Top tips to help you reach your equity, diversity, and inclusion goals

Early in my career, good education and a strong work ethic were all that I believed was necessary for success. As I matured, I quickly realized that hard work and education alone did not translate to advancement. After seeing countless people who were technically less qualified than I get ahead, I realized that visibility, investment in career development, and executive sponsorship all played an important part in their promotion. This realization was a catalyst for my work in ED&I. I wanted other women and underrepresented groups to be seen, heard, valued, developed, and promoted. It flamed my fierce passion for equity and inclusivity. I didn’t want anyone else to suffer the isolation and deafening silence of exclusion that had been my lived experience.

Every day, each of us has a new opportunity to use our voice, platform, and influence to transform the lives of those who don’t have the opportunity to speak up for themselves. We can create workplaces and communities where our differences are celebrated, instead of making people feel ostracized. It begins with clear intention, commitment, and actionable plans.

Whether you’re just starting out, or looking to take your ED&I policy to the next level, we all have to start somewhere. Maintaining the open dialogue around ED&I that we’ve cultivated as an industry over the past decade is, in itself, an important step. Next, we need to push for real investment.

I believe that diversity and inclusion must be infused in every single element of the talent lifecycle to attract quality candidates, enhance employee engagement and drive performance. But I also appreciate that for many organizations, this is still relatively new territory – and that as we all strive to do better, there may be some anxiety around getting it right.?

As I move into my new role as Chief Equity Officer at Randstad, here I give what I think are some of the best practical tips to help guide those looking to attract a more diverse workforce and foster a sense of equity, inclusion, and belonging that will have a positive impact across the entire organization.

How to source candidates from underrepresented groups and conduct a more inclusive hiring process

The first and most crucial step should be identifying exactly what ‘underrepresented’ means for your organization. If you are a global organization, it is important to recognize that this will likely look different from country to country. For example, in the US, historically underrepresented groups include women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, veterans, and the LGBTQ+ community. In Japan, underrepresented groups may include the indigenous Ainu, Chinese, Korean, and women. It all depends on your starting point.

Next, it is important to work with partner organizations. At Randstad, we have several global reskilling programs specifically to attract underrepresented groups. Working with partners ensures not only a strong and diverse talent pipeline but also a positive impact on the communities where your company operates and serves.

Third, ensure that your organizational leaders from the CEO down exemplify inclusive language and behaviors. Leading with empathy, showcasing organizational values, accountability and transparency all set a positive example for hiring managers that will influence how they act and perform in their own roles.

And finally, we have to remember that the candidate’s experience is paramount. Every aspect of that experience should be effortlessly thoughtful and inclusive and work to make the candidate feel that they belong. This thinking should be applied everywhere, from the seemingly small things, like using inclusive language in your job adverts, to the big things like removing any unnecessary barriers from the interview process and making sure you include diverse people and perspectives within your interview process so that the candidate can visualize themselves at the company. Your recruiters and talent advisers are often the first point of contact the candidate has with your company, so it’s important to ensure that they are mindful of the kind of diversity and inclusion you wish to see reflected in their talent pools.

Of course, attracting diverse talent is just one piece of the puzzle. The real work often comes from creating and upholding a positive, authentic, and inclusive culture – and this isn’t so simple as choosing new partners, or implementing new processes. It means working to unpick unconscious biases stitched into us over a lifetime, facing up to somewhat unpalatable truths, and looking at every action and interaction we make as a business in a new way.

How to foster a sense of belonging?

To foster a sense of belonging I always recommend the following three ingredients: an executive team that leads by example, employee resource groups (ERGs) and/or business resource groups (BRGs), and, most importantly, the creation of safe spaces where everyone feels they can bring their whole and best version of themselves to work.

I’m sure that every diversity practitioner will agree that their efforts would be futile without the right tone coming down from the top. Having passionate, authentic leaders who advocate for the needs of their employees as individuals is one of the best ways to demonstrate an organization that is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

?Employee-led groups with an executive sponsor are also critical to strengthening a company’s cultural competence, helping to foster a sense of comradery, advocate for issues important to the target demographic, build allyship and develop a strong sense of community – something that may have been lacking since many of us started spending time working at home during COVID-19.?

Everybody wants to belong to an organization where they can be their authentic selves without judgment. It is important that all leaders take the opportunity to be boldly inclusive when, in the past, they may have remained silent, creating safe spaces where employees can have a voice and share feedback in a way that is truly seen and heard.

How to do a better job retaining employees from underrepresented groups?

In focusing on diverse talent attraction, many employees fail to recognize the ever-changing employer/employee dynamic post-COVID-19. With the Great Resignation or Great Reimagining, today’s workers have many options including contract work. Keeping them on board means having a culture and overall employee experience it would be hard to walk away from: by incorporating ED&I into onboarding and leadership training; by offering reskilling to those in the most vulnerable economic positions; by leveraging sponsorship programs to ensure high-potential individuals have access to career development and promotion opportunities; and by working to foster a sense of true psychological safety.?

At Randstad, we have belonging, and inclusion questions built into our regular employee engagement surveys. This helps to provide real-time visibility of positive cultures, ensuring that teams and the business as a whole can identify opportunities to strengthen and grow.

When it comes to ED&I, the human capital sector has fallen behind the curve – where could it be more important? More investment and support are needed, in money, time and sponsorship, so that we can have a positive impact on people’s lives on an individual basis. We must do more to advocate for underrepresented groups.

I’d love to hear what you think about this. Please share your thoughts with the #TalentVoices hashtag.