Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts tend to be led by employees who care deeply about them; whether due to personal experience or commitment. But in order for any real change to take place, efforts should be inclusively supported across an entire organization.
DEI initiatives aim to combat unconscious biases and microaggressions, creating fairness in every aspect of business processes. DEI efforts help foster an environment in which everyone feels like they belong; encouraging better decision-making processes as well as employee retention.
Hiring
Establishing a diverse workforce is the first step toward inclusion, and hiring should reflect that diversity. Create an interview panel reflective of your organization’s diversity, train managers on unconscious bias during interviews and monitor what can or cannot be asked of candidates regarding aspects such as personal life or religion during an interview process. Consider virtual coffee chats which link employees across departments randomly for one-on-one conversations in order to build relationships and promote inclusion within the company.
Step two of promoting diversity equity and inclusion involves creating an inclusive workplace culture, starting with your leadership team. Make sure your c-suite includes diverse members to demonstrate to new hires and current employees the value of DEI in your workplace culture.
As part of building an inclusive workplace, it is also important to offer benefits inclusive of all employees. Offering flexible work options, childcare services, eldercare plans, fertility planning services and holiday/vacation pay are great ways of showing that you’re serious about creating an accessible work environment.
Training and development sessions that are culturally competent can also promote an inclusive culture by opening discussions about privilege, oppression and power dynamics in a productive manner. Furthermore, your trainer should take the time to comprehend every nuance associated with each topic, understanding how it may play out differently across contexts.
As national conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion heat up, companies need to demonstrate their dedication to DEI initiatives within their organizations. Supporting a diverse, equitable workforce isn’t only great for business; it is integral to shaping America’s future.
Attracting, retaining, and growing top talent requires organizations that embrace inclusion to enable everyone to bring their full selves and talents into their workplace. When companies embrace inclusion they create an environment for everyone’s contribution which attracts top talent faster and promotes effective innovation, driving business growth.
Promotions
Companies seeking diversity must make sure it goes beyond recruiting to promoting workers. One strategy for doing so is focusing on leadership positions, making sure those holding these positions reflect diversity, or using data to demonstrate how it leads to improved performance – one study found that companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity were 27 percent more profitable than their counterparts in the bottom quartile.
Diversity in the workplace ensures a broad variety of perspectives on how to approach solving problems, helping businesses meet customer demands while better comprehending their environment.
Inclusion is an integral element of diversity because it ensures everyone feels respected and included no matter their background or experience. When employees feel valued in their workplace environment, they tend to become more engaged and productive.
Many employees want their employers to demonstrate social activism, and may be more inclined to support a brand which shares their interests. Employees also want a company committed to upholding its values; none want to work at an establishment which does not.
Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) requires senior-level role modeling of DEI principles. This can be accomplished through training on topics related to DEI such as unconscious biases and microaggressions. Furthermore, open dialogue must also be fostered so employees have an outlet to discuss their experiences openly.
Businesses focused on diversity, equity and inclusion must create a plan to monitor their progress in these areas. Employee satisfaction surveys may reveal where improvements need to be made while linking measurable outcomes directly to compensation (for instance tying bonuses directly to meeting diversity metrics).
Businesses should keep in mind when implementing DEI that this initiative is not just an HR issue but an organizational one; all team members need to come together and commit to changing old systems, practices and beliefs within the business.
Retention
Retaining employees is of utmost importance in any successful workplace. Replacing workers can be both costly and time consuming, not to mention damaging for morale. Commitment to diversity equity and inclusion helps decrease turnover by creating an inclusive work environment which attracts diverse workers.
Diversity doesn’t only refer to representation; it also encompasses the various perspectives people bring to teams. A team with multiple perspectives is more likely to make better decisions and generate innovative solutions; additionally, those who feel supported and valued within their organization tend to remain more committed long term.
An organization that pledges their support for DEI sends a clear signal to both its employees and community that it values everyone equally, which demonstrates its desire to attract and retain top talent. This commitment can be especially vital for companies with large populations of minorities or BIPOC employees as these employees may become vulnerable if they feel undervalued or unsupported in their workplace environment.
To maximize employee retention, companies should create and implement effective policies. Once implemented, these should be communicated to all staff members to ensure they understand how they will affect them. In addition, employers must support employee resource groups (ERGs). Employees form these on their own or with help from employers according to race/ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, religion/belief system affiliation or sexual orientation and aim to create safe spaces where employees can share experiences and concerns safely.
Finalizing employee retention involves making sure all employees receive equal treatment, such as providing equal opportunities to pursue promotions and advancement. Furthermore, providing training that assists employees navigate situations involving bias or discrimination is critical.
Training
Diverse workforces provide numerous advantages to businesses. This can include lower employee turnover rates, a greater talent pool to draw upon for recruitment purposes, higher productivity and innovation levels and an improved industry standing. But diversity policies alone may not suffice if employees do not support and understand them – this is where training comes into play.
Diversity training should not just fall to HR; everyone in an organization, from managers and all levels alike, should contribute. Unfortunately, however, organizations often provide such training only when something like Sephora’s decision to close all its stores for one hour after the COVID-19 pandemic to provide anti-bias training receives considerable media coverage; such high-visibility efforts tend to raise awareness but don’t always lead to lasting change.
Diversity training should be ongoing and must encompass intersectionality – an aspect of identity that examines how different aspects intersect or overlap in an individual’s identity. For instance, someone who identifies both as LGBTQ and African-American may experience more discrimination and be perceived as “other” due to intersectionality factors. By teaching your employees these concepts they can better understand their prejudices and biases and how they impact other employees.
Online diversity training can be an invaluable asset to your company if it has multiple locations. But you should use online training with caution; though many courses feature interactive elements, not everyone may be able to participate equally and this may result in feelings of isolation among participants – therefore finding programs with various learning styles should be your top priority.
Cornell eCornell offers another online diversity training option with their “Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) Leadership” course. This provides an opportunity to become an advocate of EIDB in your workplace by creating an inclusive culture. Self-reflection, critical thinking skills and knowledge of topics such as history, psychology, sociology, legal studies and management studies are required; suitable participants include leaders at all levels, HR specialists and managers.