Most companies value diversity. Unfortunately, many fail to achieve it. Promoting diversity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace takes effort and resources — meaning you need the right strategy and an ongoing commitment to get it right.
The statistics point to a significant shortfall in corporate diversity efforts. One study found that just over a third of workers (36%) thought their employers created a sense of belonging in the workplace. That’s a big gap between reality and the ideal.
Still, don’t lose heart. There are steps you can take. Here are advancements you can make within your organization to promote diversity, equality, and inclusion:
How to Create a More Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Workplace
Dedicate Resources to Promoting Diversity
Unfortunately, diversity within an organization doesn’t often happen by accident. If it did, the topic wouldn’t be such a crucial discussion among corporate decision-makers. Rather, companies have to take dedicated steps to achieve success in this area.
As such, start your diversity drive by committing to the goal. Dedicate resources to the effort. By making it a priority, you ensure that promoting broader inclusion becomes an important part of your long-term strategy.
You won’t be alone in this endeavor. One study found that 234 companies in the Fortune 500 currently have a C-Suite level role devoted to encouraging meaningful diversity within the organization. That’s about 47% of the largest companies in the world who have the equivalent of a Chief Diversity Officer helping to guide policy.
Create Objective Measures
Diversity can become a murky term. Even with a dedicated effort, it’s hard to know if you are achieving your goals. As with any objective, measurable statistics let you track your progress and improve your process as you go.
As such, create targets for your diversity program. These don’t need to take the form of particular “quotas.” Rather, set benchmarks for improvement and check that your efforts at inclusion are having an impact.
Take a Flexible Approach to Scheduling and Holidays
An inclusive workplace embraces workers from other cultures and with non-traditional life structures. As a result, each member of your diverse team might not thrive on the standard schedule or might not celebrate the conventional holidays. You should be open to these differences.
Include More Voices in the Process
Most bias is unconscious. Meanwhile, unnoticed systematic glitches can undermine diversity even before any individuals get to the point of making a hiring or promotion decision. These barriers can be hard to spot if you don’t have a diverse group overseeing your policies and processes.
Before you can diversify your organization, you have to empower a broad range of decision-makers. Form a committee that can oversee how you conduct crucial operations, like hiring, retention, and employee evaluation.
Find The Right Team Members
You can also benefit from an outside expert. By engaging with a top recruiter, like Elby Professional Recruitment, you’ll find a broad selection of potential candidates for every open position.
Contact Elby today to upgrade your team-building possibilities.
