September 28, 2022 | Maira Oliveira

3 Minute Read

Net Health’s Diverse Recruitment Network Seeks to Diversify and Expand the Workforce to All Minorities

Recruitment efforts have evolved over the years, and at Net Health, making sure that qualified employees from all walks of life – regardless of their background, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation – are hired and represented fairly is key. That is why, in late May, the Diversity Recruitment Network (DRN) was established.

What is the Diversity Recruitment Network?

The Diversity Recruitment Network is a growing movement that looks to target all minorities in the hiring process. More specifically, in a recent conversation with Nate Ferdinand, Director of Sales for PointRight, he explained that the DRN’s mission is to “expand outreach for qualified candidates to as many demographic, social, and economic networks as possible with the goal of becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization.”

The initial concept for the Diversity Recruitment Network emerged when Nate and other Net Health employees saw an opportunity to promote job openings in various diverse pools and platforms, available both online and at on-site locations. Diverse platforms that typically a regular company recruiter may not have regular access to.

“Although recruiters do amazing jobs, sometimes it’s the diverse employees that have connections to the diverse workforce,” said Nate. “For example, as a Black male, I probably more than likely have more qualified Black male friends or Black female friends that are available to me, and I can reach out to, to help fill these positions.” 

The Steps of the DRN Hiring Process 

Currently, there is a DRN Slack channel with 13 or so NH employees who have helped lead this initiative, including the company’s recruiters, that actively engage in the diverse recruitment process.

The way it works is simple:

  • Net Health recruiters let other members of the group know when job openings are available.
  • From there, DRN members reach out to specific networks and circles to promote the job listings to diverse individuals. These circles may include colleges and universities, online boards and forums, social organizations, business organizations and more.
  • Upon referral, Net Health recruiters then get in touch with job applicants to see if they are best suited for the role.

As one of their goals, the DRN wants to help assist as many people as possible in getting hired by the end of the year. Since the establishment of the group, they’ve already made three qualified referrals.

“At some point, we also want to promote educational diversity and inclusion events that feature professional speakers. Our end goal is to be as diverse of a workforce we can be,” said Nate.

Creating an Inclusive Workforce for Everyone

While the term “minorities” is often associated with race or ethnicity, Nate emphasizes the fact that minorities also include those of different sexual orientations, genders and age. Ageism is, unfortunately, very alive and well in the nation and that is something the DRN also hopes to shine a light on.

“If we look at tech, there is a general connotation that older or ‘old’ people aren’t able to understand or keep up with new technologies. That is a prejudice we shouldn’t have in our lenses when hiring,” he noted. “When hiring minorities, essentially what we’re saying is, we want to look at every group that isn’t the majority, whether it’s the LGBTQIA+ community, the Black community, women everywhere or anyone else that falls into a diverse bucket.”

Given that the Diversity Recruitment Network launched just a few months ago, seeing how a great number of initiatives and efforts have already started to unfold to bring this movement to the forefront of people’s minds is what helps spread the message far and wide.

“Diversity is what leads to a better thought, a better process, and ultimately a better product,” said Nate. It is this understanding of how much diversity matters that makes all the difference in the workforce, here at Net Health and beyond.

See current job postings at Net Health by visiting our Careers page.

 
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