Guidelines for Getting Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Underway

There is no doubt regarding the commercial benefits of creating heterogeneous teams that are welcoming and inclusive. As per many studies and research, a diverse set of team people tend to make more profits, make quick decisions, and be more productive. Employers who have worked in diverse workplaces are shown to have higher satisfaction levels. It results in more of them staying longer and becoming more productive in their tasks, enabling more output. And, if you are looking for new hires, candidates are primarily attracted to employers who promote diversity and inclusion. 

Nevertheless, 75% of companies say they do not have a D and I strategy or structure for implementing it. By not endorsing such policies, any efforts made on D and I are likely to be ineffective and bring no meaningful change. 

What is the right way of addressing this issue from the business perspective? The answer to this question lies in the starting point of the process. At this stage, however, there is more room for making unwarranted assumptions and undertaking ventures that are not likely to produce the expected results. This is because every business is different and has its problems. Just doing the same thing another company has been doing does not have the results your company needs to move forward. These words mean that every organisation must take a fresh and distinct approach in how they look and review their work from every level in the system, and they must be coupled with a clear strategy and structure.

Below are some guidelines on how to decide where to start from. It is necessary to get to know the information from your understanding and mostly get recommendations and constructive suggestions:

Start with carefully analysing the information at your disposal to help you. 

Do you have any current information about your teams that fits the demographic factor? What about stats on recruitment? Is there any info on the demography of job seekers and those employed? That data may include some surprises. Then, you can look at things such as hotels' provision of flexible working options, turnover in the organisation, etc., and response rates to your job adverts.

Ask others what they believe.

It is easy to feel confident that you understand the opinions of your employees regarding the initiatives you put in place to ensure diversity and inclusiveness in the organisation, but have you asked them? Don't make wrong assumptions about what others are thinking. In great enterprises, conducting a staff evaluation on how employees feel about the business may be beneficial. Pay attention to the now-common issues regarding surveys: whether questions are anonymous, how responses are guaranteed to be confidential, etc. Consider using movies as a research tool to study your organisation's culture. To get the ideal scenario, ask people at different hierarchy levels of the organisation.

Look at where people are looking.

Review your messages and ask yourself how they can be perceived differently. This refers to internal and external communications with stakeholders. Get realistic about the current status. What reviews do your clients leave about your company on the Internet? What have people said concerning the organisation? What do you believe a person would see when going through your site? Is it easily accessible and warm? There is a need to think at this objectively; this means embracing and, in some instances, even asking for criticism and feedback from people who are external to the organisation.

How are workplace roles assigned or defined?

It's not just about who employs or is employed by you or the pictures on your website. It has also to do with how you do business as well. Where do you start to unblock such people and make them give their best at work? What policies, systems, and practices in your institution support inclusiveness? This involves looking into your policies and practices. How much effort do you put into your working procedures? How can independent persons or organisations improve the usage of this device, and how can the comments be stored? It implies looking at the entire market, which is called the organisation, and how people work. This is all possible due to subjectivity and evaluation of where there is a need for changes.

Which are the people one can expect to be honest enough?

Such analyses about one's actions, trying to be more critical than the majority, are often possible only with support from people covering a few responsibilities. People are prone to defensiveness or saying that things are fine, ignoring widely visible issues requiring some sanity adjustments. We devote ourselves entirely to it and are sincere in our intentions. You cannot see the whole picture without some synthesis and without depicting how the company stacks up against its competitors.