Workplace diversity – it’s a pretty hot topic at the moment but so many people are confused about what it means or how to achieve it. Despite what some people might think, it doesn’t mean replacing white employees with non-white ones or parachuting unqualified candidates into senior positions. And it definitely doesn’t mean getting the rainbows out for Pride month when you don’t have any policies in place to support your LGBT+ employees.

Workplace diversity is all about making your organisation a good place to work.

It’s about giving all your employees – and candidates! – the same access to opportunity, and building a team culture where everyone knows their voice will be heard. It’s also a great way to boost business. Here’s how.

Diverse Recruitment Means Better Ideas

It’s good to have shared values and goals but if your team are too similar there’s a good chance their ideas are too. When you prioritise diversity and inclusion in recruiting, you’ll end up employing people with different skills, interests and backgrounds which widens your organisation’s perspective. The variety of life experiences in a diverse team means they will look at the same thing in different ways, helping you understand how different communities will receive your work and avoid any pitfalls that have been previously overlooked.

Recruiting Diverse Talent Increases Productivity

When you have a diverse team, they’ll approach problems from more than one standpoint and come up with a wider range of solutions. According to Forbes, diverse teams produce better outcomes, because factors such as gender, race and socioeconomic background affect how people interpret information and the tools they develop to solve complicated tasks. This boosts your team’s thinking power, which means they can get through tasks more efficiently and come to more well-rounded conclusions.

Recruiting A Diverse Workforce Creates Better Teams

According to an October 2020 survey by Glassdoor, a diverse workforce is an important factor for more than 70% of respondents when researching companies and weighing up job offers. Those overwhelming stats suggest that if improving diversity isn’t part of your EDI strategy, you could be losing out on the best candidates. People want to work in an environment where they can be free to be themselves without judgement or fear, and a vibrant and inclusive team culture can be the deciding factor between roles. Plus, diverse teams generally tend to be more accepting, and employees that feel accepted are happier, more engaged and more likely to stick around for longer.

Why Diverse Recruitment Matters

Glassdoor’s survey also showed that one in four respondents from underrepresented groups felt they had been held back in their career because of their race, ethnic background, gender identity or sexual orientation. Focusing on recruiting diverse talent at all levels of your business can help reduce these feelings at work, because your teams will be able to picture themselves in senior positions and believe they’ll get a fair shot at any opportunities they pursue. You also have to make sure you support your new hires in a culture where they can thrive, which has the knock-on effect of making your people feel more valued and improving your brand reputation.

If you need help recruiting a diverse workforce or want more information about diversity in the workplace, give me a shout.

‍