The labor shortage is on everyone’s lips: recruiting new employees is harder than ever. According to a survey conducted by CNBC, nearly 80% of their workers want to be hired‧es by a company for which equity, diversity and inclusion (DEI) are a priority. So investing in this theme is a chance to make you the best employer you can be!
That’s all well and good, but… where do you start? Here’s some advice.
Surveying your workforce
Before implementing any changes in your business, it’s important to understand the initial context. Data is a very useful resource: it will enable you to draw up a portrait of your workforce and identify its various dimensions.
Obviously, we want to look at the male-female breakdown, but also pay attention to the representation of ethno-cultural minorities, people from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, neurodivergent people, and so on.
Also, don’t forget to check whether representation is present at all levels of the company. Often, the higher up the hierarchy you go, the less diversity you find.
Tip: Don’t forget that inclusion is just as important as diversity. Make sure you create an inclusive environment for the staff you already have before you jump to hiring new people. Recruiting isn’t the way to fix organizational culture issues.
Once you’ve got a picture of your company, you can move on to the next step!
Understanding your staff’s experience
Equity, diversity and inclusion are more than just words describing your corporate culture. It’s important to understand employees‧es’ experiences. This will enable you to understand how they feel, what obstacles stand in their way‧elles and what their experiences are in general. The aim is to identify the hindrances so that you can find solutions to them later on. To achieve these goals, surveying your staff is, once again, an excellent option.
Tip: Make sure surveys are anonymous. This protects the identity of people who might be afraid of the survey’s repercussions.
Making DEI a priority
For your efforts to work, it’s important to understand that DEI is not a role in a company: it’s a way of doing things that needs to be found everywhere. Some people tend to delegate the task solely to human resources. While this may seem rather logical, it’s not a long-term solution. The reason is simple: to see real change, the entire workforce has to be involved. The steps taken to improve the company’s culture have to be important to everyone, regardless of department. Whether it’s customer service, sales, management – all areas of the company need to be involved in this change.
Tip: If you’re an executive, make sure that the commitment and responsibility for DEI permeates every level of the company.
Clear, measurable objectives
DEI can be a difficult area of business to measure. Without measurement, it’s almost impossible to know if you’re making progress. That’s exactly why it’s important to agree on certain criteria and measurable objectives to ensure that the company’s culture is heading in the right direction. Having these objectives also helps justify efforts. If it works, it’s easier to convince the rest of the company to make it a priority!
With goals in place comes accountability. One of the strategies employed by some companies, including Microsoft, is to link DEI to managers’ performance appraisals. This means that managers must make decisions with DEI as a priority, since their performance appraisal will be affected.
Tip: Whether objectives are achieved or not, it’s important to remain impartial, and admit shortcomings. This will enable you to adjust the strategy in the future, and learn about the company’s current weak points.
It’s impossible to offer all the advice your company needs in a short article like this. Please feel free to book an appointment directly, or take a look at our services page.
