Increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in your workplace

Increasingly, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a top priority at many workplaces both large and small. Smart employers are taking steps to identify and hire diverse candidates and creating environments where everyone can grow and thrive. They are also paying closer attention to those who sit on their boards and committees, making sure that membership includes a mix of people from different backgrounds, hold different ideas and represent different groups throughout the community.

Not only is ensuring that all employees have a safe space to learn, grow, voice their opinions and feel valued the right thing to do, but it can also give your organisation a competitive edge by attracting and retaining top talent, boosting productivity and strengthening employee loyalty.

Research by Deloitte found that diverse companies enjoy 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee. Meanwhile, Gartner determined that inclusive teams improve team performance by up to 30 percent in high-diversity environments.

Yet, while the benefits are clear, creating a diverse and inclusive environment doesn’t happen by accident. It takes ongoing commitment, adherence to proven best practices and a willingness to change. However, the effort can pay off big time by better positioning your company for growth, improved profitability and future prosperity.

A diverse workplace mirrors what the world really looks like today rather than outdated perceptions that don’t reflect reality. When you create a diverse workplace environment, your organisation sends a clear message that it understands, values and accepts the many differences that your employees bring to their jobs.

Diversity is typically divided into two categories: inherent diversity and acquired diversity. Inherent diversity consists of demographic characteristics. While race, gender and age are often the most common traits that come to mind, inherent diversity’s definition has evolved to include a much broader scope of meaning that includes other factors such as sexual orientation, socio-economic background, religion and disability.

Acquired diversity relates to the traits an employee has acquired from certain life experiences that led to them developing different mindsets and ways of thinking. Educational backgrounds, marital status, familiarity with other cultures and speaking different languages are all traits associated with acquired diversity. 

Companies that truly want to foster diverse environments should fully understand the broad range of inherent and acquired diversity traits that employees bring to your organisation.  

Equity is often used interchangeably with equality. Yet, there is a difference. Equality has to do with giving everyone the exact same resources, whereas equity involves distributing resources based on the needs of the recipients.

With that in mind, equity in the workplace occurs when employees are empowered and provided the same resources and opportunities to grow and succeed in their careers as others. Additionally, when there is equity in the workplace, there is a clear expectation that employees will receive fair treatment.

Creating a culture that values equity helps to ensure that all employees have a clear sense that your company has their backs and is committed to making sure they have the tools and support necessary to reach their full potential.

Few of us make it through childhood without feeling the pain and disappointment of not being included or accepted by a particular group.

In the grown-up world, it still hurts when we feel left out. And when this happens in the workplace, whether overtly or subtly, it can create a toxic culture of resentment and distrust that can lead to high turnover, low morale and, ultimately, poor business results. 

Conversely, inclusive environments are spaces that embrace the full range of cultural differences and support and value their employees’ different perspectives. In inclusive environments, employees feel welcomed, appreciated and respected.. This, in turn, can drive innovation by drawing from a wider range of ideas and insights from people with varied backgrounds, work history and life experiences. Inclusion gives people a sense of security and genuine confidence that their voices will be heard and taken seriously, leading to bolder ideas and more meaningful collaboration.

Creating an inclusive workplace can be a game-changer for your company. Gartner found that inclusive teams improve team performance by up to 30% in high-diversity environments.

Do you want to know whether you’re providing a diverse, inclusive and equitable work environment? If so, explore seven survey templates from SurveyMonkey to help you to measure DEI in your workplace.

There are many advantages associated with emphasising diversity, equity and inclusion in your workplace. According to Forbes, inclusive companies are more likely to hit financial goals and have better business outcomes. Meanwhile, research conducted by Gallup found that companies that had higher-than-average gender diversity and employee engagement also had 46% to 58% better financial performance than companies that were below the median in terms of diversity and engagement.

Studies have also shown that diverse groups tend to outperform high-ability groups. A study performed by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) tested this theory and found that, in short, “diversity trumps ability”.

Increasing the diversity of your leadership team and board can also reap big dividends. For starters, it sends a clear message to all of your employees and your other audiences that your entire organisation is embracing diversity and inclusion. Beyond that, the benefits can have an impact on your bottom line.

A report from McKinsey & Company shows that companies with diverse executive boards and senior-level management enjoy increased earnings and profitability. Companies in the top 25th percentile for gender diversity on their executive teams were 15% more likely to experience above-average profits, with this figure later increasing to 21%. Executive teams with more cultural and ethnic diversity were 33% more likely to see better-than-average profits.

Also, diversity and inclusion can be a powerful tool for driving stronger sales. In a study of more than 500 companies, McKinsey found that every 1% increase in gender and racial diversity correlated to a 3% to 9% increase in sales revenue.

A commitment to diversity and inclusion should not only focus on who is working within your organisation but also vendors and suppliers who your company is working with. In 2020, SurveyMonkey launched a Supplier Diversity Initiative that encourages companies to join forces to push for greater diversity and inclusion at vendor organisations. 

Unlike past vendor diversity programmes (which typically only track minority ownership), this initiative uses the Supplier Diversity survey to track representation of women, racial minorities and LGBTQ+ individuals within a vendor’s employee base, leadership team and board of directors for a more holistic understanding. It also evaluates vendor policies and practices to determine how inclusive they are.

The following are helpful tips for increasing DEI and making sure that your organisation remains diverse, equitable and inclusive.

Get visibility on areas for improvement – It’s difficult to address an issue if you are unaware of it. To create a workplace that embraces DEI, you need to shine a light on any potential blind spots that may exist. In particular, organisations need to be aware of potential unconscious bias, where some individuals within the organisation make decisions and take actions based on biases that they are not consciously aware of but that can have an adverse impact on other individuals.

Write job postings carefully – A poorly crafted job description runs the risk of putting off some strong potential candidates who might detect language that does not resonate with them.  It’s important to bear inclusivity in mind in order to write an equitable job description. You need to make sure that all potential candidates feel as though they have a fair chance at getting their foot in the door.

Emphasise in your job descriptions that DEI is valued by your organisation and also aim for language that is free of bias regarding race, gender or age. 

Textio is an AI-powered writing-enhancement service that analyses job descriptions in real time, highlighting jargon and words that are often perceived as masculine or feminine. For instance, terms such as ‘proven’ or ‘under pressure’ tend to attract more male candidates and prompt some female candidates to look elsewhere. Meanwhile, Textio found that the simple act of replacing ‘exceptional’ with ‘extraordinary’ was statistically proven to attract more female applicants. Textio also noted a correlation between gender-neutral descriptions and a broader applicant pool, in addition to faster time to fill, versus jobs using biased language.

Offer workplace policies that appeal to diverse candidates – All talk and no action can be problematic when it comes to trying to create a diverse and inclusive environment that attracts and retains top talent. Policies such as work/life balance and flexible scheduling, for instance, have been found to be more important among Millennials and women. Offering floating holidays signals that you recognise that not all of your employees celebrate Christmas or Easter.

By highlighting this in the job description, you are addressing your company’s mission and values while at the same time creating opportunities for more applicants.

Use a personality assessment to recruit more diverse candidates – Personality assessments are great tools for measuring personality traits among your candidates, and they are also reliable. These assessments can increase workplace diversity because research has found that personality traits do not differ between groups of people. A study of 150 companies found that companies that used personality assessments in their hiring process had more racially diverse workforces.

Use sourcing methods that contain more diverse candidate pipelines – People’s networks generally consist of other people who share similar demographics, leading to a less-than-diverse workplace. Data from LinkedIn found that women are less likely to rely on their own networks during their job search and more likely to use third-party websites and job boards.

As your workforce becomes more diverse, make sure that it is simple and easy for all employees to refer potential candidates. Also, to meet diverse candidates where they are, try utilising third-party websites to post your job announcements.

Conduct inclusive interviews – The path to a more diverse and inclusive company starts with the recruiting and hiring process. You need to be careful not to let ‘interview bias’ affect hiring decisions. Interview bias occurs when the interviewer judges a candidate not only based on their skills and competencies but also on unspoken (and sometimes unconscious) criteria.

For instance, an interviewer may reject or downgrade a candidate based on the simple fact that they kept their arms crossed during an interview or had a unique hairstyle.  

This type of unconscious bias in interviewing often leads to bad hiring decisions followed by high turnover rates. It has a negative impact on the efforts that companies make to bring more diversity to their workforce and become more inclusive.

Inclusive interviews are a process that is used to connect with, interview and hire diverse individuals by understanding and valuing their different backgrounds and beliefs. These interviews should include the opportunity for candidates to meet and engage with different kinds of people within the organisation.

Including employees from different departments to be a part of the interview process can help root out any bias while clearly demonstrating to candidates that you have a diverse workforce.

Become comfortable with ‘uncomfortable’ topics – Unfortunately, as humans, we do not have the answers to everything. This is why it is okay to ask genuine questions that can help you overcome uncomfortable moments regarding DEI.

Ask questions such as “What are the biggest barriers to your success and what role can I play in helping to remove them?” and “Do you feel safe enough to take risks at work? To contribute? To belong to the community?”. Framing questions in these ways can lead to more in-depth conversations about some sensitive topics. At the same time, they send a message that you care about your employees and want to address any of their concerns.

Create a ‘safe space’ culture where vulnerability is honoured and celebrated – Your employees are at their best when they can be themselves and are comfortable bringing their authentic selves to their workplace. It helps to aim to make your company a ‘safe space’ where employees can voice their opinions and demonstrate their creativity and unique perspectives without feeling reticent, ashamed or embarrassed. Over time, it’s likely that employees working in this type of environment will engage and participate more. This can unearth fresh thinking and new ideas that can be a significant competitive advantage over companies where employees don’t feel comfortable expressing themselves.

Measure the success of your initiatives – You can measure DEI by looking at inclusion, retention and employee advancement to measure your initiatives more effectively. Using data to define your goals, measuring outcomes at all levels of your organisation and using surveys to measure inclusion are all sure ways of measuring success.

Highlight your company’s diverse culture through outreach – When you highlight some of your workplace policies and benefits, you show people how much your company values DEI and integrates it into the culture. Look for ways to highlight your diversity and inclusion efforts by highlighting programmes and success stories through your marketing, public relations and community outreach efforts. Make sure that the topic gets coverage in your annual report and brochures as well as other materials that are shared at jobs fairs and community events.

Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace will help you attract and retain great talent, drive innovation, improve performance and productivity and generate financial results that can help you outpace your competitors. Regardless of where you are on your DEI journey, there are always opportunities for improvement and growth.

SurveyMonkey offers AI-driven insights and experience management solutions built for the pace of modern business. Check out SurveyMonkey’s solutions to gain a better understanding of DEI in your organisation and the impact that it has on your employees.