How to choose a diverse interview panel

Representative interviewers will give candidates a good impression

A recent global survey of hiring practices by recruitment platform Remote found that only 19% of businesses used an interview panel with a diverse set of colleagues.

However, as RICS talent acquisition manager Daniel Shakespeare explains: ‘Diverse panels come from having a diverse team and work environment. It’s a natural progression from one to the other.’

Having a diverse panel when interviewing candidates is thus a key part of ensuring your organisation’s recruitment process is inclusive. 

What makes a diverse interview panel?

A diverse interview panel is a group of individuals who are selected as representatives of a wider business when interviewing candidates for a job. Typically comprising three to five people, this panel should reflect the wider demographics, seniority levels and expertise of the business as closely as possible.

Depending on the role a candidate is interviewing for, the panellists may be selected from various areas of the business. They may include an HR colleague, a hiring manager, a stakeholder, and representatives from internal groups such LGBTQ+ and women’s networks, and ethnic and culturally diverse groups.

Diverse panels help interviewers and interviewees

The advantages of panel interviews are enhanced when this group includes individuals who represent the diversity of the wider business. This benefits the company looking to hire and the candidate who’s being interviewed.

Panels prove business commitment to inclusivity

When a business chooses a diverse panel to represent them in job interviews, they actively show candidates they’re committed to inclusivity. DEI is considered by 76% of jobseekers, so it’s worth exploring different ways to convey the fact that your recruitment process is inclusive, and mention that you have diverse interviewing panels.

Even if a candidate is unsuccessful, they will share the interview experience with others. This can help build a business’s reputation for more diverse, equitable and inclusive leadership.

A diverse interview panel will also give a range of perspectives on how suitable a candidate is. Interviewers from a range of backgrounds and demographics are likely to submit a wider range of questions as the interview is planned, which can highlight the benefits of different lived experiences. It can also help to keep panellists’ biases in check.

As Oyster Recruitment senior consultant Annelies Kruidenier explains: ‘A business can’t tap into the best available talent if they’re hiring the same type of person every time. Having a diverse interview panel is one way that companies can open themselves up to a wider recruitment pool.’

If you mention in your job advertisement that you use a diverse panel for interviewing, it could also prompt a wider range of people to apply.

Diverse interviewers put candidates at ease

If a candidate sees someone on an interview panel who comes from a similar background to them, or indeed just a diverse range of people, it will help them to feel more comfortable and able to perform well.

It also indicates the type of work environment they’ll be entering if they are offered the job. This will help them decide whether they want to work for the business or not.

Set processes to ensure diverse panels

To set up a truly diverse interview panel, you need to put some controls and processes in place.

Train everyone to be interviewers

By giving all employees training on interview techniques and diversity, you’re turning each of them into a potential panellist. So, when you need to select a diverse set of interviewers, you’ll have a larger range of options.

Such training will also ensure that, no matter who is on it, each panel is following the latest inclusivity guidelines and representing the best your business has to offer.

If it’s not feasible to train the whole company, at the very least the chosen panellists should be given guidance on the latest interview techniques and taught how to be aware of unconscious bias.

Seek a demographic balance

Using diversity data will help you set your panel targets for a balance of demographics that reflect not only the make-up of your business but also a diverse customer base and the neighbourhood affected by the construction project. This is particularly relevant for the built environment, which has a huge effect on people in an area.

‘It’s important to have representatives from at least two different genders and races in each panel,’ says Annelies. ‘Where possible, I also recommend having people from various levels in the business.’

RICS membership diversity, equity and inclusion manager Tomi Laguda adds: ‘Where possible, have employers in the same or similar position in the panel.’

Use external resources

Having advice from a recruitment agency that understands your business will ensure you’re achieving the best possible balance in your panels. ‘[Consultants such as ourselves] can even represent the business in interviews,’ says Annelies. 

‘I’ve sat in on panels when a client has struggled to find a female interviewer. It’s all about choosing individuals who can lend greater clarity to the hiring process.’

Develop a standardised process

The diversity of panellists is great for lending a variety of perspectives and mitigating unconscious bias. Combining this with a set interview process will ensure each candidate is treated equitably.

This will involve:

• having a set list of skills-based questions that each interviewee is asked
• creating a scorecard to mark each candidate’s responses objectively
• scheduling a debrief for panellists at the end of each interview where they can discuss and record their feedback.

This process will ensure your interviews are conducted consistently and each candidate is treated fairly.

Gather candidate feedback

Send feedback surveys to interviewees afterwards, asking how they found your interview process and their thoughts on the level of representation in the panel.

This will help applicants raise any concerns and provide advice about improving the process. Getting constructive feedback in this way is more useful than having an interviewee make a formal complaint.

Feedback will also help identify gaps in your inclusive interview process, and enable you to improve the process to support better interviews in future.

Invest in dedicated training

RICS offers diversity and inclusion training for the surveying profession, with useful advice on how to implement inclusivity in your workplace. The training covers recognising unconscious bias, how to communicate inclusively and the whole recruitment process.