How Smarter Hiring Transformed Ford's Workforce: A Lesson in Inclusive Selection

In the 1980s, Ford's European sales division faced a glaring issue: their graduate hires were overwhelmingly white males. Rather than launching a surface-level diversity initiative, HR director Ed Sketch took a different approach.

The Strategy: Focus on Process, Not Quotas

The team assumed that talent is evenly distributed by gender and race. Instead of targeting diversity directly, they aimed to improve their selection process to find the best candidates.

Steps to a Fairer Hiring System

1. Analyze Success: Interviewed top-performing hires to understand what made them excel.
2. Redesign Application Forms: Tailored them to seek specific educational backgrounds and achievements.
3. Introduce Objective Tests: Added verbal and numeric reasoning tests that mirrored real job tasks.
4. Revamp Interviews: Restructured the process and added group exercises simulating typical work challenges.
5. Train Managers: Retrained all line managers involved in selection to ensure consistency.

The Results

Almost immediately, the hiring profile matched the application rate. The quality of candidates improved dramatically, and line managers were amazed. While the approach didn't solve ethnic minority underrepresentation immediately, it laid a strong foundation for future efforts.

This case proves that objective, job-relevant selection methods can naturally lead to more diverse and high-performing teams. HR professionals today can learn from this by focusing on the process rather than just the outcome.