Debbie Goodman is an EO Los Angeles member and Global CEO of Jack Hammer, an executive search resource that helps organizations find great leaders. As a global talent acquisition leadership guru and expert on hiring diverse leadership teams, Debbie shares her insights on how to drive real change within your organization.

The fallout from the pandemic has left companies needing to re-strategize their recruitment policies. Between February 2020 and February 2022 in the US alone, the unemployment rate barely shifted from 5.7 million to 6.3 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that “the number of voluntary quits were at an all-time high in November 2021.”

Companies are experiencing tremendous tension between the urgent need to fill vacant leadership roles and the challenge of staying the course with a diversity hiring agenda. Even for companies that have made great progress in diversifying their organizations, there is real risk of reverting to a former homogenous status quo, unless hiring strategies evolve.

Companies with a rich tapestry of diversity are more likely to outperform, as well as create thriving, highly engaged cultures.