62% of workers believe a company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is important to its ability to drive success.
And they just might be on to something—businesses in the top quartile for gender diversity are 25% more likely to financially outperform their peers, and those with high ethnic diversity are 36% more likely to outperform competitors financially.
This makes sense when you consider that inclusive teams are more than 35% more productive and make better decisions 87% of the time.
The more diverse a team is, the less likely that team—and therefore that business—is to fall into groupthink.
Stepping up your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion opens you up to a wider range of ideas. The more suggestions you have, the more likely you are to find the best one.
So, what are some ways you can boost your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion this year?
Brush up on your law
The laws around your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion are regularly changing.
It’s therefore important that you’re aware of what’s recently changed in your country’s laws, or any future potential updates.
Also monitor the law in countries where you operate, as even countries as close as England, Scotland, and Wales can have different laws.
Hold regular unconscious bias training (for everyone)
Even when we’ve done unconscious bias training before, we still need refreshers.
It’s too easy to fall back into old patterns, or pick up bad ones, when we don’t actively work on creating an inclusive workforce and checking our own unconscious biases.
And with everything going on at work, it can be easy for bias to creep in.
When managers regularly attend unconscious bias training—without complaining or rolling their eyes—it sets an example for the rest of the team and for other managers. It shows that they take this seriously because they understand the positive impact it can have not just on the business, but on employees’ lives.
Ask employees what matters to them
The best way to support a diverse workforce is to ask your employees what’s important to them.
If your diversity, equity, and inclusion statement doesn’t hit the right notes, if employees feel like you say one thing but do another, it will create a disconnect between you and your workforce. They’re less likely to trust you, and as a result, less likely to stay.
On the other hand, if they feel listened to and valued, they’re more likely to stick around long-term.
So make sure that when it comes to creating an inclusive workplace, you ask employees what matters to them, how you can support them, and what you could do better.
It’s through this continuous improvement that you’ll cultivate the happiest, most engaged, most hard-working team.
Showing your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by asking about and meeting a wide range of employee needs is important.
Update your DEI policy
When was the last time someone updated your DEI policy? Have the laws changed since then?
As with any workplace policy, it’s important to evaluate it regularly. This ensures it stays relevant to both you and employees.
It also ensures you adapt it to any future laws that may involve new protected characteristics. For example, the Scottish government recently updated their hate crime laws.
Being aware of these laws—particularly if you have a global workforce—ensures your policies benefit everyone.
Your DEI policy can also inform your business strategy, keeping decisions on track.
In the policy, make sure to explain why DEI matters to your business, and include definitions for different protected characteristics. You could even mention how you support each of those characteristics.
Also mention where you want to go next. What’s the goal of your DEI policy? For your business, your employees, your customers, and even the world?
The next time you update your DEI policy, you can reflect on how far you’ve come and what direction you plan to go in next. It will help reinforce your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Hire a chief diversity officer
HR pros are busy. Sometimes, things can get lost or missed. It’s no one’s fault, but they can still impact your diversity efforts.
A chief diversity officer’s job is to spot ways you can make your workplace more diverse and support diverse employees. So then the rest of the HR team can focus on other areas of the business.
When you have a specific role dedicated to diversity, it shows employees and candidates that you’re serious about diversity being a priority in your business. In other words, your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t just talk.
This means you’ll attract a more diverse pool of candidates. Existing employees, meanwhile, will feel more visible and listened to within the workplace.
Don’t copy and paste diversity statements (especially in job ads)
Is it just me, or is every job ad starting to look the same?
I’ve spoken to several people recently and we’re increasingly noticing that pretty much every LinkedIn job ad now looks identical.
From what the job entails, to the skills required, to the diversity statement at the end.
I get it. It’s tempting to use AI. AI has many benefits.
But when every diversity statement reads the same, it comes across like you’ve only put it there to cover your business legally and that your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion isn’t genuine.
So instead of attracting people from diverse backgrounds, you miss out on underrepresented candidates because it reads like what matters to you the most is getting things done quickly and cheaply. Even if those attempts are half-baked and sound exactly like everyone else.
Connect your employees with ERGs
Employee resource groups are powerful tools to help improve employees’ senses of inclusion and belonging in the workplace.
They’re the perfect place for people to meet colleagues with similar backgrounds, interests, and goals to them even across a remote workforce.
The more an employee feels like they belong, the more likely they are to stay and be engaged at work. As a result, they’ll be more productive and earn you more money.
If you’re not sure where to start with ERGs, or want to get more out of yours, get in touch to book your free Workrowd demo.
Conclusion
The more diverse your business is, the more future-proof it will be.
Employees want to work for businesses with a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion because they understand how much it benefits the workplace and their employee experience.
So take these tips as a starting point to improving your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2024. And most importantly, remember that building diverse teams is a journey, not a destination.
Are you ready to take your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion to a new level this year? Workrowd can help. Our all-in-one suite of tools makes it easy to launch, manage, and track DEI initiatives while giving everyone on your team easy access to the parts of your employee experience they like best.
Ready to learn more and see how our platform could accelerate DEI progress across your workplace? Send us an email at hello@workrowd.com to set up some time to chat, or simply drop by our site for more info.
