Having an inclusive hiring process is seen by many organisations as an end goal. In reality, it’s not something you implement and move on from. It is a way of thinking, questioning, staying intentional and making conscious choices throughout the entire hiring journey.
A journey that starts long before a candidate is interviewed. It often begins the moment a vacancy is created. When a role opens up, many teams instinctively look for someone similar to themselves or the person who left. This results in a lost opportunity for inclusion and diversity. Instead of asking who we want to replace, a much more valuable question is what skills, perspectives and working style the team actually needs to continue developing and growing.
To bring this about, we must realise that inclusive hiring does not sit with Recruitment alone. Our hiring managers, interview panels, and leadership all shape the candidate experience. They set the tone how candidates are treated, directly impacting how Planon is perceived and how valued candidates feel throughout the process.
It’s important to acknowledge that everyone in this process can be biased. Bias is rarely intentional, but it often appears in subtle ways. For example, when hiring managers describe an “ideal profile”. Often these views are shaped by personal experience or professional culture.
This is the moment when our recruiters step in and help the hiring managers shift the conversation from replication to augmentation. But awareness is not built through a single training or policy. We built it into everyday hiring decisions. This means implementing skills-based hiring, using structured interviews to reduce bias, staying in dialogue with hiring teams, challenging assumptions, reviewing candidate pools for patterns, and continuing to educate ourselves.
Start with what really matters
One of the most underestimated barriers in inclusive hiring is the job description. It is often the first signal candidates receive about whether a role is truly open to them. Narrow requirements, unclear expectations, assumptions about availability, and gendered or culturally specific wording can all influence who feels encouraged to apply and who quietly decides not to.
An inclusive job description is not about lowering standards. It is about being clear on what is genuinely essential in the role. That means focusing on skills, behaviour, and potential, rather than overly relying on rigid education or experience requirements. When a job description reflects what really matters, it reaches a broader range of candidates and helps people better understand whether they see a fit with the role.
The same thinking applies to the hiring process itself. Accessibility is not only about whether someone can apply or enter the building. It is also about whether candidates can genuinely engage with the process and show what they are capable of. People with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or other neurodiverse profiles may experience interviews, assessments, or time-pressured exercises differently. These formats do not always reflect someone’s actual capabilities.
Simple actions, such as clearly explaining the process, ensuring candidates have space to think, and actively listening without interrupting already set the tone. Giving candidates a fair chance to explain how they think and approach situations, rather than relying on standard or experience-heavy questions. When candidates feel they are given a fair opportunity to express themselves, they are more likely to show their real capabilities.
Fairness needs both structure and flexibility
Inclusive hiring does not mean removing structure. A fair process needs clear criteria, consistency, and comparable questions. Inclusion lives in how we apply that structure. It helps reduce bias and supports better decision-making. It means being open to conversation, explaining our choices clearly, and making thoughtful adjustments when needed, without losing the fairness of the process.
Skills-based hiring plays an important role here. When decisions are based on skills, potential, and role-relevant behaviour, rather than background or history, hiring becomes more objective. Structured interviews and relevant assessments, such as a Talent Motivation Analysis (TMA) or technical assessment, help ensure candidates are evaluated on what truly matters.
It also means moving away from outdated practices. Previous salary or personal circumstances should not influence hiring decisions. These factors do not determine someone’s ability to succeed in a role.
When these elements come together, inclusive hiring becomes more than a good intention. It becomes a practical way to improve both the candidate experience and the quality of hiring. Candidates are given a fairer opportunity to show who they are, what they can do, and how they can grow.
Inclusive hiring is not about creating exceptions for everyone. It is about building a thoughtful and consistent process, while staying open to the fact that different people may need different conditions to perform at their best. That is what fairness looks like in practice.
When candidates feel seen, respected, and valued for who they are and what they bring, they start their journey with more confidence and clarity. That sense of fairness does not end once the hiring process is over. It shapes how people experience belonging from the very beginning. Inclusive hiring is therefore not a trend, a one-time initiative, or an item on a checklist. It is an ongoing responsibility, and one worth committing to every day.
