Coworking with Shaneé Turnbull

On Wednesdays, we schedule our weekly 1:1 with HR Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Shaneé Turnbull is the diversity recruitment program manager at financial services company Voya, where she’s worked since 2020. Turnbull recently told HR Brew why she thinks it’s important for DE&I recruiters to attend conferences and events in-person whenever possible: to build relationships with future hires.

How would you describe your specific job to someone who doesn’t work in HR? I design, develop, and implement innovative diversity recruiting programs in support of Voya’s strategic initiatives.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked? I created and implemented a new program and strategy that allows the business to attract a stronger pipeline of diverse talent by increasing brand awareness with diverse professional organizations.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job? The first misconception is that diversity recruiting means excluding white men. Here’s the reality: it’s not diversity, equity, and exclusion, but inclusion. Diversity recruitment implements inclusive sourcing strategies aimed to attract and retain qualified candidates. The goal is to include qualified, underrepresented talent in the selection process. This provides recruiters and hiring leaders the ability to select from a diverse pool of qualified candidates. I emphasize qualified for the next misconception.

The second biggest misconception is that a person is hired only because they bring diversity to the team, not that they were the most qualified. This is not true, and again, the reality is that diversity can be a plus, but it is not a requirement. Furthermore, being qualified and diverse are not mutually exclusive. They can be the best candidate for the role and be diverse.

What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why? Flexible work options—they are here to stay. The pandemic forced hiring leaders to broaden their scope geographically, which made it easier for recruiters to find qualified, diverse candidates for hard-to-fill positions.

What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? Why? Organizations that believe DE&I is just a trend often put meaningless initiatives in place for optics. Years ago, a leader told me that they believe DE&I is a trend and eventually it will happen “organically” within organizations. My response was, “So, does that mean that racism, discrimination, stereotypes, and biases will ‘organically’ go away as well? Because if that’s the case, then DE&I is going to be a very long trend.” Building an inclusive environment does not happen organically; organizations must be intentional about DE&I at every level.

Unfortunately, the pressure to be more inclusive has several companies marketing DE&I without being truly committed to building a solid infrastructure. Creating an inclusive culture takes money, time, and energy. It’s emotionally draining at times, but it’s so worth it in the end. I’m fortunate to work for a company that’s committed to creating an infrastructure that’s built for a long “trend.”

As you expand the diversity program at Voya, how are you getting in touch with a wide array of potential talent? Now that we’re coming out of the pandemic, it’s really making sure that we’re putting our best foot forward in attending these conferences, showing up at HBCUs, and putting a true face to our company. What’s helped us build our [talent] pipeline, is identifying partners that work best for our business, and working with them to make sure that we are being seen by their members.

Tell us one new or old HR tech product or platform that’s made your life easier, and why. QR codes to recruit. You can provide and retrieve information quickly and with less hassle. We’re able to direct them [applicants] straight to our website [or] whatever links that we feel are valuable for that particular event. And they have the option to quickly upload their résumé, so we’re not having to hand-collect résumés anymore.

Want to be featured in an upcoming edition of Coworking? Click here to introduce yourself.