Be Diverse, Equal, and Inclusive in Your Organization

As the world continues to move toward a global economy, the related issue of diversity comes to the fore. Embracing diversity, treating every employee equally, and being inclusive in every aspect of employee relations shows respect and benefits your organization.

Many companies are becoming aware of this pressing need and are searching for ways to implement policies that improve their practices and work toward achieving this goal. In this article, we’ll treat the topic by showing both benefits and roadblocks, as well as potential solutions.

What Does Diversity Really Mean?

It’s true that gender discrimination is a major issue preventing diversity in the workforce, but it’s only one aspect of a larger issue. Racial discrimination is also at the forefront, but religion, culture, sexual orientation, language, and education are other factors that have proven to be obstacles to advancement when employees or candidates face non-diverse management. Instead, these should be embraced and respected.

How Can Your Company Benefit From a Diverse Team?

Giving everyone an equal opportunity to find their place in your organization can bring real competitive advantages. Here are a few for you to consider:

Innovation. When team members have similar backgrounds, they tend to generate similar solutions to common problems or projects.?On the other hand, including teammates from the other gender and from a variety of cultures and languages, the team as a whole has a broader perspective and becomes more creative and original in what it produces. Innovation is a proven competitive advantage.

Productivity. One study suggests that productivity increases up to 35% among diverse teams. Having a broader perspective enables a team to find more efficient and effective ways to meet your clients’ needs. Furthermore, each one being evaluated based on their individual efforts rather than other discriminating factors contributes to a sense of contentment, and satisfied employees make productive employees.

Reduced Turnover. When a person feels valued and respected, they are less likely to search elsewhere for employment. There are many who value a favorable work environment over a higher salary. And reducing turnover works to your financial benefit; you’ll see reduced HR and recruitment expenses, adding to your profit margins.

Engage a Diverse Customer Base. A diversified team will be better equipped to see things from the perspective of your broad customer base. With an international flavor, your products and marketing can be adjusted to better resonate with your target demographic in each region of the world that you serve.

Higher Revenue. A diversified organization generates 19% more revenue than its competitors, according to a recent study. And as mentioned before, having happy employees, lower turnover, and boosted innovation all lead to new peaks in company revenue.

Developing a Diverse Team

Many factors can stifle the inclusion of minority or underrepresented groups within your company. Here are a few problems frequently encountered along the way, along with a few suggested solutions.

Eliminate Bias. Most would say they’re not biased; this behavior is often manifest unconsciously. However, if a team member is inclined to dismiss a fellow worker’s input simply because of their gender, race, or other non-work-related factors, they are biased. To counteract this tendency, businesses have availed themselves of diversity training programs and have formed minority support groups. Beyond the day-to-day struggles, bias is often present even in the recruitment process, often eliminating talented candidates and thus robbing your company of the potential to get ahead. A blind screening process can help to advance qualified prospects toward the final stages of candidate selection.

Try a “Returnship” Program. A large number of professionals have taken a break from their careers to pursue other interests, cope with a life event, or for various other reasons. These experienced, talented people are looking to reintegrate into the workforce and simply need a refresher to get up to date with the latest skills and industry trends. A “Returnship” program in your company could be just what they need to get moving again. Bringing such ones up to speed is more cost-effective than training someone new for a leadership position. Choosing from this diverse pool will let you reap the benefits of their talent to advance your company ahead of the rest.

Welcome Apprentices. While apprentices were more common in the past, they still have a place in your organization today. If you were to offer a training program for those who wish to get their foot in the door in your industry, you would be giving minority groups a much-needed opportunity, while seizing a chance to discover raw talent and train them for advancement in your company. This comes at little cost to you and can bring great benefits.

Pay Equally. If you pay some persons more than others for performing the same services, you show everyone in your organization that advancement depends more on who you know than what you can do. Closing the pay gap between majority and minority groups should be of the highest importance for every business today. When your employees feel they have an equal opportunity to advance, they become more content remaining in their role, lessening the chance your top talent will be poached by competitors.

Be Inclusive. In the technology sector, research shows that 18% of computer science graduates today are Black or Latino, yet they have obtained only 5% of the available technology jobs. Your company must break the mold and be more inclusive. Then, once more minority workers are part of your team, you must ensure that their voices are heard within your internal company culture. Forming resource groups within your organization can help. It is also beneficial to use some continuous education sessions to teach relational skills, helping each group to see how their speech and actions are perceived by others, thus promoting mutual understanding and respect. Additionally, setting goals as a group to challenge inappropriate conduct or speech can bring problems to the fore where they can be dealt with appropriately.

Looking Ahead

As shown, moving toward a diverse workforce, treating everyone equally, and being inclusive, is the right thing to do. What is more, it brings real competitive and financial advantages.

It’s not a goal to be taken lightly – Decades of discrimination cannot be erased overnight. However, concerted and persistent effort will pay off, and everyone in your organization will benefit.

By Chandra Subramanian, CogentNext Technologies