Recruitment That Truly Opens Doors – How AMS Builds Inclusive Hiring Processes

Our educational initiatives are broad in scope and accessible to all employees – regardless of their role or seniority. For those directly engaged in recruitment processes, we design programs tailored to their specific role and responsibilities.

Hiring managers participate in training on conducting unbiased recruitment at every stage of the process, while the recruitment team learns, among other things, how to use inclusive language, support objective decision-making, and respond to bias. We also address accessibility and adapting the process to the needs of candidates.

All these initiatives are delivered in close collaboration between the DEIB, HR, and Talent Development teams, ensuring their consistency and effectiveness across the organization.

In addition to training, leaders involved in recruitment processes also receive practical support materials – a kind of “knowledge capsule” summarizing the key principles of fair and inclusive recruitment discussed during workshops. These materials focus on eliminating bias in the selection process and supporting objective decision-making.

We also provide short, easy-to-digest tips that help make the entire process more inclusive – before the interview, during the conversation, and after the meeting. These are practical steps that have a real impact on the candidate experience and the quality of decisions made.

Every person conducting recruitment is also required to follow AMS’s internal guidelines, which define standards of conduct and promote a consistent approach toward all candidates.

One of the key tools supporting fairness and consistency in interviews is the Interview Checklist – a simple yet effective control list that helps maintain a unified standard of conducting interviews, regardless of department or interviewer. Thanks to this, every candidate is treated equally and in line with best recruitment practices.

One situation that particularly stuck in my mind happened during a conversation with a hiring manager who – despite having strong experience and recruitment awareness – openly admitted: “I never realized that the phrase ‘a good cultural fit’ could be exclusionary.” This honest reflection opened up a valuable discussion about how easily we can unintentionally narrow the candidate pool by seeking “chemistry” or “intuitive fit” instead of focusing on competencies and potential.

There were also more challenging moments – for example, a situation where a hiring manager rejected a candidate due to a career break, even though her skills were an excellent match. Only after a joint discussion and reframing her experience from a different perspective were we able to “dispel” this stereotype. For me, it was proof that inclusivity often requires us to pause, ask an extra question, and have the courage to change our mind.

One key but rarely discussed challenge is recognizing unconscious bias. Inclusive recruitment starts with the awareness that each of us may tend to evaluate candidates through the lens of our own experiences and patterns.

Another major challenge is the gap between intention and practice. Although many hiring managers declare their willingness to act inclusively, time pressure or lack of the right tools often pushes us back into familiar, less fair methods.

We also still talk too little about systemic barriers – such as inaccessible forms, lack of translations, or limited access to alternative interview formats. These “details” can genuinely exclude some candidates, even if they often go unnoticed.

Inclusive recruitment is not a one-time initiative – it’s an ongoing process that requires reflection, courage, and consistency. And this is something we should definitely be discussing more often.

The questions were answered by Joanna Simankowicz – Manager – Talent Development.