Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) should be an essential goal of all organizations. DEI encompasses many aspects of people – their gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and physical ability being just some examples.
Representation is one element of DEI, but not its only consideration. DEI also encompasses the task of addressing any bias blindspots hidden within data that might exist.
1. Invest in your people
Diversity initiatives can have a dramatic effect on employee retention, which is key to any company’s success. When employees feel appreciated for their unique characteristics and experiences, they tend to remain longer with the company, helping reduce turnover costs such as advertising, recruiting, training and lost productivity.
companies who implement diversity initiatives as a strategy to retain employees are investing in the future of their business. A diverse workforce offers many advantages, including increased innovation and productivity as well as superior customer service. Companies who prioritize diversity and inclusion are more likely to outshine competitors in the marketplace.
Culture can make or break diversity and inclusion efforts, particularly when it comes to cultivating an inclusive workplace. Culture encompasses an organization’s priorities, values, behaviors and employee relations practices which all have an effect on how employees collaborate together as an team. Furthermore, company culture impacts how an organization deals with diverse groups such as races/ethnicities/genders/ages/religions/abilities and sexual orientations within its workplace community.
Establishing a culture of inclusion begins by acknowledging diversity as part of your company and understanding how it manifests in everyday activities, policies, and procedures. It means addressing microaggressions, bias, discrimination and supporting various forms of diversity that exist in the workplace.
An employer should recognize the religious or spiritual practices of some employees during the workday by providing them with space to pray or meditate, flexible scheduling for workers who care for children or family members, and culturally appropriate meals and snacks for employees from diverse cultures or who adhere to specific religious restrictions.
As part of their investment in their people, companies should ensure all employee resource groups (ERGs) have executive sponsors who facilitate conversations about diversity and inclusion. It’s also crucial that employees from across all levels are represented within leadership – this research shows that diverse teams are better at problem-solving and coming up with creative solutions than non-diverse ones.
2. Create a culture of inclusion
Workplace culture has taken an unexpectedly hard hit over the last several years. New challenges like COVID-19 pandemic, remote work and calls for greater diversity have forced human resource leaders to reevaluate how they manage people and teams. Establishing an inclusive workplace environment may seem like an overwhelming task but is essential if companies hope to attract and retain top talent.
Step one is defining what diversity, equity and inclusion means to your business. This may range from hiring quotas to equal pay rates or providing learning and development opportunities for all employees. Once defined, track and measure progress – employee engagement surveys provide useful metrics – but other measures include job retention rates, recruitment numbers, promotions etc.
Key to building an inclusive workplace culture is making sure employees feel free to be themselves at work, including genders, races and sexual orientations of all backgrounds communicating freely and respectfully among themselves. Furthermore, managers and team members should become aware of any biases they might harbor as well as take proactive steps toward eliminating them.
To achieve this, train all of your managers on how to be inclusive leaders and encourage all employees to practice empathy and understanding through tools that make it easier. For instance, apps exist that help users identify sexist language in emails or memos while tools like Slack’s round-robin method ensures everyone’s voice is heard during meetings.
Support a culture of inclusion by encouraging employees to use their preferred pronouns when communicating with other employees. You can do this by simply asking them to state it at the start of every conversation or by using gender neutral language for team communications. Creating an inclusive workplace also means providing employees with tools like unified communication platforms that allow them to access company news and updates via their preferred platform.
3. Measure your progress
Companies focusing on DEI initiatives should establish tangible metrics to gauge whether or not their efforts are working, not only by tracking demographic data but also employee experience, company representation and resources. By using such measurements as indicators of success in DEI initiatives, leaders can set goals, assign accountability and develop transparency into these efforts.
DEI metrics come in many different forms, but it’s essential to keep in mind that people’s identities are multifaceted and interwoven. To create an inclusive workplace, employers must take into account not just race, gender, age or sexual orientation; other considerations include how often employees can speak their native language in the office; whether or not access is provided for religious services on site and even whether their organization supports pronoun flexibility for transgender or non-binary workers.
As part of measuring your company’s diversity, the first step should be assessing your existing workforce. Start by identifying which groups are currently underrepresented within your company and use this data to create an action plan with realistic goals that you can work toward over time; for instance if women are underrepresented on your leadership team it could be as easy as hiring more women into leadership roles.
Be sure to analyze employee retention rates regularly so you can gauge how your current employees feel about their working environment. If a group feels alienated by your culture, they’re likely to leave. If there’s been an alarmingly high turnover of certain groups within your workforce, consider investing in inclusion and diversity training as soon as possible.
As part of your DEI efforts, one great way to evaluate them is to look at your company’s presence within its community and industry. For example, if it doesn’t appear in various media outlets or conferences regularly, chances are it’s not taking full advantage of opportunities for growth.
Financially evaluating DEI initiatives is of equal importance. Establishing an inclusive culture takes considerable resources and investment from leadership; setting clear funding goals and metrics to gauge progress can help ensure your efforts are paying off.
4. Build a plan for the future
As our world becomes ever more diverse, diversity, equity, and inclusion will only become more crucial in the workplace. Establishing an environment characterized by these values will allow organizations to attract and retain employees more easily while building stronger client relationships and creating innovative solutions to solve customer problems and meet customer demands.
Diversity initiatives are critical, but for true organizational transformation to occur, businesses must focus on including and appreciating differences across their entire work environment – from recruitment through promotion processes. To do this effectively requires understanding the differences among diversity, equity, and inclusion. Diversity refers to various identities spanning gender, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation and ability; inclusion is about ensuring all members of a population or community have equal access to opportunities within an organization.
Many people mistakenly believe diversity simply involves hiring for various demographics; however, this is not necessarily the case. To create an inclusive environment, it is necessary to understand the various dimensions of diversity (age, gender identity, race and culture) as well as their power dynamics which may cause biases or lead to inequities within decision making and workplace culture.
Companies can take steps to promote an inclusive work culture by aligning employee resource groups with executive sponsors, encouraging senior-level sponsorship of diversity efforts, and including diversity metrics in performance reviews. Furthermore, companies can provide resources for employees to practice cultural competency while learning how to effectively work with people from diverse backgrounds and identities.
Companies can promote an inclusive culture by making sure all employees are aware of upcoming religious and cultural holidays and are respectful when ending team calls or meetings. This gesture shows employees how the company values them both professionally and spiritually, helping all to reach their full potential and reach success in life.