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• Candidates and employees have questions about diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, according to one in five hiring managers surveyed earlier this year.

• Recruitment managers, in turn, want employers to take a stand on this and other questions, Oct. 23 results from the Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll indicate.

• Employers should carefully consider which issues to take a position on, based on their values ​​and the needs of shareholders, said Bill Stoller, CEO of Express Employment International. “It’s about finding the right balance between staying true to the company’s mission and addressing the concerns that matter most to its employees and customers.”

The Express Employment Professionals survey touched on other issues such as environmental issues and policy, but DEI was the top question asked by candidates and the top question hiring managers said they would like candidates to focus on. employers intervene.

These results come in a year when some companies reduced… or in some cases, emptied — their DEI programs following public pressure to do so. And it is public pressure that has led some to oppose these programs – in many cases, only a few years ago.

Notably, the most recent survey did not determine whether candidates were looking for an employer with or without a DEI program, or what type of stance hiring managers wanted their employers to take. But Stoller’s advice to focus on company values ​​and customer demands is consistent with recent messaging from some companies.

Supply of tractors, for example, eliminated all DEI roles and objectives in Augustclaiming to have “disappointed” customers. Microsoft, on the other hand, has made it clear that recent deletions that affected two DEI roles should not be taken as an indication that it is withdrawing from its DEI commitments; The company’s focus on diversity and inclusion is “unwavering,” a spokesperson told HR Dive at the time.

Months of backlash and backtracking led a group of congressional Democrats earlier this month to call on CEOs to affirm their commitments to DEI in the workplace. Lawmakers said such programs reduce the risk of discrimination and threats to employee and consumer safety.