According to statistics from Deloitte, companies that have adopted these two now enjoy up to 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee than those that are yet to do so. Furthermore, Gartner established that a diverse and inclusive team can enhance overall team performance by 30%.
But despite this being the case, only about 40% of employees agree that their supervisors do, in fact, foster a more inclusive environment. So, the question becomes, what’s stopping managers from incorporating diversity and inclusion into their places of work?
Challenges to Diversity and Inclusion
Fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace is proving to be something that’s easier said than done. The following is a look at some of the challenges that managers and supervisors are facing in their attempt to create a diverse workplace:
Leadership Involvement
Diversity and inclusion initiatives should always align with your company’s goals and values. As such, organizational change should start at the top before being introduced to the lower levels. For this, the least that upper management can do is to set aside resources for such efforts.
And this is something that needs to happen, even when faced with uncertainty.
Measurement
Measuring and tracking diversity and inclusion efforts is the only sure way to know the extent to which it’s impacting your organization. Practicing continuous listening as well as collecting real-time insights into what your people are thinking or feeling is a great starting point.
Annual surveys have proven that they aren’t enough. Therefore, give the employees an opportunity to voice their concerns and speak out about the diversity and inclusion efforts.
Remember, your employees have a more entrenched view of possible ongoing conflicts than their supervisors. Their feedback can help you think of new ways to build trustful relationships and incorporate more employee-centric initiatives.
Progress Made in Making Diversity and Inclusion a Reality in the Workplace
In spite of the many challenges facing D&I initiatives, some progress has been managed from these processes, examples of which include the following:
Mitigating Implicit Bias Embedded at the Systemic Level
A study by Calvin Lai has shown that companies should shift their focus to mitigating systemic bias embedded in most decision-making processes instead of focusing on individual biases.
For example, many career mobility processes are designed to operate in a manner that could accidentally increase bias. Companies that have eliminated such biases have had to undertake detailed investigations of talent processes to understand those that limit opportunity.
Centering D&I Into the Official Business Strategy
D&I extends beyond the confines of the HR department. Such initiatives ought to remain a central ingredient featured prominently in the design and execution of the core business strategy.
For example, increasing the number of non-white employees involved in designing and implementing the business strategy has proven helpful. It has been shown to work in the development of strategies that best reflect a broader group of employees and customers.
How Headhunters Can Help in Facilitating Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion must be central to your in-house hiring practices. For this, you need to have diverse panels of recruiters who can hire talent based on their skills and expertise. And this is where head hunters come in.
Using Eagle Headhunters for your talent hiring and management processes will help bring you a step closer to realizing your D&I initiatives. Eagle recruiters are committed to creating a culture of diversity and inclusion and are the best fit for companies looking to become more inclusive.