Alia Poonawala

Answering the call for diversity The pandemic uprooted the way traditional industries operated, including higher education. As part of a “startup” office in a large higher ed institution, my team was only too eager to propose ideas when traditional university recruiting came to a pause.

In the Fall of 2020, my office at Johns Hopkins University received continuous feedback from companies and organizations that wanted more robust opportunities to recruit diverse talent. That obviously didn't come as a surprise; in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and others, and the Black Lives Matter movement, we witnessed more and more companies evaluating where they stood on diversity and how they could improve.

We noticed in our FDS* data that students coming from a first-generation background were nearly 5% more likely to still be job seeking 6 months post-graduation than their peers. Around this time, we also noticed in our FDS* data that students coming from a first-generation background were nearly 5% more likely to still be job seeking 6 months post-graduation than their peers. Limited income students were 2% more likely to be job seeking. We also identified significant salary discrepancies, shared in the charts below. These discrepancies aren’t new, however. They have existed on a national level for decades.

According to a PayScale salary report in 2021, women earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. These differences in annual earnings can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars less for people over the course of their careers. (1) “Even among students who had the same socioeconomic background, attended the same type of institution, studied the same major, and earned the same GPA,” sociology professors Anna Manzoni and Jessie Streib found that “first-gen men and women still earn, respectively, 6% and 3% less than their peers.” (2) First-gen men and women still earn, respectively, 6% and 3% less than their peers. “Bachelor’s degree holders from low-income backgrounds start their careers earning about two-thirds as much as those from higher-income backgrounds, but this ratio declines to one-half by mid-career.” (3) We recognized that our challenges at Johns Hopkins were part of a larger national issue and decided to take some steps to address that issue internally.

*(First Destination Survey - a university term for a survey sent out to students after they’ve graduated to track their outcomes)

Meeting the challenge As a result, we launched The DEI Collective: a diversity hiring program for companies to promote equitable access to internship experiences. We worked in collaboration with 52 companies, organizations, and internal university partners including the Life Design Lab at JHU and its DEI office, SOAR (Seizing Opportunities, Access, & Relationships.)

DEI Collective hiring partners were eager to grant opportunities to underrepresented minorities (URM) including first-generation, limited income (FLI), racial and ethnic minority, LGBTQ+, international students, and students with disabilities. Our objective was to match hiring partners with diverse students for a summer internship: helping companies build a funnel of potential full-time hires while also helping students get tangible industry experience.

To recruit hiring partners for The DEI Collective, we launched an application process for free membership with the following requirements:

Members must be committed in good faith to hire at least one intern for the summer of 2021. The internship must be paid with a visible salary* (no less than minimum wage in Baltimore, which is $11.75/hr.) The internship must be a minimum of 5 weeks. Members must be committed to following the DEI Collective Guidelines and Best Practices for a fulfilling experience on both ends. Members must attend two mandatory training sessions and both days of the hiring initiative. (Recorded sessions available here: https://bit.ly/3tKB2YX) Members must agree to report hiring outcomes to Hire Hopkins. Job postings which list a salary or range get 30% more applicants than those that don’t. *Did you know that job postings which list a salary or range get 30% more applicants than those that don’t? (4) As a result, we required participating employers to include salary listings in their job post, resulting in an average number of 73 student applications per employer.

Our process + timeline

Why hire diverse? More diverse teams directly correlate to better performance. More diverse teams directly correlate to better performance, and that manifests in myriad ways. According to a 2017 McKinsey report, in a study of 1000 companies covering 12 countries, those in the top quartile of ethnic diversity and gender diversity are 33% and 21% more likely to outperform competitors and to have improved financial performance, respectively. (5) There are other benefits too, such as employee retention (19% greater retention found in DE Inclusive culture), collaboration and engagement (23% increased engagement in inclusive workforce; 57% better team collaboration), and access to top talent via increased job applications (67% job seeker value diversity in workforce). (6)

KPIs We wanted to organize something tangible and outcomes-focused at Hire Hopkins. So, we pitched our concept of the DEI Collective to 10 of our hiring partners who showed great enthusiasm, and we decided to move forward with a pilot. We had only a couple of weeks to promote to employers and put together a website, ops plan, and timeline, but we decided to go for it. (This is the benefit of working in an environment that encourages risk-taking for innovation’s sake, even if it leads to defeat.)

In short, our goal was to empower companies to build the talent pipeline rather than solely take from it.

During our research phase, we would consistently hear from employers, “I want to hire more diverse students,” yet there were few existing company programs in place that focused on building a long-term pipeline of talent. Instead, our partners in HR were doing the best they could in their position: seeking URM students who already had the skill sets and competencies they needed.

We would consistently hear from employers, “I want to hire more diverse students,” yet there were few existing company programs in place that focused on building a long-term pipeline of talent. The problem? It wasn’t scalable. Our thought was, how can we give employers the opportunity to get their skin in the game? How might we empower them in building their talent pipeline over time, rather than just competing for existing URM talent? In short, how could we turn this red ocean into a blue one? While it was by no means comprehensive, this idea led us to focus on internships. We knew that: “graduates who complete three or more internships are more likely to secure full-time employment” (7) and we also wanted to address the issue of underrepresentation in internships, noted in this graph by NACE. (8)

We came up with a recruiting initiative that focused on:

Internships – getting companies earlier-stage talent that they can shape and influence over time. Helping students gain an idea of skills and competencies they want to focus on as they move forward. Building a pipeline of interns who can convert to FT roles. Reducing the gap of students “still looking” 6 months post-graduation. Our efforts (employer outreach, marketing, student-facing advertisement, student training, and preparation) were geared towards meeting objectives and goal KPIs (key performance indicators) which included:

Recruiting 15 employers as members of The DEI Collective Closing the initiative with 15 student intern hires for Summer 2021 Achieving an employer NPS (net promoter score) of 65 What happened With 193 employer applicants resulting in 52 selected members and 119 internship postings, the DEI Collective proved to be a capable platform for matching talented students with employment opportunities. Here's a snapshot of our results, with more details in the charts below.

Employer Data

52 selected companies 119 internship postings, 128 positions A NPS (net promoter score) of 53. NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of “detractor” ratings from the percentage of “promoter” ratings. To collect and calculate this data, employers were asked to rate their overall DEI experience on a scale of 0-10. Ratings between 0 and 6 were detractors, 7-8 were passive (did not contribute to the NPS calculation), and 9-10 were promoters, leading to a final NPS calculation of 53. Most frequent positive feedback included: company access to top talent, staff responsiveness, the highly-organized nature of the initiative, the ability to review candidate dossiers easily without having to do marketing/leg work, and that group interviews were a great way to see candidates interact in more casual format. Companies received an average of 73 applications each 71% of companies made at least one offer 67% of those offers converted to hire 61% of the total employers had internship hires this summer because of The DEI Collective 61% of the total employers had internship hires this summer because of The DEI Collective Student Data

468 unique student applicants (3,786 applications total) 105 offers were extended (87 unique) Top 3 reasons students declined offers: got a better offer somewhere else, the salary offered was too low, the position did not ultimately match their interests. *Due to confidentiality, students with disabilities were not counted in the DEI-confirmed applicants, so we conducted a separate anonymous analysis of their funnel.

What didn’t work As with any large-scale initiative involving multiple stakeholders, the DEI Collective presented several challenges that we aim to learn from and address going forward. Those challenges include:

Meeting employer needs: Some employer applicants’ timelines matched the spring/summer hiring timeline that we outlined, while others were looking for hires for the Fall 2021 season. This reduced the number of employers who would benefit from participation in our hiring initiative, reducing the number of potential roles available to students. Group interview dynamics: In the hopes of connecting companies with more candidates, we gave employers the opportunity to conduct group screening interviews with the applicants of their choice. With an average of 73 applications per employer, group interviews allowed organizations to meet a larger number of interested candidates and potential hires. Overall, this approach proved to be successful, with 71% of the participating companies making offers. However, group interviews posed a challenge for some organizations. The group interview setting was viewed as an obstacle to making a personal connection with interviewees by some employers. Additionally, in a group setting, the response and overall demeanor of students was easily influenced by earlier responses by other interviewees. This was reflected in both positive and negative feedback we received around the interview process. Positive feedback from employers included statements such as the following: “The group interview style was effective. I enjoyed getting to know students in a more ‘casual’ format.” “I surprisingly really liked the group interview format. I was unsure of this and had not previously held group interviews but really loved seeing the candidates interact.” Students’ feedback regarding group interviews was generally more negative, with statements such as:

“The group interviewing was not ideal.” This less-common interview style seemed to pose an issue for students who weren’t familiar with this format, as well as those with minimal interview experience. Negative employer feedback also reflected similar sentiment, with statements such as:

“Group interviews are difficult. I'm interested in the research behind it, but for me, it limits the capabilities of a more introverted or inexperienced candidate the opportunity to put their best forward given the intimidating group environment. We had a bachelor's student mixed in with master's level students and he struggled to make an impact with that group.” The biggest issue that group interviews posed for employers was the inability to establish a connection with candidates, and therefore adequately screen them:

“I would hope to do 1:1 interviews next time to provide a personal touch to each of the candidates.” “The fact that we were tied down to having a group interview made it difficult for employers to actually screen candidates according to their regular process.” Overall, while group screening interviews seemed to work for some of the participating employers, this was not a one-size-fits-all approach.

3. Meeting expectations: The DEI Collective was focused on matching students from URM categories with employers looking to make DEI hires. These included: first-generation, limited-income, racial and ethnic minority, LGBTQ+, international students, and students with disabilities. Legally, the initiative could not be closed off to student applicants who were not classified as URM. As a result, 65% of applicants were confirmed to belong to a DEI category, and 35% of the applicants were unconfirmed, since several of the categories can go undisclosed (LGBTQ+, disability, and sometimes even FLI). Therefore, undisclosed applicants were chosen for interviews and received job offers. This posed a challenge for employers aiming to make a certain number of “on-paper” DEI hires. Most importantly, employer expectations of having access to a pool of exclusively DEI applicants were not met. We also realize it’s important to shift the employers’ mindset of hiring “diverse talent” from thinking only about racial/ethnic minorities to focusing on a broader range of diversity traits that include socioeconomic status/FLI/LGBTQ+/disability status, etc.

4. NPS: lower than we wanted

Employer NPS: 53 Biggest employer pain points: Group screening interviews not allowing for a personal connection with candidates; this was most frustrating for companies that heavily value personal connections. Student NPS: 0 Biggest student pain points: Group screening interviews; students not used to this/not prepared enough. Frustration with not moving past screening interview and not knowing WHY/lack of transparency and feedback; they wanted more feedback and communication to better prepare for future opportunities. Discouragement in that the majority of the pipeline was not selected (only 19% of candidates were selected for 128 open roles) and there were no official follow up programs/interventions. What we learned Through the pilot initiative, 71% of our member companies made offers, 87 unique students received internship offers for the summer, and 57% of those offers were confirmed DEI talent. Yet, based on the charts above, we realize we still have a lot to improve.

In our next iteration, we’re interested in exploring other interview modalities, ways to better focus on underrepresented students, shifting employers’ goals from hiring “diverse talent” (and thinking only about racial/ethnic minorities) to focusing on a broader range of diversity that includes socioeconomic status/FLI/LGBTQ/disability status etc., and lastly, improving student NPS and follow-up programs for the 81% of students who did not receive an internship offer from this initiative.

Looking for diverse interns? We’ve launched our next round of The DEI Collective, and your company can learn more and apply to hire interns for next summer (2022) with us here !

Authors Alia Poonawala , Executive Director, Hire Hopkins

Marta Sliwa , Project Operations Associate, Hire Hopkins, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University

Mukund Madhav Goyal , Project Operations Associate @ Hire Hopkins, PhD Student, Dept. Of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Who we are: Hire Hopkins is a design-thinking office based out of Johns Hopkins University that's focused on helping companies and organizations get access to the best talent possible from JHU's nine divisions while working towards improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Our mission is to put together outcomes-focused and data-driven hiring initiatives to solve pain points that employers face when it comes to university recruiting. In the last 18 months, Hire Hopkins has helped 150+ organizations source the very best talent from Hopkins across all levels, majors, and skill sets, resulting in more than 150 job offers.

A special thanks to our partners who made this possible... SOAR TEAM

Andrea Wiseman, Carlos Medina, Clifton Shambry, Hope Burke, Michael Gonzales

Led by Alayna Hayes – Director of Life Design: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

LIFE DESIGN LAB

Aleanairis Nunez, Christopher Edwards, Ciara Flowers, Cori Ramos, Jess Harlee, Kelly Mathews, Lauren Barrett, Louise Lasalle, Sonjala Williams, Mark Savage, Leah Banks, Emily Hogan, Justin Lorts, Nadine Goldberg

Led by Matthew Golden - Executive Director, Life Design Lab

Led by Patrick Brugh - Director of Operations

INTEGRATIVE LEARNING & LIFE DESIGN

Danielle Simms, Joy Saunders, Paul Hutchinson, Christy Murray, Jean Amiel Jourdan, Corinne Brassfield, Jenny Eddinger, Zane Forshee, Pat Phelps, Roshni Rao, Laura Arthur, Caroline Kelly, Maren Gonzales

Led by Farouk Dey, Vice Provost for Integrative Learning & Life Design

LEGAL

Beth Weber, Gerard St Ours, Hope Murphy Tyehimba

Our inaugural hiring partners Want to be on this list? It's free to be a member and you can apply here.

Accenture, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, Anthesis Consulting Group, Attentive Mobile, Blickman Industries, Bloomberg LP, Catholic Relief Services, Citizens' Climate Lobby, Commonfund Capital, Compass Marketing, D.C. State Board of Education, Democracy International, DocuSign, Fahrenheit 212, FrontierView, Gartner, Greenspring Associates, Health Advances, HomeAdvisor, Infinite Biomedical Technologies, Insight Policy Research, Institute for Defense Analyses, JMI Equity, Lutheran Immigration Refugee Service, Mack Real Estate Group, Manatt Health Strategies, Matician, Mercer, MV3 Marketing, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Council for Behavioral Health , NewPoint Strategies, Pan American Development Foundation, Parks and People Foundation, Parsons, PenFed Credit Union, Polen Capital, Putnam Associates, Recombinators, Roper, S&P Global, Sage Growth Partners, Scholars Strategy Network, Sia Partners US, Simon-Kucher & Partners, sPower, Swiss Re, T. Rowe Price, TikTok, W2O Group, Wayfair, ZS Associates

Sources Racial and Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2021 | PayScale. PayScale. (2021). Retrieved 6 September 2021, from https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap#section14 . First generation students earn up to 17% less than peers. EAB. (2021). Retrieved 6 September 2021, from https://eab.com/insights/daily-briefing/student-affairs/first-generation-students-earn-up-to-17-less-than-peers/ . Hershbein, B. (2021). A college degree is worth less if you are raised poor. Brookings. Retrieved 6 September 2021, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2016/02/19/a-college-degree-is-worth-less-if-you-are-raised-poor/ . The Pros and Cons of Including a Salary in Job Postings | Lorman Education Services. Lorman.com. (2021). Retrieved 11 August 2021, from https://www.lorman.com/resources/the-pros-and-cons-of-including-a-salary-in-job-postings-16865 . Hunt, V., Prince, S., & Dixon-Fyle, S. (2018). Delivering through diversity. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved 9 August 2021, from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/delivering-through-diversity . The state of diversity recruiting in 2020. Harver.com. (2021). Retrieved 6 September 2021, from https://harver.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/White-paper_-The-state-of-diversity-recruiting-v8.pdf . Saltikoff, N. (2017). The Positive Implications of Internships on Early Career Outcomes. Naceweb.org. Retrieved 9 August 2021, from https://www.naceweb.org/job-market/internships/the-positive-implications-of-internships-on-early-career-outcomes/. Racial Disproportionalities Exist in Terms of Intern Representation. Naceweb.org. (2021). Retrieved 9 August 2021, from https://www.naceweb.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/trends-and-predictions/racial-disproportionalities-exist-in-terms-of-intern-representation/ .

Alia Poonawala

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