Inclusion Starts with Your Hiring Managers: Are Yours Ready?

When we talk about enhancing our inclusive hiring efforts, we often picture big-ticket items like investing in a shiny new ATS, overhauling our organisation’s role design or reinventing processes. 

In reality, inclusion starts with the actions of your hiring managers. 

They’re the ones who represent your organisation to candidates, the ones who make the final call on who to shortlist, who to hire, and how that process feels to every applicant along the way.

And yet, hiring managers are often under-supported when it comes to inclusive recruitment tools and skills.

As we approach National Inclusion Week (15–21 September 2025), now’s a perfect time to ask:

👉 Are your hiring managers equipped to hire inclusively?

Why it matters

Even the best-designed recruitment process can fall short if hiring managers:

• Rely on “gut feel” or shortcuts under pressure
• Feel unsure about making reasonable adjustments
• Use language or behaviours that unintentionally exclude

Without support and training, bias creeps in and your efforts to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce lose momentum.

What hiring managers need to know

Inclusive hiring doesn’t require perfection, but it does require awareness, tools, and accountability.

At a minimum, every hiring manager should:

• Understand how unconscious bias works and how it shows up in interviews
• Know how to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for neurodivergent or disabled candidates
• Use structured questions and scoring to drive fairness, and understand why they are doing so
• Be confident asking candidates about adjustments and following through
• Know when and how to involve TA or HR for support

Supporting your hiring managers

Hiring managers don’t need to become D&I experts. They need short, practical, relevant training that builds their confidence and helps them apply inclusive behaviours where it matters most.

That’s why we created our Hiring Manager Training – a half-day workshop designed to:

• Demystify bias and inclusive practice
• Help hiring managers understand how inclusive hiring can benefit everyone
• Build confidence in offering adjustments
• Improve consistency and fairness in decision-making

It’s ideal for teams who want to create more equitable outcomes without slowing down their hiring.

Next Steps

This National Inclusion Week is an ideal time to take a look at your hiring managers. 

Are they set up to succeed?

At Inclusive Hiring Works, we’re here to support you on that journey. We provide:

• Inclusive Hiring Health Checks – Comprehensive audits of hiring processes
• Workshops & Training for Talent Acquisition Teams – Practical skills to drive inclusivity
• Inclusive Hiring Training for Hiring Managers – Ensuring equitable hiring decisions

Want to make inclusive hiring the norm in your organisation?

Book your Free Discovery Call to learn how we can support your business!