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It's Not Really That Hard: Six Tips For Building A Better And More Diverse Team

Forbes Human Resources Council
POST WRITTEN BY
Tracy Cote

It is a truth recently acknowledged that diverse perspectives drive better business outcomes. A 2018 McKinsey study on workplace diversity shows that companies with the greatest gender and ethnic diversity at the executive level are more likely to experience above-average financial returns, more satisfied employees and happier customers.

Companies are scrambling to improve their hiring, retention and promotion numbers in this tight labor environment. The 2019 Deloitte Millennial Survey (download required) concludes that businesses should “create a culture that encourages diversity, inclusion, and social mobility” to sustain a millennial workforce.

According to Mercer’s 2019 Talent Trends research, 49% of U.S. executives are concerned about delivering on diversity. Are they going about it in the right way? Fixing the diversity “problem” requires a holistic approach, the right perspective and an intrinsic desire to drive change. Here are six steps to help you and your company get moving.

Stop The Same Old, Same Old

Your path to diversity begins by examining your hiring practices, starting with how you write and where you post job descriptions. If you use the same gender-specific pronouns when describing the “ideal candidate” on the same job boards, you’re likely to get more of the same candidate types. Be deliberate about diversifying your candidate pool to give hiring managers a wider selection. Evaluate the questions you ask candidates, the composition of your interview team and the involuntary bias that automated ranking tools may introduce.

Once you narrow the field, are candidates for hire and promotion judged on their potential or on how closely they adhere to the existing team background and culture? If you realize your organization could be doing better, that’s OK — you’re in good company. Consider what you can do to foster improvement, eliminate the barriers and then go for it.

Just Do It

Some companies work through a checklist designed to appease employees and stakeholders. Is gender pay a problem? Throw some dollars at it. No women on the leadership team? Add a couple in executive roles. Need female board members? Expand your board or even replace a few members to get a better balance.

These are positive initiatives even with a checklist mentality as the driver. If your company isn’t looking at them, it should be. But they are not enough.

Invest In Understanding

Although gender is the easiest thing to examine and the first frontier, there’s more to diversity than this one aspect. Diversity obviously includes age, race and ethnicity, etc., but it also embraces ways of thinking, being and doing. Take time to understand the cultural norms of the people you work with and the people in your community. Expecting everyone to behave in a certain way is not a path to success, but to homogeneity and, ultimately, a lack of diversity and a failure to achieve inclusion.

Be Inclusive

We are in the midst of a global realization that cultures are becoming more diverse, and businesses are wise to make sure their employees feel like they belong. Candidates can be attracted by clever marketing initiatives that make a company sound as if it cares. Once the person is inside, they’ll see if your leadership team is “walking the talk” and trying to make a difference — or not. In the current employment market, they’ll express their dissatisfaction with their feet.

Do you have a workplace culture where different perspectives are both welcomed and respected? Is every voice heard? Is there a literal place at the table for everyone, or are some relegated to the back of the room? Are suggestions from women ignored while men receive accolades for expressing the exact same idea? Are introverts encouraged to speak up and promoted, or are they classified as individual contributors unworthy of leadership positions?

Inclusivity encompasses a multitude of things. Be careful not to disenfranchise any of your people. Let your mission be to make everyone feel welcome and put them in a position of advocating for each other. The best way to achieve this is through shared goals, activities and vision.

Support And Manage Affinity Groups

One popular way many organizations address inclusivity is through affinity groups, which unite people around a particular interest or cause. But if the goal is to foster a strong team of advocates, it won’t happen if groups operate in an echo chamber.

Help affinity groups with their charter — education, support, corporate social responsibility, awareness, etc. — and ensure they are as inclusive as you want your company to be. This means men can join the women’s affinity group. Whites can join the Hispanic affinity group. And if a group of white men wants their own affinity group, that’s OK as long as they’re transparent and have a legitimate charter for bringing good to the organization.

Measure What Matters

The adage is completely true — what doesn’t get measured doesn’t get managed. You should publish your metrics, at least internally. I have heard so many managers say they are doing great in terms of hiring women, people of color, etc., only to have a rude awakening when their statistics are compared to others.

Raising awareness is what starts to move the needle, and it doesn’t cost anything except your time. Make diversity part of your leadership dashboard, or even better, a company key performance indicator.

A Journey Of A Thousand Miles …

It can be a long road to diversity nirvana. My own company launched a gender diversity-and-inclusion campaign this year and has already seen a 1.4% increase in women employees, a meaningful difference in such a short period. We’re on par with the industry average among technology companies, but we’re not resting on our laurels.

As executives, human resources professionals, business leaders, managers and colleagues, you should be doing everything in your power to increase diversity at work, wherever and whenever you can. It will ultimately make your business more successful. More importantly, it’s the right thing to do.

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