Recruit and Retain People of Color in IT
Good business, not just good philanthropy.
- Organizations have been trying to promote equality for many years. Diversity and inclusion strategies and a myriad of programs have been implemented in companies across the world. Despite the attempts, many organizations still struggle to ensure that their workforce is representative of the populations they support or want to support.
- IT brings another twist. Many IT companies and departments are based on the culture of white males, and underrepresented ethnic communities find it more of a challenge to fit in.
- This sometimes means that talented minorities are less incentivized to join or stay in technology.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Diversity and inclusion cannot be a one-time campaign or a one-off initiative.
- For real change to happen, every leader needs to internalize the value of creating and retaining diverse teams.
Impact and Result
- To stay competitive, IT leaders need to be more involved and commit to a plan to recruit and retain people of color in their departments and organizations. A diverse team is an answer to innovation that can differentiate your company.
- Treat recruiting and retaining a diverse team as a business challenge that requires full engagement. Info-Tech offers a targeted solution that will help IT leaders build a plan to attract, recruit, engage, and retain people of color.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
9.7/10
Overall Impact
$19,184
Average $ Saved
21
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
OhioHealth
Guided Implementation
10/10
$34,649
50
The best part of my experience is the professionalism and expertise of Allison Straker throughout our engagement. She was very helpful and has a gr... Read More
NASA
Guided Implementation
9/10
$3,719
2
The consultant was very knowledgeable on the topic and did extra research to help us. No negatives
Info-Tech Research Group
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
10
Workshop: Recruit and Retain People of Color in IT
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Setting the Stage
The Purpose
Introduce challenges and concerns around recruiting and retaining people of color.
Key Benefits Achieved
Gain a sense of direction.
Activities
Outputs
Introduction to diversity conversations.
- Current State Analysis
Assess areas to focus on and determine what is right, wrong, missing, and confusing.
- Right, Wrong, Missing, Confusing Quadrant
Obtain feedback from your team about the benefits of working at your organization.
Establish your employee value proposition (EVP).
- Draft EVP
Discuss and establish your recruitment goals.
- Recruitment Goals
Module 2: Refine Your Recruitment Process
The Purpose
- Identify areas in your current recruitment process that are preventing you from hiring people of color.
- Establish a plan to make improvements.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Optimized recruitment process
Activities
Outputs
Brainstorm and research community partners.
- List of community partners
Review current job descriptions and equity statement.
- Updated job description template
Update job description template and equity statement.
- Updated equity statement
Set team structure for interview and assessment.
- Interview and assessment structure
Identify decision-making structure.
- Behavioral Question Library
Module 3: Culture and Management
The Purpose
Create a plan for an inclusive culture where your managers are supported.
Key Benefits Achieved
Awareness of how to better support employees of color.
Activities
Outputs
Discuss engagement and belonging.
Augment your onboarding materials.
- List of onboarding content
Create an inclusive culture plan.
- Inclusive culture plan
Determine how to support your management team.
- Management support plan
Module 4: Close the Loop
The Purpose
Establish mechanisms to gain feedback from your employees and act on them.
Key Benefits Achieved
Finalize the plan to create your diverse and inclusive workforce.
Activities
Outputs
Ask and listen: determine what to ask your employees.
- List of survey questions
Create your roadmap.
- Roadmap
Wrap-up and next steps.
- Completed support plan
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Need Extra Help?
Speak With An Analyst
Get the help you need in this 2-phase advisory process. You'll receive 9 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
Guided Implementation 1: Recruit people of color in IT
- Call 1: Scope requirements, objectives, and your specific challenges. Assess current state.
- Call 2: Discuss and establish plan for employee value proposition (EVP).
- Call 3: Set your recruitment goals and consider outside partners.
- Call 4: Optimize your job requirement template and equity statement.
- Call 5: Set the team structure for your interviews and assessments. Determine decision-making structure.
Guided Implementation 2: Retain people of color in IT
- Call 1: Augment onboarding materials.
- Call 2: Create an inclusive culture.
- Call 3: Identify what is needed to support your management team.
- Call 4: Close the loop and plan next steps.
Contributors
- Samantha Mullings, Corporate Strategist, Organizational Effectiveness, Diversity and Inclusion Advocate and People Champion
- Marguerite Fleming, Innovation & Inclusive Innovation Consultant and Women in Tech Champion
- Mike Low, Former Recruiter and General Manager, Symbiotic Group Inc.
- Dean Delpeache, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant, Sr. Manager, Talent Acquisition, Professional Speaker and Professor
- Cinnamon Clark, Former Force Diversity and Inclusion Officer, United States Naval and Special Warfare Command; Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Services, McLean & Company
- Jermaine L. Murray, DEI Champion and Recruitment Lead, Black Professionals in Tech Network
- Rob Meikle, Chief Information Officer, Board Advisor, Keynote Speaker
- 11 Anonymous Contributors
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