Following trending stories about discrimination, more companies are taking steps to improve their diversity efforts. Organizations are realizing diversity and inclusion are critical components of recruitment and retention strategies and, well, just good business. There are a number of benefits from organizations efforts to support diversity, equity, and inclusion, making doing good, good for your business.
Benefits of having a diverse and inclusive workforce
- Gain community trust and support
When discrimination makes the news, people expect businesses to act. The legal and ethical cases for diversity are straightforward, but there is also the business case. People want to support and work for organizations that share their beliefs and values, so making diversity initiatives a priority helps earn that support and loyalty. But community involvement is much more than making a media statement. To be effective, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts must be ongoing and consistent. - Higher productivity
Diversity is not just beneficial for business; it can also help boost your productivity. According to Forbes, the productivity of a diverse company has been found to be greater than its less diverse counterparts. It further boosts productivity when diversity reaches upper management and leadership. In addition, it’s been shown that having more diversity at work will make you better able to accomplish tasks and complete projects on time with less difficulty than if there were fewer different perspectives around a project or task being discussed. - More innovation and creativity
Having a diverse workforce means having a diverse set of perspectives, skills, problem-solving abilities and knowledge. With diverse inputs, teams can assess new ideas and find new avenues to explore, thus helping in an overall increase in innovation. It also boosts employee engagement, as employees feel more comfortable sharing ideas in a diverse environment. - Larger pool of talent to choose from
When it comes to hiring, businesses that are more inclined towards diversity and inclusion get a larger pool of talent to choose from. Skill and merit-based hiring without any set personal criteria help companies acquire the right talent and retain them for a long time with an inclusive workplace.
Diversity or Inclusion?
Although human rights legislation outlaws discrimination against individuals and groups based on prohibited grounds like ethnicity or gender identity, it does not address equity or inclusion. In recent years, equity and inclusion have been recognized as imperative components of a successful diversity program. Building a diverse workforce must go beyond the representation of different backgrounds of people.
Equity recognizes there are unique challenges and needs that vary among individuals, who therefore require different levels of support to access opportunities. Inclusion happens when those people feel valuable to the organization in all their uniqueness. When diversity efforts lack equity and inclusion, they often fail.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Guide
Now that you have a better understanding of the benefits of hiring a diverse group of people in an inclusive environment, it’s time to assess factors that affect diversity or inclusion (or maybe both) in your workplace. All employers should continually review processes and ensure that initiatives are inclusive for everyone and not influenced by personal biases.
If your organization is ready to start improving diversity and inclusion in your workplace we can help! We are here to walk you through setting equitable and inclusive diversity goals and recognizing common program elements that could help or hinder your diversity efforts.
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