Improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Your Company

How Partnering for Performance Promotes Employee Growth - three people who are all wearing blazers are smiling to a woman across the table while they take notes

 

It has been proven that a diverse workplace is a successful workplace. Research shows that companies seeking to improve employee recruitment, performance and retention, increase engagement, achieve higher revenue and growth can find opportunities and resources through diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

 

But being diverse and inclusive in the workplace is not just about the increased hiring of women, BIPOC, non-binary or neurodivergent employees. It’s about genuine inclusion in your company. It’s ensuring they’re involved, empowered and trusted within the business.

 

In order to fully understand this topic, let’s define each term. 

 

DIVERSITY means recognizing, respecting, and valuing differences based on ethnicity, gender, age, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation.

 

EQUITY is ensuring that everyone has equal access to the same opportunity. In the context of your workplace, do all of your employees have access to the same levels of promotion and retention within your company?

 

INCLUSION is a set of behaviors that encourages employees to feel valued for their unique qualities and experience a sense of belonging. 

 

How do you improve DE&I in your company?

 

  • Review how the company recognizes multicultural, religious, and informal holidays/election days

Encourage employees to enjoy days significant to the company and celebrate holidays most meaningful in their own lives. When scheduling meetings or other special events, respect multicultural and religious holidays and election days.

 

  • Broaden recruiting efforts and consider redefining people to hire

Consider providing opportunities to people from underserved communities. Maybe a college degree isn’t as necessary as it once was. Consider hiring people with disabilities or retirees with years of experience under their belts.

 

A mentorship program sets clear expectations for both mentor and mentee, A two-way mentorship enables people to learn from each other rather than simply setting up a teacher-student arrangement.

 

  • Let people from different backgrounds share their thoughts

Seek input from all employees and ask speakers of diverse backgrounds to present at meetings, seminars, and new hire orientations.

 

A DE&I strategy will only take hold within an organization if leadership holds space and accountability for it. Employees look to their workplace leaders to guide them, but they’ll only follow and do the same if they see and believe their leaders are making the change alongside them.

 

Implementing new practices can get overwhelming. It might require more education, thoughtfulness, and courage. In the end it’s always worth the effort since it will support communities who have been underserved and underrepresented. 

 

The more diverse and inclusive a company is, the stronger it will be, the more customers it will reach, and the greater impact it will have.

 

Contact P2L today to learn more about DE&I and hos you can implement it in your company.

 

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