Understanding Diversity in the Workplace

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in the workplace have come a long way. It’s no longer adequate to just document the diverse and varied employees in your business. There are a lot more metrics and measures that we can use to meaningfully track and understand D&I in the workplace.

Progressively, the very nature of D&I is not going to change anytime soon, this is a growth area and one area in which businesses must be ready to embrace.  The concept of leading by example is true in this case.

The Benefits of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

Inclusivity benefits both sides of the coin. It certainly benefits employees as it can lead to a larger range of communities in which the employees can be a part of. It benefits companies too, as being an inclusive business is an important factor to Gen Z (the up and coming hiring pool). If a business wishes to attract and retain talent then this will be a sticking factor moving forward. An inclusive culture is now considered the new norm. If you’re struggling to think how it applies to your business. Let’s break it down a little.

What does D&I look like in reality? If we take the literal definitions, diversity is the attributes and qualities of an individual, whilst inclusion is the manner of providing a friendly and secure environment for all.  It is often easier to identify diversity in an environment, but the same cannot be said for inclusion. It requires a longer commitment to monitoring the conditions, adapting behaviours, and having open and transparent conversations.

The two terms are a collective. When a business acknowledges and celebrates diversity, then it can be predicted that an inclusive culture will follow. We know that there is significant inequality in the world and that it does take effort to build a strong culture. This is no different in business.

Measuring Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

We know that data drives decision making. But in this case, we need the data in the first instance! D&I metrics are not line graphs or pretty numbers in a table. There can be a whole gamut of measures. It might be hiring demographics, employee satisfaction rates, pay rates and education status to name a few. When viewing these through a diversity lens, on the outside it might not be appear that these boxes have been ticked. However, upon further investigation and deep diving, a more detail understanding of these could be achieved. After all the data is only as good as the information used to present it.

It also depends on the sample in which you are also measuring, is it by the business or a particular department? What might be considered diverse and inclusive across the business, may have different outcomes in a particular department. This might indicate that a particular department has a cultural bias and therefore impacting the overall business.

Bias can also be unintentional. The unconscious bias makes a huge difference to how minorities are affected in the business. Consequently, it’s not as easy as identifying workplace bullying or outright discrimination.

Unconscious bias isn’t a malicious or purposeful act of being exclusive, but it’s one whereby the innate ethos of an individual affects their perceptions and actions towards others when they don’t align. Again, that’s where looking a little deeper might help to understand and measure what is really happening.

With that said, what are some common metrics that can provide the foundations?

• Hiring Metrics
• Promotion and Advancement Metrics
• Retention Rates
• Pay Rates
• Employee Happiness
• Stakeholder Diversity
• Net Promotor Scores
• Accessibility Scores
• Cultural Background
• Age
• Gender

Conclusion

These won’t be a one size fits all approach. Obviously, the size of the business, the availability of resources, the industry in which the business operates, and rate of recruitment will all have an impact on the outcomes. However, in saying that the key to picking the right diversity metrics is to decide ones that you can measure easily and measure frequently.

The key is having the resources and the support, and this is where we can help you. As your Outsourced HR provider, we can help you engage the leadership team and push for inclusivity. Fostering and generating an inclusive business culture is truly rewarding. It might be challenging, and some uncomfortable truths will need to be addressed. But if that’s what is required to keep the team and company booming, then it’s a no brainer.

Having D&I metrics will not only give you a better understanding of the business, but it will allow you to align your values to the diversity that your team brings. Through continual monitoring, implementing initiatives and addressing feedback, the trajectory towards a brighter and comprehensive culture will be strengthened across the entire business.

Need assistance with any of the above? We can help. Contact Now Actually and book a meeting with our team.