Why now is the right time to rewrite your diverse hiring plan

How to show employees you care

 

 

 

 

 

 

A strong focus on the bottom line is key to ensuring that businesses thrive moving into 2021. At first glance, a diversity strategy is not a direct route to business success. It may be time to take a second look.

Boost the bottom line

McKinsey’s ‘Diversity wins: How inclusion matters’ report found that companies with top-tier gender diversity and ethnic and cultural diversity in corporate leadership were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies that were not taking their diversity and inclusion efforts as seriously.

Foster innovation

As the world of work changes, innovation solutions to new problems are increasingly important. Forbes ‘Global Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering Innovation Through a Diverse Workforce’ reports that of companies with more than $10 billion in annual revenues, 56% strongly agreed that diversity helps drive innovation. The Director of Global D&I at Intel notes that diversity has boosted productivity. When people are included in the conversation, differences in perspective moves the conversation forward. This is more important now that ever.

Rethink fit while remote

As humans, we tend to be attracted to people who are similar to us. This is where the idea of culture “fit” becomes tricky. When hiring managers hire people like themselves, they inadvertently create a homogenous culture where everyone thinks the same. As a result, innovation is limited and the environment quickly becomes stale. Beyond the impact on the bottom line, hiring with diversity at the top of mind will result in a larger range of skill sets and backgrounds.

When your workforce is diverse, you are able to empathise with a wider variety of individuals (i.e., your customers and clients), and this deeper understanding is what drives the impact on the bottom line. A diverse environment will mean that more creative ideas are exchanged, leading to a more productive environment. When people feel included and safe in a work environment, they’re also more likely to bring new ideas to the table.

If you want to learn more about how to approach your 2021 diversity and inclusion strategy download our whitepaper Diversity: Practice Beyond Theory