Increasing the number of women, especially in the upper echelons of management, is a challenge many companies want to address. New research from
@smithschool has an easy fix: Widen the pool of qualified candidates for open roles by asking for more referrals.
“The core idea is straightforward, which is a strength of this approach: Just ask for more names,” says Aneesh Rai, assistant professor of management and organization who co-authored the research in the Journal of Applied Psychology. “For example, instead of asking for two referrals, ask people to give at least four referrals.”
Referrals are a critical channel for filling open positions and securing professional opportunities. It is common practice for hiring managers to solicit referrals, asking people to recommend anyone they know that could be a good fit for an open position. By simply asking for more names, you can get a longer list of qualified candidates. More names means more qualified women (and men) that companies can choose to hire.
rhsmith.umd.edu/research/eas…