Is It Too Soon to Worry About DEIB at My Company?

Recent social-economical events and studies show that DEIB commitment (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) is essential for a business’s success. According to Deloitte research, companies that focus on diversity have 20% more innovation due to diverse thinking. Companies that are inclusive are:

• 2x as likely to meet financial goals
• 3x as likely to be high-performing
• 6x as likely to be innovative
• 8x as likely to achieve better business results

To implement DEIB efforts successfully, it is important to know the individual and collective meanings of each in an organizational context. The values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging can have different meanings in different organizational environments. If you are thinking about DEIB for the first time, a great first step would be to recognize what DEIB means to you and your organization. This will get you thinking of times where your business may have been impacted by one of them. Here are some definitions to help you: 

Culture

When we create a culture of belonging, the organization becomes more attractive to the best talent, which is already a frustrating task when you’re running low on time to dedicate to attracting and convincing them to work for you and stay. It also helps to meet business goals and creates positive employee experiences, fostering an environment where employees feel that they belong. According to Deloitte, 67% of job seekers consider diversity as an important aspect when searching for companies and accepting job offers. You can easily lose out to the kind of people you want working with you, to the “big box” companies like Amazon.

Performance Results from Including DEIB as a Matter of Business

Mckinsey’s Research revealed that companies that focus on gender diversity experience outperform by 21%. For ethnic and cultural diversity, there was a 33% likelihood of outperformance. 

According to Global Diversity Practice, ethnical, age and gender diverse workforce make better decisions up to 87% of the time. Gartner reports that inclusive teams have 30% better performance.

According to research from Deloitte Australia, when employees think their organization is committed to supporting diversity, they feel included. Employees reported better business performance in terms of innovation with 83% improvement. Data revealed a 31% improvement in responsiveness to changing customer needs and a 42% improvement in team collaboration.

Employees who feel welcomed are often more committed to their work, more motivated, and have higher levels of employee engagement. The process of diversity and inclusion focuses on making people feel valued and important for the company’s success. When people feel valued and appreciated, they often perform better and feel part of the company’s mission and values. Also, employees working in inclusive workplaces tend to have better physical and mental health.

DEIB initiatives must align with your organizational goals, culture, and values. A corporate culture of inclusivity and building a sense of belongingness should be every company’s concern. Research from Fortune revealed that 41% of respondents think their organizations had very informal and no structured DEIB efforts.

Change begins at the top, management and leadership teams need to consider allocating resources to DEIB efforts. Taking these steps shows employees that the company is committed to DEIB efforts and aiming for change.

DEIB efforts bring successful results to the workplace, so it is never too soon to start thinking and taking action. If you want to know what the DEIB status in your organization is, start with measuring and tracking it. You can do it by conducting surveys, practicing continuous listening, and having real-time conversations with your employees.

By doing this you can know what they are thinking and feeling when it comes to DEIB in the workplace. Employee surveys are a great way to collect feedback and perceptions about DEIB efforts in the organization. Surveys also show them their voices are encouraged, appreciated, and welcomed.

Management Impact on DEIB

Management is a key component of a successful DEIB strategy. It requires training and understanding of what the company’s DEIB goals are and why they are important. It is essential to lead by example, from adding DEIB into the hiring process to the way you treat team members.

Another helpful tool is bias training to address our unconscious biases, it is essential to recognize our own biases. This way the company can provide a fair hiring process and employee experiences.

Communication

As you build and grow employee relations, remember to focus on creating meaningful conversations and strategies about DEIB in the workplace. DEIB commitment is not a one-time effort, it must be integrated into the organization and maintained by all team members.  It is important that companies, especially leaders, management, HR departments, and internal communications departments, regularly communicate the benefits of DEIB.

If you think those initiatives are for large companies or don’t fit within your organization, other small actions can be taken to promote DEIB. Engage with employees across the organization, and be open to positive and negative feedback. Consider their input on how the organization can improve its DEIB efforts.

Easy Actions Even Small Companies Can Do

1. Focus on diverse candidates and expand your hiring pool, promoting a hiring process that is diverse equitable, and inclusive.
2. Use inclusive language in your job posts, company communications, and mission statement.
3. Try to keep away from gendered language, use the singular “they” instead of he/she.
4. Celebrate inclusive holidays, and make sure your company calendar considers a diverse set of holidays and occasions.

Your DEIB initiatives should be supported by surveys and real data coming from your employees’ experiences. This information can help you to improve employee experience and create a DEIB committed environment. 

To know more about how to implement DEIB in your organization, check our latest articles on DEIB: 

Building Systems of Inclusion and Diversity | Poprouser

Should Companies Give Diversity Training? | Poprouser