Have you taken concrete steps to improve diversity and inclusion (D&I) at your workplace? If not, it’s time to start.
Beyond generating a positive social impact, focusing on D&I is important from a business perspective.
For one thing, it will help you to attract and retain better talent. Glassdoor found that two-thirds of jobseekers said that a company’s approach to workplace diversity was important to them, and 57% of current employees wanted their employers to focus more heavily on D&I.
A strong D&I program can also help your company to build an inclusive and innovative workplace culture that will outperform others: Companies with higher than average gender diversity generated 46% to 58% higher profits than companies with lower gender diversity.
One avenue for prioritizing D&I is in your recruiting practices. For example, it’s important to market to diverse educational institutions to ensure that candidates outside of your usual network are aware of your company and encouraged to apply for roles. Taking steps to reduce bias in job descriptions can also help to attract a broader pool of qualified candidates.
However, D&I doesn’t end with a successful hiring strategy—it should be incorporated into every facet of your organization. It’s essential to make it clear that your company gives voice and equal value to the full diversity of viewpoints within your organization.
In order to do this successfully, take steps to ensure that company knowledge isn’t held by just a few gatekeepers who have the power to move projects forward. Instead, knowledge should be democratized and shared openly throughout the organization. Employees of all backgrounds should be encouraged to share their own unique perspectives and challenge assumptions about accepted knowledge.
To facilitate an open and ongoing discussion throughout your organization, it’s important to use a platform that’s purpose-built for knowledge sharing within the enterprise. Consider using a Q&A-based platform that enables all employees to share written questions, respond to them, add additional context or differing opinions, and vote on the most helpful answers.
In addition to enabling the entire organization to access the knowledge that was previously held by only a few, such a platform can give employees from diverse backgrounds the tools they need to share their perspectives and impact future business decisions. You’ll be able to transform your D&I initiative from a siloed effort into an inclusive workplace culture.