Diversity without including minority groups in a company’s activities is not only wasted potential, but it also lowers the chance of market success.
What is Diversity & Inclusion?
The basic assumption of the D&I philosophy is to acknowledge the diverse characteristics of employees and to incorporate them into all of a company’s activities in the best possible way.
The concept of diversity itself is wide ranging. It includes variables such as gender, nationality, physical condition, sexual orientation, appearance and even age. A diverse team has many benefits, including making it easier for unconventional thinking and innovative ideas to take hold. However, for such a team to achieve good results, it needs a workplace where each employee feels that their values and needs are important and well understood.
How employees are welcomed and supported in the workplace determines their overall performance and contribution to an organization. Inclusion has two main aspects. The first concerns how employees perceive inclusiveness in the workplace. The second factor is related to an employee’s personal experience when joining the company.
Why is the D&I philosophy important?
Diverse and inclusive companies take into account many different points of views. They know that people are different in how they perceive play or in how they approach problem solving. Creating the possibility of exchanging experiences and ideas is conducive to creativity, flexibility, innovation and making bold decisions. In teams where the individual characteristics of employees were accounted for, changes in customer needs were more effectively anticipated. In short: the D&I philosophy has increased the business performance of organizations.
Companies that care about diversity – also in managerial positions – achieve higher profits by as much as a dozen or so percent (McKinsey, 2020). Those companies with more than 30% of women in management roles are far more likely to outperform competitors with less gender diversity.
Similar results have been achieved by increasing the representation of people of different ethnic or cultural origins. The differences between the results of organizations that were proactive about cultural diversity compared to those that weren’t reached as high as 36% (McKinsey, 2020).
Additionally, employees in environments where D&I has been implemented:
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Become more open
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Gain different perspectives
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Broaden their horizons
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Rate their workplaces higher
All this promotes the efficiency and commitment of entire teams and attracts more talented candidates to a given workplace (Forbes, 2021).
How can you effectively implement the inclusion of diversity into your organization?
The factors that often determine the success of this process most are the management systems and the behavior of leaders themselves. A transparent system of promotions and raises is an essential component of successful D&I implementation. However, another huge factor is how employees are treated and communicated to on an individual basis.
The concept of diversity is very broad and what is valuable for one group (e.g. addressing coworkers by their first names) may be considered offensive for another. Even at the recruitment stage, it’s important to create a good and welcoming atmosphere. Adhering to an anti-discrimination policy and offering all employees equal opportunity is necessary, however leaders are also expected to be able to build up a sense of belonging in employees. This can only be achieved when the rules that define the worker’s world are well understood.
The question then arises: how can you do all of this in organizations where dozens of employees come from completely different cultures and backgrounds?
Help in implementing D&I in practice
It might seem that diversity has become a pillar of all international organizations. Yet many managers fail to take on the challenge of building a diverse team. Sometimes this is due to a lack of training among management, other times it’s due to stereotypes and prejudices. Whatever the cause, the consequences are the same: companies fail to gain a competitive advantage and don’t increase their profits (McKinsey, 2020).
Empatyzer gives practical advice about what to do and what to avoid when communicating with specific employees. This significantly helps to tailor a message to the culture of an employee’s origin and helps to promote the inclusion of that employee into the organization. With Empatyzer, you don’t have to be empathetic to act empathetic.
When employees feel that their workplace is fair, they are 300% more likely to talk about how satisfied they are and commit to staying with the company for the long term. It’s not only about reducing the costs related to employee turnover. The value is, above all, retaining exceptional Talent in your organization.
