Recruitment and selection
Reaching diverse potential
Incorporate a diversity clause to indicate that everyone is welcome. For example, "We select candidates based on their competencies regardless of their age, gender, national origin,.... ." Also include working hours, address, contact details and options for getting there by public transportation. Read other tips here or follow the step-by-step guidelines of Diversity Remix.
Which hard and soft skills/attitudes does an employee absolutely need for the job, and which are a nice extra? Make a distinction between the 'must-haves' and 'nice-to-haves' in terms of language and competencies. Do this by emphasizing only the minimum required competencies. The more requirements, the fewer candidates will identify with your vacancy. Start with a list of very specific tasks for the job.
You can persuade a job candidate when he knows what he can expect when he starts work in your company. Mention whether there are internal/external training opportunities, a mentor/coach is appointed, language courses are provided, etc. This way you can learn more about knowledge and/or work culture more rapidly. For this purpose, there are attractive formulas available such as workplace learning, job coaching, etc. werkplekleren, jobcoaching,…
By doing so you will reach candidates who might otherwise not find their way to your company. Have your own employees (with an immigrant background) or employees with a migratory background from suppliers or partners spread the word about your vacancy via mail, social media, etc. Contact a VDAB account manager, the workplace architects, your sector fund,etc and ask which local partners they work with. Or distribute your job posting among course participants who are attending a (language) course with the VDAB, an adult education center,... .
This offers opportunities for both you and the job applicant. You can introduce your company, explain vacancies and get to know potential candidates. The job seeker will have more opportunities than if he were to only provide a CV. Language problems, for example, may prove to be less insurmountable.
In the VDAB-agenda you will find an overview of job fairs and other work-related events. Employer organizations such as VOKA and Unizo also organize initiatives to introduce you to job seekers (with a migration background).
Check these tips and tools, find here tips from VDAB and consult these tips on developing a diverse workforce.
Select diverse potential
Open hiring is one example. Selection based on CV and cover letter is not common in some cultures, and could be a barrier. It also does not always lead to the best candidate. Keep in mind that a written resume of someone with a migrant background may not be very good, but that doesn't mean that the candidate is less qualified for the position. Invite him to an interview so he can explain his motivation and experience. This will give you a more accurate picture of the language level and competencies present in the candidate. Check here how you can adjust your selection procedure.
These often give a distorted picture if the candidate does not yet have sufficient command of the Dutch language. A poor score therefore does not mean that the candidate is not qualified. Engage in a discussion about his answers and ask further questions.
It requires motivation to really get to know the potential employee and assess him properly, being aware of one's own Western frame of reference with its traditional career path. The HR employee has to be able to step away from this standard image and make potential more visible. A training course in appreciative coaching for HR staff can be help with this.
Appreciate ability and achievements, look at strengths from across the life course and skills needed to go through a migration process. Appreciation and recognition leads to greater self-confidence. It is crucial that this mindset is present in your HR staff, managers and team from the very beginning. A training course in appreciative coaching for HR staff can be help with this.
Unstable times in the country of origin (due to war, the economy,...) often make work and education difficult. The flight and/or emigration process takes time and requires a lot of competences to succeed. Focus on the learning capacity, motivation and initiatives present in the candidate while he was undertaking the journey to Belgium and finding his way in his new surroundings. By talking about this, you can often reveal the potential of the candidate.
Not everyone is used to mentioning their talents and positive attributes or explaining why they choose a job or company. When asked about this, practical aspects are often mentioned such as a steady job, close proximity, good pay, taking care of family. Do not interpret this as a lack of interest in the job or your company. Instead, try asking the following question: "What tasks of this job would you most like to perform?"
A diploma is one way of evidencing necessary 'knowledge and skills'. Often however the required knowledge, competencies and (hard and soft) skills are present in a different context, and can be fine-tuned or acquired through a growth trajectory. For example through advantageous forms of employment with training on your work floor.
Often it is not financially possible to take driving lessons and/or purchase a car (or other mode of transportation) when the applicant does not have a job. Before hiring, map out the costs and agree on a deadline to obtain the driver's license. Follow up and check what the individual will require to take the necessary steps. No time? Engage a jobcoach .
For example, show products that meet the quality standard and some that don't. Explain why they do or do not meet the required standard.
Also discuss possibilities and limitations in connection to vacation arrangements (maximum duration of distant family visits), religious rituals in the workplace (praying, headscarf, fasting) and the way you greet and interact (with male and female colleagues, hierarchical superiors, other cultures) in the workplace. By doing so both parties can make a conscious decision to work with each other or not.
Pay attention to cultural differences during assessments and/or interviews. Discuss what behavior is expected and why it is important. In our culture, for example, you look at an interlocutor because this is a form of respect. In other cultures however, this may be considered rude. Or for example: Taking the initiative and expressing your opinion, can make a company grow. In other cultures this might be interpreted as criticism or opposition.
Here you will find tips to counteract (positive and negative) discrimination during the selection process.
Avoid jargon and check that your job posting is clear to people who work outside your industry. Use this checklist and these tips to make your job posting clear, straightforward and readable. Consult these tips for simple language and tips for written language.
Check with the checklist clear language. If you prefer to outsource this, please contact HRwijs for a free screening of your vacancy or have it proofread by an expert from the Integration and Inclusion Agency or a language coach. Check here where you can get job postings rewritten.
Determine what competencies a person needs in speaking, listening, writing and reading to perform a job. Get inspired by these language profiles or create your own language profile with the help of the Agentschap voor Integratie en Inburgering.
Someone with limited knowledge of Dutch may score better by doing something, than by having a conversation. Is a test or assessment explained in language? Test whether the assignment is clear or provide assignments using pictograms (e.g. with pictures of the desired result, production steps or working drawings).
With these tips you can estimate someone's language level. Also check the ERK-bergmodel and the communicatiewaaier of the Integration and Inclusion Agency. They reflect what someone with a certain language level knows and how you then communicate with them appropriately.
Does your candidate still need to strengthen his Dutch to start working in your company? Consult a language coachLearning the language, and especially the professional jargon needed to perform the job, then takes place in part on the job.
VDAB explains how. On the website of Agentschap Integratie en Inburgering you will find more information on employing people with a migratory background. Via this simulator if your future employee belongs to a category of foreigners for whom you can apply for a work permit.
Make a copy of these documents so that you can present them to the social inspectorate if necessary. If you are not sure whether the applicant's documents are in order, you can ask for advice from the VDAB or the legal helpdesk of the Agentschap Integratie en Inburgering or a legal advisor.
If your candidate submits a certificate of Naric Vlaanderen, you can be confident that the value of the diploma has been officially verified. VDAB and Agentschap voor Integratie en Inburgering can offer you support in this matter.
These include the SME portfolio for training, advice and the purchase of services that improve the quality of the enterprise, as well as training or coaching grants through your sector or training fund.
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