The problem with “set and forget” recruitment

Most companies treat recruitment like a vending machine. Put job ad in, candidate comes out. Press button, make hire, done.

Except it’s never that simple.

What actually happens? Same biases creep in month after month. Good candidates get overlooked for reasons nobody can explain.

Interview panels keep making decisions based on whether they “clicked” with someone.

Meanwhile, the people who got hired six months ago might be struggling, but nobody connects that back to the interview process.

This inclusive interview improvement tip is about breaking free from that cycle.

Instead of repeating the same patterns endlessly, you build something that actually learns from its mistakes and helps you build a better inclusive recruitment process.

Register for our online Inclusive Recruitment course.

Or contact us for tailored support.

Real feedback versus checkbox feedback 

There’s a world of difference between genuine feedback and the token gesture most companies call feedback.

Token feedback looks like this: send a generic survey after rejecting someone.

Ask “how was your experience?” Get back platitudes or silence. File it away, never look at it again.

Real feedback is more like being a detective.

You’re collecting evidence from multiple sources – candidate surveys, yes, but also data on where people drop out, observations from your interview teams, performance reviews of people you hired months ago.

The key difference? You actually use what you learn to change things.

Where to start looking

The beauty of systematic feedback is you can start anywhere and still make progress. But some places give you bigger wins than others.

Look at your job ads first. Who’s applying? If you’re only getting applications from one type of person, that tells you something important before you even get to interviews.

Watch your screening process like a hawk. Are certain groups disappearing between the application and shortlist?

Sometimes criteria that seem perfectly reasonable are actually filtering out entire communities.

During interviews, notice patterns.

Do some candidates seem more comfortable with your format than others? Are there types of people who consistently struggle with your questions, even when they’re clearly qualified?

Then – and this is the bit most companies skip – follow up later. How are your “star” interviewees actually performing?

You might discover that quiet, thoughtful candidates outperform the smooth talkers every time.

Getting honest answers from people

People won’t tell you the truth if they think it’ll hurt them or disappear into a black hole.

Create safety first. Send surveys after decisions are final, not while people are still hoping for good news.

Keep responses anonymous. Actually tell people you want to hear about problems, not just sunshine and rainbows.

Ask questions that matter. Instead of “rate your experience”, try “what parts of our process helped you show your abilities?” or “where did you feel disadvantaged?”

Here’s what separates the serious companies from the box-tickers: when three different people mention the same issue, you fix it.

Then you tell future candidates what you changed. That’s how you prove you’re listening, not just collecting feedback for your filing cabinet.

Your interviewers are data sources too

The people conducting interviews see patterns you’ll miss from behind a desk.

But you need to ask them the right questions. Don’t just debrief about whether candidate X was good or bad.

Ask about the process itself.

What’s hard to evaluate?

Which questions feel pointless?

Do they notice certain types of candidates struggling with the format?

Are there moments in interviews that feel rushed or unclear?

Train them to catch their own assumptions in action.

Some of the most valuable feedback comes when an interviewer says “I realised I was judging that person’s accent” or “I think our scoring system favours people who think out loud”.

Regular conversations work better than crisis meetings. Make it routine, not reactive.

Let the numbers tell their story

Data can reveal biases that individual feedback misses completely.

Track your recruitment like you’d track a marketing campaign.

Who applies? Who gets shortlisted? Who makes it to final interviews? Who gets hired?

Break it down by background and look for patterns.

If your applicant pool is diverse but your shortlist is homogeneous, something’s wrong with early screening.

If people from certain backgrounds consistently score lower despite similar qualifications, your interview format might be the culprit.

But here’s what most companies forget: don’t stop at hiring decisions.

Check performance six months later. Are the people who interviewed brilliantly actually succeeding?

Sometimes you’ll find your process is fantastic at selecting confident presenters but terrible at predicting job performance.

Register for our online Inclusive Recruitment course.

Or contact us for tailored support.

Turning insights into action

Feedback without action is just expensive data collection.

Set review rhythms that match your hiring volume. Monthly if you’re hiring constantly, quarterly if it’s more sporadic.

Use these sessions to examine data, discuss feedback, and choose specific improvements to test.

Assign ownership clearly. Someone needs to track diversity metrics. Someone else follows up on candidate feedback.

A third person ensures agreed changes actually happen. Without clear responsibility, everything falls between the cracks.

Report progress upward too. When leadership sees regular updates on recruitment improvements, it reinforces that this work matters and deserves resources.

Iterating without chaos

Change one thing at a time. Otherwise you’ll never know what actually worked.

This month, test new interview questions. Next month, try a different accommodation process. If you change multiple variables simultaneously, you can’t untangle which improvement drove better results.

Be prepared to reverse changes that don’t help. Not every well-intentioned adjustment improves outcomes. The goal is learning what works in your context, not being right first time.

Build institutional memory. Document what you’ve tried, what worked, what failed spectacularly. When people move roles, the knowledge needs to stay behind.

Avoiding common pitfalls

Don’t ask for feedback you can’t or won’t act on. It destroys trust and wastes everyone’s time.

Avoid leading questions. “How wonderful was your interview experience?” won’t give you useful information. “What aspects worked well for you, and what could we improve?” gets better results.

Don’t assume vocal complaints represent everyone. Some groups are more likely to speak up about problems. Silent dissatisfaction can be just as telling as explicit criticism.

Building something sustainable

Perfect recruitment doesn’t exist. Recruitment that keeps getting better does.

Celebrate improvements, even small ones.

When your team sees feedback leading to positive changes, they’ll engage more with the process.

When candidates see you actually listen and adapt, they’ll give more honest input.

Stay curious about your blind spots. The most dangerous assumption is thinking your process works fine because nobody’s complaining loudly.

Remember that inclusion moves. What feels inclusive today might not meet tomorrow’s expectations as understanding evolves and candidate needs change.

The bigger picture

Feedback loops transform recruitment from a static process into something that evolves.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. You can’t measure what matters without asking the right questions. Build feedback into every stage, and you create the foundation for lasting change.

The end goal isn’t just hiring more diverse people — it’s building a recruitment process that serves everyone better. When you achieve that, diversity and inclusion happen naturally.

Register for our online Inclusive Recruitment course.

Or contact us for tailored support.