The Influence of Colorblind and Race-Acknowledged Organizational Socialization Messages During Offer Consideration

Abstract

This study investigated a key question involved with attracting and retaining a diverse workforce: Should recruiters provide race-related realistic organizational previews (ROPs) to job candidates from historically-marginalized groups during the offer consideration phase? Colorblind (i.e., race ignoring) socialization practices are likely motivated by several fears. Yet, a colorblind strategy may also miss potential advantages afforded by race-acknowledging ROPs. Black and African-American ( N = 338) individuals participated in a three (colorblind, implicit, or explicit ROP-type) × two (Black or White recruiter) message processing experiment. Statistical analyses revealed that implicit race-acknowledged ROP messages were comparable to a colorblind condition in terms of organizational attraction and motivation to join the organization. Furthermore, an implicit race-acknowledged ROP message was associated with higher intention to accept a job offer than an explicit race-acknowledged ROP. Analyses also revealed that participants perceived recruiters as credible and polite, regardless of recruiter’s racial identity or the race-related explicitness of the ROP message. Implications of the study conclude the paper.