Wells Fargo to rethink diversity policy after former employees speak of fake interviews, report says

Wells Fargo has suspended a hiring policy that required managers to interview diverse candidates before offering someone a job, according to Reuters.

“Since The New York Times published a story last month about diverse job candidate slates at Wells Fargo, I’ve had the opportunity to hear from many of you,” the bank’s CEO, Charles Scharf, said in the memo, according to Reuters. “In these sessions, you’ve described in deeply personal terms the career obstacles you’ve faced because of who you are.” 

The pause comes three weeks after former employees told The New York Times that Wells Fargo often made them conduct “fake interviews” with a person of color even though there was no intention of actually hiring the person. One former employee in particular — Joe Bruno — said he was fired because he spoke out against the fake interviews, the Times reported.

Wells Fargo will make adjustments to the policy then relaunch it next month, Sharf said in the Monday memo. The company still plans to interview and hire candidates of color in the meantime, he said.

Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS MoneyWatch.

“Window dressing”

Wells Fargo, the nation’s third-largest bank, adopted the policy two years ago in an effort to increase its workplace diversity. Under the policy, hiring managers must interview at least one woman and one person of color for job openings, particularly for positions where the salary would be $100,000 or more. Black people made up 13% of Wells Fargo’s U.S.-based staff, and Hispanics 17%, according to 2020 company data. 

Other companies, such as Adobe, Best Buy and Pinterest, have adopted similar mandatory interview measures to promote employee diversity. However, the technique has drawn criticism from experts who say it often amounts to a worthless quota that doesn’t move the needle. Hiring managers simply check the box for diversity interviews, then hire the…