In today's business landscape, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) are more than just buzzwords. Countless studies have demonstrated the benefits of diverse and inclusive workplaces, from enhanced innovation and creativity to improved financial performance and employee satisfaction.
Yet, despite this widespread acknowledgment of its importance, the journey towards true DE&I remains an ongoing and challenge for many organizations.To effect meaningful change, companies must move beyond surface-level awareness and take deliberate action to embed DE&I principles into their culture, policies, and practices.
In this article, we share our top 10 recommendationsto help businesses of any size, in any industry, authentically improve DE&I within their workplace and promote a fair and inclusive workplace for everyone.
Please note that while these recommendations have been curated based on industry best practices, this is not a comprehensive guide. Every organization is unique and DE&I is an ongoing and evolving process, so these steps represent a starting point to build a tailored DE&I strategy based on your companyโs goals and resources, and the needs of your workforce.
1. Address existing biases
Employees are the heart of any organization, so the first step to building a diverse and inclusive culture should always start from within. Assessing the perspectives of your current employees through establishing a safe and anonymous feedback system to share their experiences can provide valuable insights. Gathering statistics on hiring and retention from diverse groups within the business can also help to understand any potential preexisting biases so that meaningful changes can be implemented.
This could be actioned through surveys, focus groups, individual check-ins with managers, or confidential interviews with HR. Even if employee feedback is collected anonymously, it is important to explain how the information you collect may be used. This not only shows transparency, but demonstrates your commitment to improving DE&I in your workplace.
When collecting feedback, topics could include challenges faced during the hiring process, day-to-day experiences at work, sentiments around progression opportunities, awareness of diversity initiatives, and suggestions for improvement.
It is equally as important to have these conversations at the highest levels, as Chief Executives and Directors make the decisions and changes that can improve culture at a company-wide level, and managers are often responsible for implementation. Analyzing these findings will identify patterns, trends, and areas of concern that need to be addressed, and can help employers to develop a comprehensive plan to improve DE&I going forward.
2. Create DE&I policies and goals
Developing a robust DE&I policy is the foundation for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion at a company-wide level. It reinforces commitment to DE&I throughout the business, and puts processes in place that encourage employees to call out biases or discrimination.
As well as introducing actions to address any areas of concern uncovered through employee feedback, DE&I policies could include the following elements:
Defining diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organizationโs context
Specific goals and measurable objectives to promote diversity and eliminate bias
Guidelines for fair recruitment, hiring, and promotion practices
Policies that address potential barriers faced by underrepresented groups
Procedures for reporting and addressing any instances of discrimination or bias
DE&I canโt be improved in a day and requires ongoing dedication, so policies should be agreed upon and supported at a senior level to ensure a continued focus on meeting key targets. Setting up a diverse employee DE&I committee to review your policy and action plan can also help to ensure that employees are satisfied by your objectives, have the opportunity to suggest changes and improvements, and address any issues that may arise.
3. Review all materials
Organizations should ensure that all content throughout their business is inclusive and sensitive so both employees and customers feel welcome and represented within your company. Carrying out a thorough review of all materials, including websites, copy, imagery, and marketing resources will identify any potential areas of exclusion or insensitivity.
It is essential to use inclusive language that avoids stereotypes, biases, and exclusive terminology. Similarly, imagery used in all materials should be diverse and representative.
Professionals are also increasingly looking for companies that align with their values, so a visible, authentic focus on DE&I can encourage people from all kinds of backgrounds to apply for roles. According to a recent survey, 83% of Gen Z candidates said a companyโs commitment to diversity and inclusion is important when choosing an employer.
4. Offer flexible working
Offering equal and flexible working options is essential to retain a diverse, happy team. Employees may need alternative arrangements for a wide variety of reasons, such as covering caregiving responsibilities, or better managing a disability. Fortunately, there are ways organizations can accommodate these requirements while benefiting from the experiences and perspective a diverse team brings.
While hybrid working has become much more common in recent years, part-time work or job sharing are also highly attractive to professionals who require reduced working hours due to personal circumstances. Other common flexible working arrangements include flexitime, where employees choose when to start and end their working day but work certain core hours, and compressed workweeks which allow employees to work the standard number of hours in fewer days.
5. Remove bias from the hiring process
The entire hiring process, from screening to decision-making, can be plagued by unconscious biases that unintentionally favor certain individuals or groups. As a result, employers may accidentally exclude qualified candidates from underrepresented communities and perpetuate a lack of diversity within their workforce.
There are several key strategies that companies can implement to ensure their hiring process is inclusive, starting with job descriptions:
Keep your specifications clear and technical, focusing on desired qualifications, previous experience, and hard and soft skills
Avoid the use of any gendered language
Be aware of terms that could put off or intimidate certain applicants (for example, โwork hard, play hardโ or โcompetitiveโ)
Add in extra information about inclusive policies and benefits
When reviewing your applications, implementing anonymous or blind screening techniques that remove identifying information such as names, genders, and educational institutions will ensure that candidates are evaluated solely based on their qualifications and experiences. Where relevant, blind skills tests can also be used to let data guide your next decisions.
Developing a structured, standardized interview process and questions will also help hiring managers to fairly assess and compare candidates based solely on their skills, competencies, and experiences. Itโs just as important to make your candidates feel a sense of belonging during the hiring process too, so forming diverse interview panels with a variety of ages, ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds can help applicants to better connect with your company, and mitigate unconscious biases from the panel.
6. Work with specialist groups and talent partners
Partnering with specialist organizations is a powerful way to attract diverse talent, as it enables businesses to leverage the reach, experience, and insights of dedicated experts. These external voices can provide new perspectives, helping you to better understand the needs of different candidates and develop more inclusive recruitment strategies.
There are many charities and groups, such as industry associations and professional networks, that focus on connecting underrepresented groups or communities with job opportunities. Through these partnerships, youโll gain access to new, diverse talent pools in your local area or industry, and support these individuals with finding new roles that match their skills and ambitions.
Some charities also offer training and apprenticeship programs, mentorship initiatives, or hold events where you can meet with potential candidates. These can help organizations to build positive relationships with diverse talent and create a positive hiring process for candidates.
Working with a dedicated talent partner will also allow you to reach extensive professional networks and benefit from expertise in identifying, attracting, hiring, and onboarding candidates from diverse backgrounds. When working with a talent partner, be sure to clearly define your DE&I vision and goals so they can create a tailored hiring strategy.
7. Develop DE&I training
Developing comprehensive DE&I training programs and initiatives brings awareness to the importance of DE&I in the workplace and equips employees with the skills to recognize and address biases. This ultimately ensures that any DE&I-related issues are addressed quickly, a healthy and inclusive workplace culture is maintained, and that all employees feel heard and respected.
Key components of staff training programs might include:
Education on unconscious biases, stereotypes, and their impact on decision making processes
How to communicate inclusively to support a respectful work environment
Cultural competency training to enhance the understanding and appreciation of diverse perspectives
Manager-specific training on mitigating bias in recruitment, performance evaluations, and promotions
Training can be produced internally or carried out by an external professional, but hiring an expert who is familiar with laws and regulations can help you to plan conversations, training, changes to the workplace, and identify other opportunities for improvement that you may not be aware of.
However you plan your training, it should always be tailored to your organizationโs unique needs and culture. Ideally it should be delivered using multiple methods, for example through workshops, webinars, or e-learning. Integrating DE&I training into the induction process, and providing regular mandatory training for employees at all levels, will help to ingrain a culture of inclusivity across your business.
8. Promote equal progression
Ensuring that employees from all backgrounds are encouraged to progress within your company not only reflects a commitment to equality and fairness, but also brings numerous positive, long-lasting benefits for both employees and your business. Diverse employees in senior positions also create visible role models for more junior colleagues, encouraging them to work towards their own growth and goals, and envision a long-term career at your company.
There are a number of ways you can support your employees with this upward mobility. Pairing employees with senior colleagues for mentoring or coaching programs creates a supportive environment for diverse talent to learn, grow, and excel. Mentors provide guidance, share experiences, and offer advice, while coaches help employees hone specific skills.
Creating career frameworks based on skills and competencies, and offering leadership development programs, are more structured approaches that give employees equal opportunities to learn the necessary knowledge, skills, and tools to succeed in their current roles and prepare them for future leadership positions.
Employing these strategies and remaining aware of the importance of promoting career development for diverse talent is not only the right thing to do; it is a competitive advantage in todayโs global marketplace.
9. Be aware of positive discrimination
While taking steps to improve DE&I within your organization, be mindful that positive discrimination is discrimination and is unlawful in many parts of the world.
โPositive discriminationโ is defined as treating an individual or group more favorably based on a protected characteristic. These acts can happen in many ways within organizations, for example hiring or promoting an individual because of their race or gender to fulfil a quota, even if they were not the best person for the position.
It is also useful to understand the term โpositive actionโ in this scenario. Hiring someone with a certain characteristic where they are equally as qualified as another candidate is considered lawful and a positive action.
In addition to the legal implications of positive discrimination, these actions can cause negative sentiments among your employees. If hiring or promotion decisions are being based on demographics rather than merit, other team members may rightly feel resentful that their achievements are being ignored. This could reduce morale, cause rifts between colleagues, and prompt them to look for career opportunities elsewhere, so it is fair to everyone that hiring, and progression decisions focus solely skills, performance, and qualifications.
10. Review regularly
Even if an organization was to implement all of the recommendations above, improving DE&I across a business is not a one-time task. There is always room for improvement, and seeing ongoing commitmentthroughout all seniority levels is important for employees to feel truly feel respected, included, and equal.
Keeping communication channels open ensures that employees always have a safe place to voice concerns or provide feedback so that any issues can be identified and addressed quickly, and DE&I policies should also be regularly reviewed.
Alongside implementing employee feedback, metrics like representation, promotion rates, and retention levels can be analyzed to track progress and identify new areas of focus, and adding in new policies or strategies to reflect the latest regulations and best practices is also vital.
Finally, it is important to continue encouraging everyone across the business, from new starters to leadership, to lead by example and support each other to create an inclusive environment where all employees feel valued and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives.
Explore exclusive DE&I insights
As a leading global talent partner, it is our mission to promote fair and equal career opportunities for every individual, so to help employers understand the perspectives of their employees and find new areas of focus for their DE&I strategies, we surveyed both businesses and professionals across our six specialist talent brands.
Uncover the survey results and learn more about DE&I, including how good workplace practices benefit both employees and employers, and the biggest DE&I challenges businesses face, by downloading our exclusive Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report here.
If you would like to learn more about how Phaidon International can help your organization develop an inclusive hiring and retention strategy to attract and retain professionals with a diverse range of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences, contact us today.
