. Available data in social science and reported experiences suggests successful hiring is done based on two criteria: merit and cohesion with the team. That’s it. Outside of a few very particular jobs, diversity of workplace has no intrinsic value that somehow makes up for not hiring based on merit. On the contrary, some studies suggest that “diversity” can actually reduce team cohesion and trust.