Unpacking the adaptive role of recruiters in fostering diversity

Recruiters face a tension when hiring managers struggle to hire based on established perceptions of ideal candidates while remaining open to diversity. Prior literature overlooked this tension for recruiters and how they navigate it, leaving a critical gap in understanding recruiters’ tensions in fostering diversity. Drawing on 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork, this study explores how recruiters carry out their role throughout the recruitment process when working with managers to foster diversity and how they navigate related tensions. Two interrelated tensions faced by recruiters are identified: (1) a tensional role balancing between being administrators and being sparring partners who challenge managers on diversity, and (2) a tensional situation when managers struggle to hire between ideal and diverse candidates. Findings reveal that recruiters navigate these tensions by adapting to managers’ needs, creating closer relationships that enhance their ability to challenge managers on diversity. However, overly close relationships can also risk creating blindness to diversity, thereby compromising diversity goals. This study contributes to diversity recruitment within Human Resource Management by demonstrating that recruiters’ roles are largely constructed through relationships with managers, with adapting to managerial needs emerging as a crucial competence for fostering diversity amidst navigating the tensions of overly close relationships.