Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are guiding principles used by organisations worldwide to determine policies, office design, and methods of working. But what does diversity, equity, and inclusion mean in the workplace? Why does it matter? And what are the best ways to approach it?
Defining diversity, equity, and inclusion
Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t just buzzwords, they’re a critical aspect of a modern workplace. They’re core principles that should be at the heart of any organisational decision making. The aim of implementing these values is to ensure all employees, clients, and other stakeholders feel embraced, understood, and valued. Now, let’s look at each term individually.
Diversity
Both companies and individuals benefit when they pool knowledge from different backgrounds and experiences – this is why diversity is important. Valuing diversity and inclusion in your business can mean improving hiring practices, such as avoiding biases and ensuring your workforce is reflective of wider society.
Equity
Unfortunately, we’re not all born with the same opportunities in life. By making equity one of your core values, your company acknowledges this fact and adjusts processes, policies, and more in order to ensure any imbalances are corrected.
Inclusion
Access to opportunities and resources should not be determined by factors such as your race, religion, or disabilities. A policy of inclusion helps to ensure everyone is treated equally and presented with the same chances for growth, rewards, and decision making in an organisation.
Importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace
Companies should, and mostly do, hire people based on their skills and abilities rather than their identity. As a result, the organisation can be filled with people from various backgrounds, genders, religions, ethnicities, ages, and abilities. This results in a more diverse workplace with employees who can offer multiple perspectives on projects, processes, and outputs in a way that more homogeneous teams probably couldn’t. However, it’s not enough to simply build a diverse workforce – you need to also cater to their needs. Making sure every employee is in an environment where they feel welcome, safe, and with room to grow is essential. With diversity, equity, and inclusion as a cornerstone of your organisation, both your people and your business can feel the benefits. Employees who feel valued, understood, and secure in their roles tend to produce better work – this can benefit your company’s productivity and ultimately, your bottom line.
Employee satisfaction in India
In India, only 26% of the workforce plan to stay in their role over the next six months. Employees need to be guided and properly recognised for their work and talent. If the company’s values, engagement, appraisal, and environment don’t match up to an employee’s expectations, they will soon check out. In order to ensure their workforce feel nurtured, business leaders in India are making employee upskilling and reskilling their number one priority.
Steps to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace
Overhauling your previous policies, or creating a diversity, equity, and inclusion plan for your organisation, can be a daunting task. It’s hard to know where to begin and what you should focus on, so check out our five tips for implementing these changes in your workplace.
Creating an inclusive culture
Use LinkedIn Learning to build the skills needed to create an inclusive diversity training programme, improve your cross-cultural communication, and be an inclusive leader. By creating a diverse and inclusive culture, your company can attract and retain the best talent and develop higher-performing, more innovative teams.
Incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into your recruitment
Traditional means of recruiting may not align with your organisation’s new diversity targets. LinkedIn Recruiter can help you expand talent pools with skills-based hiring, and you can reduce hiring bias with Hide Candidate Photos and Names.
Establishing a culture of constant learning
Businesses are ever-evolving, and so too are people and cultures. It’s important for your workforce to communicate with each other, understand challenges people may face, and be willing to learn cultures outside of their own. Encourage employees to continue to build their understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion with over 475 relevant courses available on LinkedIn Learning.
Building connections and bonds within teams
In order to create a happy and harmonious workplace, it’s essential for employees to connect with one another on a social level. This can be achieved through coffee mornings, story-sharing, or even activities outside of work hours. Encouraging staff to connect with one another on LinkedIn is a great way for employees to interact and build their understanding of each other.
Be open to new ideas
Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace is an on-going process. Continue to develop a deeper understanding of diversity beyond gender, race, and religion – how does your company address age, parenthood, and disabilities, for example?
Drive diversity, equity, and inclusion with LinkedIn Talent Solutions
Check out some of LinkedIn’s many useful tools to help you improve the diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in your organisation.
Leverage real-time insights to inform hiring goals, make a business case for diversity-focused initiatives, and identify and compare binary gender balance in talent pools.
Display your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion on your LinkedIn Company Page
Expand your talent pools with skills-based hiring. Reduce unconscious bias by hiding candidate names and photos in your search.
Final thoughts
Diversity, equity, and inclusion should act as the guiding principles in any modern workplace. Caring for the wellbeing and comfort of your employees helps to boost their morale, improve understanding of one another, and ultimately creates a happier workplace. Through tools such as LinkedIn Talent Insights, Career Page, and Recruiter, you can attract the best talent, employ fair hiring practices, and highlight your organisation’s diversity for the world to see.