NEW YORK — Furthering its push for diversifying the industry, CommunicationsMatch has partnered with the Hispanic Public Relations Association, making members more visible to companies that use the search platform in finding recruits.

Under the partnership, HPRA members are able to create a personal profile at no cost for a year on CommunicationsMatch, which allows companies to search for agencies or potential hires based on a number of criteria, including diversity. The platform is offering to help HPRA members create those profiles so they attract attention.

CommunicationsMatch, which is populated by roughly 5,000 comms agencies and individuals, will also create a quick search link specifically for HPRA members, with the goal of creating opportunities that otherwise may be missed.

“For our organization, it’s really important to have this partnership, as we have a lot of members who are breaking out on their own or starting their own agencies — and a lot of (the challenge is) not knowing where to go,” said Braid Communications co-founder Erika Sanchez, who serves as president of HPRA’s New York chapter.

The partnership comes on the heels of other CommunicationsMatch diversity initiatives, most notably  the similar partnership already struck with the National Black Public Relations Society’s New York chapter, whose members also get benefits aimed at boosting their visibility.  CommunicationsMatch does not operate as a job search tool but as a means by which companies can find agencies, consultants and freelancers that meet specific needs.

“Diversity has been part of our DNA from the beginning,” said founder & CEO Simon Erskine Locke. “We are in world where the audience is by definition diverse and we therefore need diverse people at the table.”

“What we find  is that creating these search paths make it easier to find diverse firms and is a specific way in which the diverse firms are to be included,” he said, adding that he plans to roll out the special services to other chapters of the partnering organizations as well as more associations.

Tracey Wood Mendelsohn, president and CEO of the Black Public Relations Society New York, said the initiative helps individuals and companies on both sides of the hiring equation find each other whereas otherwise they may not.

“A lot of  companies have been coming to me … and saying they want to make sure that diverse agencies are getting a chance,” said  “We want to create different showcase opportunities so women and minority owned businesses can compete.”