Webinar Recap: How representation in leadership impacts employee retention

In 2024, a robust commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) practices is proving to be a key differentiator for companies seeking to retain their best engineering minds.

Hiring diverse talent is one thing; keeping them is another.

Our recent webinar explored how DEIB efforts focused on mid-level engineers will improve your talent retention. In this incredible session, our panelists, Hilliary Turnipseed, Senior Director of Talent Retention at Kapor Capital, Joshua Gutierrez, Pathways Engagement Programs Lead at Netlifx, and Sophie Novati, CEO at Formation, debunked common DEIB hiring misconceptions, explained the top reasons for retention struggles, and advocated for better recognition for mentors.

Here’s the recap.

Diverse doesn’t mean junior

Too often, the term diversity is synonymous with entry-level candidates. That’s bias, both conscious and unconscious, creeping in.

Many diversity initiatives focus on entry-level positions and education because the requirements are more flexible and they’re easier to place. There’s an unconscious expectation that underrepresented candidates are coming from nontraditional backgrounds like bootcamps, or that they are career changers. This makes recruiters searching for diverse candidates source them from those areas, often subconsciously limiting the talent pool because they’re not considering other resources or aren’t going beyond those places to find more senior candidates.

Even if certain candidates are career changers, recruiters sometimes discount the previous work history they bring to the table. These candidates with nontraditional backgrounds often bring new perspectives and strengths to their engineering careers that are incredibly valuable.

For instance, if you’re a company building accounting tools, find an engineer with an accounting background who can provide critical subject matter expertise. With the increase in technical training and career pivoters today, it’s easier to find engineers with a background relevant to your company’s product or mission, and companies would benefit from tapping into that nontraditional pool of talent.

How to solve it:

• Be intentional with senior pipeline generation. It will take some work to combat historical hiring trends, but think outside the box and go beyond your typical strategies to reach a different pool of candidates.
• Combat referral bias by being clear with what you’re looking for and prioritizing candidates from a variety of backgrounds that fit your company’s needs.
• Combat interview bias by having a strong, structured interview approach and ensuring diversity among hiring managers and interview panels.

Emerging talent leaves companies when they feel like an outsider

It’s one thing to recruit diverse emerging talent. It’s another to keep them. There are several reasons why top talent leaves companies, and most of it has to do with feeling like they belong.

Lack of inclusivity and belonging

A workplace that lacks inclusivity can make diverse employees feel isolated or marginalized. If an individual doesn't see themselves represented at higher levels or feel that their identity is not understood or valued, it can lead to a sense of not belonging. A lack of diversity can lead to unconscious biases and microaggressions. These subtle, often unintentional, expressions of bias can make the workplace uncomfortable or even hostile, pushing employees to seek more welcoming environments.

How to solve it:

• Prepare your teams for inclusivity. Leverage programs like ERGs to make sure you’re creating spaces of inclusivity and belonging and provide training for leadership and teams.
• Provide mentorship opportunities.  A lack of mentors or sponsors who share similar backgrounds or understand their unique challenges can leave diverse employees without the guidance and support they need to navigate and advance within the company.

Limited growth opportunities

Career advancement is a significant factor in job satisfaction. If diverse employees feel that their work isn’t compensated fairly or recognized adequately compared to their peers, it can lead to dissatisfaction and feeling undervalued. Ultimately, they might perceive a lack of transparent, equitable opportunities for promotion or feel that they are being pigeonholed into certain roles or tasks, leading to frustration and eventual departure.

How to solve it:

• Figure out what will help people grow and provide those opportunities.
• Work to provide professional development opportunities and clearly define pathways for growth.

Inequality in compensation

Employees talk. Compensation is often seen as a tangible reflection of how much an organization values its employees. When there's a disparity in pay, especially along the lines of gender, race, or other demographics, it creates a perception of unfairness. Employees who feel undervalued are more likely to seek opportunities elsewhere where they believe their contributions will be more fairly rewarded. Plus, prospective employees are more informed than ever and may choose to avoid companies known for unfair pay practices. So, when there is inevitable turnover due to unfair policies, the company's ability to attract top talent is damaged.

How to solve it:

• Salary transparency is the best way to address potential gaps in compensation. Provide reasonable pay ranges and complete pay equity analysis, including measuring promotion numbers, to find out if there’s an existing disparity.
• If gaps are found, address them immediately and directly.

Recognizing and rewarding mentors is critical to retention

Our speakers shared that mentorship needs to be considered something that has intrinsic value rather than bonus value. Employee participation in mentorship needs to be considered in actual performance evaluations. Its impact on the internal organization and the business impact needs to be measured and quantified.

While this is a problem across the board, people from diverse backgrounds are disproportionately asked to put in extra work, like participating in events, speaking on panels, and mentoring other employees from similar backgrounds. Most want to take on this extra work and have no problem doing it, but if they have to fight to be recognized for doing the work, it can create a feeling of being undervalued.

How to solve it:

• Add mentorships and other events or ERG work to performance evaluations.
• Quantify how the employee is involved in various opportunities, celebrate that work, and then give people chances to do more of it.

Create a culture of inclusivity

Shift your focus beyond just recruiting diverse talent to fostering a workplace where everyone truly belongs. Diversity means valuing the unique perspectives and experiences each individual brings, regardless of their background.

If you're looking for support beyond the tips outlined above, we'd love to chat! Connect with us to explore how you can elevate your SWE hiring strategy and create a more inclusive, equitable environment where your top talent thrives and stays.