Diversity & Inclusion. What Does It Mean To Your Organisation?
Workplace diversity is a common topic of conversation among employers, hiring managers and recruitment professionals.
But diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not just a hiring fad.
Over the years diversity and inclusion is less about age, gender and race, and more about hiring a wider range of individuals and personalities to add value to the organisation and to its employees.
In the following series of articles, we look into the meaning of diversity & inclusion in the workplace, its importance as well as the competitive edge it can give your business; in terms of your recruitment strategies and beyond.
Diversity in the workplace
Workplace diversity is understanding, accepting, and valuing differences between individuals including those of:
- different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, disabilities, and sexual orientations,
- with differences in education, personalities, family, skill sets, experiences, communication styles or knowledge bases.
According to a report by Deloitte, diversity is perceived differently by generations. Millennials are more likely to define diversity as a mix of unique perspectives within a team, known as cognitive diversity. The millennial definition of diversity also encompasses the ability to combine different ideas and approaches to better overcome challenges and achieve business goals.
Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, on the other hand, most commonly frame diversity in terms of demographics, equal opportunity, and representation of identifiable demographic characteristics without necessarily considering diversity’s relationship with business results.
You can’t have diversity without inclusion
A truly diverse and inclusive workplace happens on purpose. Company leaders have spent time defining diversity and inclusion and understand that the two must work together, and this is supported by a structure grounded in equity principles to lead to change. In this context, diversity means difference and specific representation throughout an organisation, including within various departments and at senior levels.
A workforce made up of people who are ‘visibly’ different does not automatically equal a workforce that is inclusive. Diversity refers to the traits and characteristics that make people unique while inclusion refers to the behaviours and social norms that ensure people feel welcome.
Not only is inclusivity crucial for diversity efforts to succeed, but creating an inclusive culture will prove beneficial for employee engagement and productivity.
True inclusion
True inclusion and belonging happen when leaders build inclusive language, practices, and policies into all of their business units, from recruitment and HR to marketing, engineering, legal, and finance. Real change happens when organisations are intentional about creating work environments where opposing views can be shared without fear and where we value psychological safety.
Creating an inclusive environment requires everyone to actively work to understand and alter the unconscious bias that instinctively emerges into stereotypes and attitudes towards other groups of people who may have different backgrounds, experiences and personalities from their own.
Therefore, true inclusion requires questioning our assumptions, correcting one-size-fits-all approaches, understanding data-driven approaches to retention, engagement, and career development, and engaging honestly to make the workplace more equitable and inclusive for all.
Build a diverse candidate pool
At ABN Resource, we continuously strive to build and develop a network of diverse talent within the downstream oil industry. With a number of tools in place, including video technology, advanced testing platforms, multi-channel advertising and partnerships/events, we target professionals from all backgrounds that have the right skills for the job.
If you are looking to recruit a diverse workforce, get in touch today for access to excellent candidates looking for work and find out about our recruitment services.
