5 Diversity And Inclusion Program Principles To Improve The Bottom Line

Boosting diversity and employee engagement across your organization

From a business perspective, the globalization genie is out of the bottle. Today, markets are irreversibly global, and that means companies need the talents and perspectives of a diverse group of employees to effectively serve their worldwide customer base. There’s also compelling evidence that when companies embrace diversity and inclusion (D&I), they perform better financially. 
 

Given the strong business case for D&I, many companies have made building a D&I program a top priority, but some are unsure of how to define diversity within their organizations and uncertain about how to create a program that works for their specific needs. While every organization is unique, here are five key principles to keep in mind when designing a diversity and inclusion program: 

1. Create a grassroots consensus: A well-designed D&I program is a business and human capital goal, but ultimately, employees determine its success. That’s why it’s critical to include employee voices in the program design. One strategy is to conduct a survey that enables employees to help define the program and outline its objectives. The program’s champion will typically be a senior executive—and ideally is the CEO—but creating a grassroots consensus gives employees a stake and a voice in the program’s success. 

2. Keep inclusion top-of-mind: A potential counter-intuitive pitfall of a new D&I program is that designers might create an exclusive group to promote inclusion. Diversity results from including individuals with traits, skills, and perspectives that fall across the spectrum, rather than representing a narrow range of attributes. For a D&I program to succeed, it must be understood as beneficial to all employees. 

3. Work at removing bias – even before hiring: Companies should vet their job description processes, as those are areas that can create bias. Some words and phrases, completely unintentionally, can be disconcerting and could keep potential candidates from applying. Other aspects of the recruitment process, such as how profile questions are crafted, can also serve as barriers. 

4. Consider regional cultures and global perspectives: When companies are more inclusive in their candidate selection and in their talent programs, they open themselves to more possibilities in building an exceptional talent pool, both worldwide and domestically. An effective D&I program recognizes that inclusion transcends national boundaries, and should be culturally relevant: for example, the objectives of a program with an employee base in New York City might not apply to D&I program goals in Riyadh. 

5. Define and communicate D&I goals and monitor results: People typically associate D&I goals with demographic traits, and factors like gender, race, and ethnicity as integral parts of the definition for diversity. It’s important to also define inclusion goals to include other factors, such as temperament and work style. Follow-through is also crucial: once D&I goals are defined; the CEO should embrace and continually reinforce the initiative, the entire enterprise should be informed, the program champion(s) should manage the process and monitor progress, and employees should have a communications channel to applaud successes and suggest improvements. 

Companies that are serious about their diversity and inclusion programs and are currently benefiting from a diverse and inclusive workforce range across virtually every industry, including hospitality, financial services, technology, and food services. They are regional, national and global companies, but one thing they have in common is a performance edge over peers. 

A well-designed D&I program can improve the all-important metric of employee engagement, too, and happier employees are approximately 20 percent more productive than dissatisfied peers. In an era of historically low unemployment, stronger engagement retains talent in the workplace and a strong D&I program can help companies improve their HR and financial bottom line while gaining a major advantage in the competition for talent. 

Peggy Smith, SCRP, SGMS-T is President and CEO of Worldwide ERC®. Under her guidance, Worldwide ERC® delivers next-gen content, community and engagement to talent management and mobility professionals. A frequent keynoter and expert panelist at mobility and HR-related conferences around the world, Peggy shares her lens on global workforce issues, talent and skills shortages, multi-generational workplace considerations, and future mobility strategy. Connect Peggy Smith Follow @WorldwideERC  Visit https://www.worldwideerc.org/