There are a variety of benefits associated with inclusive hiring practices, including the ability to attract top talent, higher employee engagement and the fact that diverse perspectives can lead to groundbreaking innovation. But how do companies actually put equitable hiring practices into practice? We spoke with four talent professionals to find out.
At virtual healthcare platform Pager Health, for example, Director of Talent Attraction Meghan Stahl said expanding their applicant pool and updating job requirements allowed her employer to source candidates from more diverse pipelines and talent pools.
“Ultimately, it’s about giving more people a genuine opportunity to show what they can bring to the team, because different experiences and perspectives make our company stronger,” Stahl said.
At Tufin, a network security policy management company, People and Culture Generalist Lily Asnes said her team uses structured interview processes and multiple interviewers to gather different perspectives and work closely with hiring managers to minimize bias throughout the process.
“One of my favorite parts of the job is getting to know candidates throughout the interview process and then seeing them join the team and succeed,” Asnes said.
Read on to learn about the thoughtful hiring practices, inclusive onboarding programs and candidate experience initiatives that make these four employers stand out — and the impact this has on the employee experience.
Tufin is a network security policy management company, managing and automating security changes across next-gen firewalls and network devices.
What’s it like to work on the HR or recruiting team at your company?
Working on the people and culture team at Tufin is amazing because every day is different. I get to partner with leaders across the business, help build out teams and play a part in bringing great people into the company. One of my favorite parts of the job is getting to know candidates throughout the interview process and then seeing them join the team and succeed. I also really enjoy the people I work with — our team is collaborative, supportive and always willing to help, which makes even the busiest days enjoyable. It’s a fast-paced environment where there’s always something new to learn and I feel like I’m able to make a real impact while working with a great team.
How does your team support inclusive hiring practices?
Our team is committed to creating an inclusive hiring process by focusing on finding the best candidate for the role while ensuring everyone has a fair and consistent experience. We use structured interview processes, collaborate with multiple interviewers to gather different perspectives and work closely with hiring managers to minimize bias throughout the process. We also make an effort to build diverse candidate pipelines and create a positive experience where every candidate feels respected and valued, regardless of the outcome.
What should candidates know about the way your team creates a strong candidate and employee experience?
Creating a great candidate and employee experience is something our team really cares about. We aim to keep communication clear and timely throughout the hiring process, make sure candidates know what to expect at each step and be available to answer questions along the way. Once someone joins Tufin, we work closely with managers and cross-functional teams to help ensure they have a smooth onboarding experience and feel welcomed from day one!
Pager Health is a virtual care platform that enables healthcare organizations to help their members and patients navigate the entire healthcare journey with a personalized, connected care experience.
What’s it like to work on the HR or recruiting team at your company?
I love leading talent acquisition at Pager Health because we get to connect talented people with work that genuinely matters. When the fit is right, it’s a win on both sides: Pager Health gains someone who can help move the business forward and that person has the opportunity to shape the future of healthcare while building a fulfilling career.
We move quickly, so the people who thrive here tend to be adaptable, collaborative and willing to roll up their sleeves. Finding candidates who are excited not only by the role, but also by our pace, purpose and culture, is both the challenge and the fun of recruiting at Pager Health.
How does your team support inclusive hiring practices?
Our team believes great talent doesn’t come from one background, one career path or one familiar network. We support diverse hiring by expanding where and how we search, questioning requirements that may unintentionally screen strong candidates out and creating structured interviews so everyone is evaluated against the same criteria. We also aim to make the process transparent, accessible and human from the first conversation to the final decision. Ultimately, it’s about giving more people a genuine opportunity to show what they can bring to the team, because different experiences and perspectives make our company stronger.
What should candidates know about the way your team creates a strong candidate and employee experience?
We believe the employee experience begins well before someone’s first day. Our team works to create a hiring process that is welcoming, transparent and respectful of each candidate’s time. We communicate openly about the role, our culture and what it takes to be successful here because a great experience should be built on honest expectations, not surprises.
We also want candidates to feel like they can be themselves, ask thoughtful questions and get to know us just as much as we are getting to know them. Once someone joins Pager Health, that same care carries into onboarding, helping new employees feel connected, supported and ready to make an impact.
Britebound is an edtech platform that helps students learn about careers and navigate postsecondary pathways through exploration, work-based learning and free digital experiences.
What’s it like to work on the HR or recruiting team at your company?
Our people and culture team is a tight-knit, collaborative group that genuinely enjoys working together. While we each bring our own area of specialty to the table: recruiting, HRIS, learning and development, benefits and compensation, facilities and employee relations, we don’t work in silos. When it comes to larger initiatives or company-wide projects, we come together seamlessly, pooling our expertise to make sure every angle is covered and every detail is handled with care.
What really sets our team apart is our open-door policy. We believe that support should be accessible, not gatekept, so whether you have a quick question or a more complex concern, you’ll always find someone ready to listen and help. Our goal is to be a true partner to every team member from the moment you’re recruited, through onboarding, growth and development and every milestone in between.
Ultimately, we see ourselves as more than an administrative function. We’re here to build a workplace where people feel supported, valued and set up to do their best work throughout their entire journey with us.
How does your team support inclusive hiring practices?
We post our roles on various job sites, including diversity career sites, university job boards and online community spaces. We offer concise job postings and utilize an AI tool to enhance inclusive language on all postings. Each posting contains transparent salary ranges on all job postings. All these efforts are to encourage every candidate to apply for a role they’re interested in. Our application process is streamlined to be easy and efficient for candidates of all abilities. We utilize a blind application review process which means all profiles are evaluated for only their skillset and past experiences without any personal information attached. We offer interview training and bias mitigation training to all hiring managers and interviewers prior to meeting candidates. They also have access to the “hiring toolkit“ which offers materials and guides to create an inclusive hiring process. Hiring teams are required to submit their interview questions and focus areas to talent acquisition prior to meeting candidates to ensure alignment and consistency. The teams will follow the same line of questioning for all candidates to objectively evaluate their skillset.
What should candidates know about the way your team creates a strong candidate and employee experience?
I believe hiring shouldn’t feel like a blind experience. From the first conversation, candidates get quick updates so they’re never left guessing, streamlined interview rounds that respect their time and honest communication about where things stand internally, even when the answer is simply “still deciding.” We’d rather over-communicate than leave someone in the dark.
That same philosophy carries into onboarding. New hires meet early and often with both P+C and their manager, so they start day one equipped with the tools and context to succeed, not scrambling to catch up.
The relationship doesn’t stop there. Throughout an employee’s time at Britebound, P+C stays engaged: checking in on how they’re doing, what support they need and how we can help them grow, whether through development conversations, benefits check-ins, or simply an open door.
“Ultimately, our goal is consistency, the same care and transparency a candidate feels during recruiting is the same experience they’ll have as a Britebound team member.
Gridline is a financial services provider that helps wealth managers run private market programs at scale.
What’s it like to work on the HR or recruiting team at your company?
It’s great! We’re building something special here. All teams seem to respect each other and rely on heavy collaboration to get deals pushed through the door. It’s quite exciting to see it happen! I think the most important thing I’ve noticed since joining is that collaboration. Before I joined, the teams were smaller and people wore many hats — perhaps too many hats. We had people on the investment team trying to close some deals and pick up the slack on customer success. We had people in software engineering who were helping out the fund operations team get calculations locked in (and automated). We’ve been able to hire and expand our team (and better define the swimlanes) but the collaboration DNA is still there and ingrained in how we do business.
How does the Gridline team support inclusive hiring practices?
We hire through clear policies, consistent processes and structures designed to minimize bias.
- Equal Opportunity: We provide equal employment opportunity across all hiring stages and do not discriminate based on any protected status, complying fully with Title VII, ADEA, ADA and the Equal Pay Act.
- Bias Reduction: Mandatory unconscious bias training helps hiring teams evaluate candidates objectively.
- Market-Based Pay: Compensation is benchmarked against external market data to ensure equal pay for equal work, regardless of salary history or negotiation.
- Accessibility: We offer reasonable accommodations so all candidates can fully participate in the application process.
- Respectful Culture: Clear anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies protect candidates and employees alike.
- Internal Growth: Structured promotion reviews ensure fair evaluation and equitable growth long after hire.
Among the five in-scope leadership team members beyond the co-founders, three are women and two are men, which puts women in 60 percent of those roles. Women also hold several senior positions across the company, including general counsel/CCO, chief growth officer and vice president of business operations.
What should candidates know about the way your team creates a strong candidate and employee experience?
First of all, we will never ghost you. We will always close the loop on every role. Second, from the beginning you will get a great bird’s eye view of the company from the beginning and a full debrief of the team and the role. Talent acquisition will shepherd the process until the logical conclusion. If you end up getting the position, talent acquisition will walk you through the onboarding process until your start date (and the swag). We aim to have a high-touch process. Along the way, you might get a survey about how we did. We read those and incorporate the feedback accordingly.
