Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives form the cornerstones of an inclusive workplace. DEI programs help build more equitable workforces while eliminating unconscious biases and preventing microaggressions from taking place within it.
Make Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion part of your workplace culture by discussing it regularly during meetings, one-on-ones, and at company events.
1. Recruiting
Recruitment of a diverse workforce is integral to improving both bottom lines and creating better cultures. Employees who feel included are more engaged, going the extra mile for their employer – increasing profitability and morale simultaneously. Furthermore, companies with more diversity often possess superior innovation capabilities as they better understand customer preferences.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (sometimes abbreviated to DEI, D&I or even EDI ) are often lumped together, but each component carries its own specific meaning. Diversity refers to representing various demographics in your workplace while equity ensures employees from those groups have opportunities and advancement. Finally, inclusion is about making sure employees feel welcome at work so they can be their authentic selves at work.
To recruit a diverse workforce, start by adapting your company’s language and hiring practices. For instance, using inclusive job descriptions with no stereotypes may attract more diverse candidates; additionally you can utilize various online job boards dedicated to recruiting underrepresented groups like 70 Million Jobs or Hire Autism to find skilled candidates.
Once you have an inclusive workforce, training and other initiatives should be implemented to make employees feel welcome and valued. Mentorship programs or interactive workshops may help create this sense of inclusion; additionally, encouraging your employees to attend conferences or other outside-the-office events can broaden horizons while broadening perspectives and exploring new ideas.
A complete DEI program may also include strategies to counter unconscious bias and other barriers that prevent people from feeling welcome and progressing within the workplace. This may involve informing employees what constitutes microaggressions and instructing them on how to respond in a respectful manner when these situations arise.
Businesses recognize the significance of diversity promotion but may not give enough thought or effort into doing it effectively. A diversity and inclusion strategy not only benefits your business but is the right thing to do; those who neglect doing this risk losing out on an immense resource of talent as well as losing top performers.
2. Onboarding
Onboarding is an essential element of creating an inclusive workplace, as employees form their first impression of company culture and feel as though they belong. A positive onboarding experience can make all the difference for an employee’s day one experience and how supported and valued they feel from day one, but DEI must be considered part of an overall onboarding strategy for optimal success.
DEI training aims to make employees aware of their biases and learn ways they can become more inclusive in team environments. Furthermore, this type of course teaches employees about understanding all of the identities that comprise their workplace environment – such as ethnicity, religion, socio-economic status or gender identity and expression.
Some organizations provide DEI training through their HR department, while others host workshops or events at their office. No matter which approach is taken, DEI training must be offered to all new hires as soon as they arrive and refreshed regularly for existing employees.
Recent high-profile events have brought renewed awareness of racial injustice, but businesses must continue discussions and take steps to create more equitable working environments. Sephora held DEI training across its stores last year – but one-off initiatives alone won’t create meaningful change.
Companies seeking to have an impactful presence must prioritise diversity and inclusion throughout their operations, starting with onboarding. A comprehensive strategy could involve custom welcome materials tailored towards employees from underrepresented minority groups, personalized mentoring or coaching plans and access to an exclusive support network.
Women of color often feel encouraged during their onboarding process by receiving personalized video messages from female leaders within the company, or access to digital learning resources with answers to frequently asked questions – which will give confidence and alleviate anxiety for new employees.
Also important for businesses is an assessment of their current onboarding and development practices to ensure they’re effectively implementing DEI. Once this assessment has been made, setting SMART goals to measure success of DEI implementation efforts as well as regularly checking-in with employees is recommended.
3. Training
Building an inclusive workplace requires constant training, coaching and mentoring for employees to recognize their own biases and make conscious adjustments in how they interact with colleagues. Results won’t appear overnight but over time.
Companies can provide diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training through in-house programs or outside experts. A successful DEI training program will educate employees at all levels of their business on identifying and correcting their biases so they are better equipped to work with people from other backgrounds.
Training should be tailored specifically to the needs of your company and its workforce, such as maternity/family leave policies for example if most of your workforce consists of women aged 25-35. An employee survey can be an invaluable way of gathering data on areas in which training needs can be most effectively addressed by your team.
Training can be an arduous task for some organizations. Companies attempting to introduce diversity training often fail in gaining employee buy-in due to it appearing intrusive or forcing employees into change their behaviors against their will. Furthermore, making mandatory diversity training can increase animosity among employees who perceive they’re being forced into altering their behavior against their will.
Leaders must lead by setting an example and participating in DEI training themselves if they hope to avert these pitfalls. Leaders who actively take part will create an inviting culture, while showing employees that management understands and supports efforts aimed at encouraging diversity within their workplace.
An organization should go beyond training in making its commitment to DEI clear to employees across functions and roles. This can be achieved by including DEI language in all job descriptions and postings, creating an affirmative action policy and offering support services when necessary.
Companies that invest in diversity and inclusion will see immense returns, both internally and externally. Such organizations can better meet the needs of a more diverse customer base, attract top talent, foster innovation through multiple perspectives, and promote collaboration and creativity across teams.
4. Performance
Retaining a diverse workforce is only half the battle: employees must feel welcomed in order to fully capitalize on diversity and inclusion at work. Employees who lack an inclusive atmosphere could have detrimental effects on your business performance – they may not engage with its mission, values or culture and could result in less productive employees that quit sooner and may become vulnerable to harassment or bullying incidents.
Make diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) part of your company culture to give team members a sense of belonging. This means incorporating DEI into all aspects of business operations from recruitment and onboarding through training and performance reviews; regular discussions about it must take place both individually and collectively within teams – creating a safe space where employees can share experiences or perspectives regarding DEI issues.
One key way of creating an inclusive work environment is demonstrating that all employees are valued and appreciated regardless of their background or differences. Be conscious of unconscious bias’s effect on hiring processes, and train your team members on identifying it and eliminating it through measures like using structured interviews instead of traditional interview questions, and practicing neutral language when conducting job interviews in order to spot and avoid it.
As part of celebrating different religious and cultural holidays, as well as to acknowledge their impact on a person’s gender identity, race/ethnicity/sexual orientation/physical ability/age and religion experiences in the workplace, celebrating various holidays can make your employees feel supported and included – offering floating holidays for Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh holidays will help your employees feel supported and included!
Measure and track DEI progress effectively and regularly. While many companies have begun tracking diversity metrics, this alone won’t do. More should be done to ensure diversity initiatives are reaching their goals; data collected should then be used to inform policies, programs, hiring practices and hiring practices going forward – ultimately benefiting the bottom line of any company.