Crafting Recruitment as a Watershed Moment for Early Inclusion
Abstract
Building inclusive workplaces remains a major challenge for contemporary organizations. Human resource management (HRM) is increasingly called upon to play a role in fostering inclusion, particularly through recruitment practices that aim to improve access for underrepresented groups. Yet, most approaches focus on recruitment outcomes related to fairness and diversity, often overlooking whether and how inclusion can be experienced during the hiring process. This paper examines the case of Team Jolokia, a French non-profit organization that has assembled unconventional ocean racing crews since 2012, with the goal of demonstrating that diversity can be a source of performance. The initiative, widely covered in the media and supported by institutional partners and corporate sponsors, has gained visibility and sparked interest from major companies. Drawing on an abductive qualitative study, we examine Team Jolokia’s recruitment process, which we analyse as a sequence of interconnected stages (sourcing, application, assessment and selection). While initially designed to foster diversity, this process also gives rise to an early sense of inclusion among selected candidates. Our findings thus highlight the experiential dimension of recruitment, which can contribute to meeting individuals’ needs for both uniqueness and belongingness. Building on this insight, we propose a relational and integrative view of inclusive recruitment, grounded in a human-centred philosophy, that challenges the conception of people as resources. This philosophy is articulated through five mutually reinforcing principles: ‘anyone can apply’, ‘everyone has skills’, ‘social skills come first’, ‘vulnerability is not a problem’ and ‘fit with the mission and values is key’. Together, they serve as inclusive heuristics, forming a generative compass that can help organizations rethink recruitment as an inclusive experience.
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