How More Workplace Diversity Benefits Businesses
Diversity seems to be the buzzword of the decade – we’re starting to see a wide range of companies mention this factor in their job descriptions and engage in more equal opportunity hiring practices. Research has shown that more diverse workplaces benefit from larger ranges of talent and different perspectives that help them understand huge swathes of their client bases. Having a more diverse workplace can even make your company more profitable in the long run.
But achieving effective workplace diversity is more difficult than it appears – few companies have managed to come up with strategies that are actually effective. Issues with aligning their goals with their day-to-day practices and a gap between a design and how to implement it are a few pitfalls that companies face.
Planning for Workplace Diversity
The first step in making an effective plan for workplace diversity is identifying your ultimate goal. You can’t just start with “workplace diversity” – you need to define a goal and craft your plan to achieve it. Maybe you want to maximize the potential of diverse teams or improve the representation of different groups in leadership positions. Whatever it is, make a plan and stick to it.
Don’t attempt to copy other companies’ plans – each company is unique, and it’s unlikely that someone else’s diversity plan will work for your purposes.
Be Careful About Your Implementation
Crafting the world’s best workplace diversity plan means nothing if you can’t implement it correctly. A good diversity plan takes your company’s day-to-day operations into account and ensures that employees have the tools and know-how to implement the plan correctly.
At the heart of most failed diversity initiatives is a lack of motivation – if people don’t understand why the program is valuable, then they’re not likely to put a lot of effort into making sure it succeeds. Meet with key players in your diversity plan and ensure that they understand why workplace diversity is important and what they can do to help the plan succeed.