Stephen Colbert Shares the Simple Hiring Process That Led to an 'Extraordinary' Writers Room The host and comedian reveals how his thinking had to change to create an inclusive workplace.

By Nina Zipkin

CBS Photo Archive | Getty Images

So much of hiring comes down to the leveraging of existing relationships and who has access to a given opportunity. Even if an inclusive workplace is your goal, it won't happen without deliberate action on the part of you and your HR team, especially if the industry you are in has a long history of not prioritizing having a diverse pool of applicants.

If you look at the history of late night TV hosts, it's a group that has very similar backgrounds: white male comedians in their 40s and 50s. There is a very good chance that their name is a variation on James.

Related: Stephen Colbert Tries to Figure Out if Elon Musk Is a Superhero or Something More Sinister (VIDEO)

In a recent TimesTalk conversation, Stephen Colbert spoke candidly about the mindset shift he needed to make sure that a variety of voices were being represented in The Late Show's writers room. He admitted that he had been naive to think that a traditional process would result in what he described as an unusual, extraordinary room.

"It wasn't until we said, no please, don't send us anyone but women. Because we would say, you know it's very important, we want writers of color, we want women, and you would get 150 packets and there would be eight women," Colbert recalled. "And we're like, "God, that's so frustrating.' Until I said no, only women, and then I got 87 women. … And now [the writers room is] half, you know, white guys and half either women or writers of color."

What steps do you take to recruit outside your usual hiring channels?

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

'Nobody Ever Gave Me Anything': More Boomers Say They're Not Transferring Wealth to Family Until They're Dead

A new survey from Charles Schwab found boomers are more hesitant to distribute their wealth than other generations.

Business News

'When You Lock Up Products You Lock Out Customers': CVS Is Testing an App That Lets Shoppers Unlock Store Cases Themselves.

CVS is testing new functionality on their CVS Health app that allows users to unlock those annoying plexiglass cabinets.

Business News

Over 1,300 Google Employees Have Signed a New Petition Asking For Job Security

Google laid off thousands of employees in the past two years, which has left some employees feeling insecure about keeping their jobs.

Employee Experience & Recruiting

If You Want to Hire Good Entry-Level Talent, Offer These 3 Game-Changing Opportunities

Finding and hiring good entry-level talent can be a daunting enterprise for small businesses. What can they do to stand out in a time of talent scarcity?

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Leadership

How to Move Fast and Not Break Things — 5 Lessons in Innovation From an Industry With Zero Room for Error

Every company wants to innovate. The trick is to do it in a way that actually helps customers and doesn't put the business at risk