Tip – You Need a Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Innovation and fresh ideas can result from a diverse workforce. Companies have reported lower turnover, higher rates of engagement and increase profits when they create and embrace a diversity and inclusion policy.

Remaining competitive fuels the need for companies to diversify in the global nature of the modern economic environment. Political correctness isn’t the only benefit of having a diverse workforce. Decision making, innovation and higher levels of engagement also see significant improvement through hiring practices that focus on building a team with different backgrounds and perspectives. A byproduct can also be an improved reputation, making it easier to attract talent in the future.

A Diverse Workforce is Beneficial

In the business community few topics are discussed more than workplace diversity. Companies tend to realize a competitive advantage and higher performance when they operate with a diverse workforce. An approach like this helps expand reach, encourage creativity and supports innovation. The Boston Consulting Group found that businesses with above average diversity at the management level see higher revenues (as much as 19 per cent) through product and service innovation when compared to less diverse organizations.

A diverse workforce comes from hiring policies which include a balance of different cultural backgrounds, languages, races, ages and genders. As an example, women were significantly under-represented in high-paying fields, despite making up half the U.S. workforce in 2017. Additionally, in 2019 only 19.3% of Americans of working age with disabilities were employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Conversely non-disabled workers showed employment rate of 66.3% from the available labor pool.  

Attracting and Retaining Diverse Talent

Companies looking to attract and retain talent absolutely need a diverse workplace. Research by Deloitte showed that companies demonstrating and understanding the need for workforce diversity retained millennials longer.  Compared to earlier generations, millennials grew up with the concept of diversity and inclusion as a part of everyday life. As a result, millennials consider this when making employment choices.

Developing a more diverse workforce increases your company’s appeal to those seeking employment, and also boosts the satisfaction of existing team members. Organizations implementing this philosophy often have a better reputation and portray themselves as socially responsible. Research published by Thomson Reuters in their Diversity and Inclusion Index includes examples of companies like Gap, Nestlé, L’Oreal Novartis and Accenture

Here’s an example – 

Accenture –  women make-up 1/3 of its executives and almost half of new hires. This behemoth multinational is creating a culture of equality among it’s more than half million employees in 120 countries. At the opposite end of the spectrum, reaching out through social media and community business networks is a great way for you to begin as a small business owner. Another sure fire way to focus on diversity – connect with organizations serving experts and immigrants.

Creating your diverse workforce is only part of the solution. Once you find them you’ll need to provide the tools necessary for success in their role. One example is height-adjustable desks, speech recognition or one hand keyboards for employees with physical disabilities. 

Engage and Empower Your Employees

Diversity and inclusion are a necessary pair. It’s not enough to just have a diverse workforce. The workplace itself needs to be inclusive. An environment where everyone is heard, respected and valued. Managers need to prioritize inclusion along with diversity. The purpose of this is to empower and engage team members. Oh well implemented diversity and inclusion policy improves the sharing of knowledge, increases loyalty and reduces turnover.

Get these highly desired results is actually not hard. Respect employees’ traditions and backgrounds and listen to everyone’s voice. Relatively easy ways to do this might include inclusion events along with diversity and inclusion focused training activities. The most important element of this approach though, is organization wide implementation…beginning at the top.

Opportunities with diversity and inclusion in mind are on our Job Search Engine.