[This article is a recap of the 4th episode of our Podcast about Doctolibers, called In good company. Listen to the full episode here!]

Being inclusive is key when your product is used by more than 70 million people in 3 countries – which is the case for Doctolib. True inclusivity starts with a culture where everyone feels that they can voice their opinions and bring their true selves to work.

How do we tackle inclusivity at Doctolib? We’ve asked Deborah Baldé, DEI manager at Doctolib, to share her views & concrete actions on the topic.

Inclusion before diversity

“In my opinion, Inclusion should come before Diversity. There is no diversity without an inclusive environment. You can bring as many diverse talents as you want but if you don’t have an inclusive place ready to welcome them, they won’t last long.

As a candidate, when I look into a company, one of my first reflexes is to check out their leadership team. I also look at my future team’s composition on top of the company culture (after understanding their business model of course). If I see no efforts made on that front and a fairly homogeneous team, I know I won’t fit in and it will deter me from applying. Now, it doesn’t only come down to a few fun team pictures or buzzwords on a company’s page. Facts and authenticity are important too. Nobody’s perfect and it’s important to recognise it. A truly inclusive environment allows everyone to be their authentic selves. It’s an environment that accepts people as they are, and allows them to express their opinion and ideas without judgment.”

Our key inclusive recruitment projects at Doctolib

“From a purely hiring perspective, we’re working on projects that allow our hiring decisions to be purely based on the candidate’s potential and ability to do the job – nothing else. Not their age, not their religion, not their style, not their family status, etc. Here is a few of them:

activated features in our Applicant Tracking System to remove biases from our hiring process. One of them consists in anonymising the candidate’s name or any other personal traits when they have to submit a home assignment back to us. The goal of this process is that the person who assesses it focuses only on the delivery of the assignment.
We review our job descriptions so they use non gender-biased language to attract all kinds of talents.
We raise awareness amongst recruiters and hiring managers with inclusive hiring training. This sparks a lot of interesting and deep conversations, including an entire module on unconscious biases.

The things that make the difference when launching inclusivity initiatives:

1- It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s about a mindset and a genuine willingness and belief from our main decision makers that a diverse workplace can drive more innovation and profitability. Numerous research have shown this.

2- We need to start internally. Bringing more awareness on diversity, letting minorities speak for themselves and be heard, especially by the leadership team. This is key to bring change and foster a more inclusive environment.

3- Having sponsorship and a united people team. Leadership sponsorship is key. But I think it’s important to have a united People team who works together with the leadership team. This is especially true when rolling out the DEI strategy and vision (from recruitment to engagement). As a recruitment team, we can hire more diverse talent. But if our HR policies or our HR colleagues’ goals are not aligned with our DEI vision, that talent won’t stay long.

4- We need to be patient and kind with each other. It might sound basic but it’s easier said than done when dealing with such sensitive and sometimes emotional topics. We all have to remind ourselves that we come from different backgrounds and that some concepts we feel strongly convinced about might not convince others. Starting any initiative with positive intent and data to back up our arguments helps in driving more constructive conversations.

To know more about my story; have a listen to our podcast here.