5 Ways to Build Diversity Within Your Team
Building diversity might not be the first concern to many startups, but that is likely the first mistake that they are making. The more diverse a company is, the more likely they are to achieve success. Why you might ask, is because a diverse company has brought together individuals from different walks of life and different viewpoints to work together towards a common cause. A diverse group of people are more likely to see holes in a campaign and are better equipped to improve the products and services you are offering – not to mention, helping you retain top talent, boost your profits, and strengthen your company’s image.
So you’ve concluded that your company needs to focus on becoming more diverse. Now what? Here are five ways to help you start building a more diverse team.
1. Think about diversity from the beginning
As previously stated, diversity should be thought about from the beginning. And when thinking of diversity, don’t let it stop at racial, national, age, and gender. Diversity also covers personality. The more diverse group of people you can string together, the better!
2. Change your recruiting strategy
Now that you’ve set your sights on creating a diverse culture, it’s time to start focusing on the road to diversity. A major component of getting there will be in your recruiting and hiring policy. Components to consider are:
- Language: Make sure that the words you’re using in job posts, on social media, and your website are inclusive and appealing to all.
- Be accessible: Realize that not everyone is on social media so if you are only recruiting from one platform then you are greatly limiting yourself. You might also consider posting to job boards and contacting hiring agencies.
- Incorporate a personality test: Asking candidates to complete a personality test will help you to deeper understand who your candidates are deep down. You will have a better idea of how they work with others, what motivates them, and how they might fit into your corporate climate.
- Work with partners: Create a diversity council or work with an outside organization that is committed to diversity groups.
3. Celebrate employee differences
It’s never a bad idea to have a yearly refresher course on diversity awareness training. A company can also implement a regular time (office hours, organized events, regular meeting, etc.) to openly, maybe even confidentially, address any diversity issues that might be affecting them at work.
4. Embrace Flexible working
Accepting remote workers will help to attract a specific type of employee and will expand your talent pool. Also, younger generations look for perks such as work-from-home days when looking for new career opportunities and implementing flexible starting/stopping times allows parents to work around their children’s schedules.
5. Educate your leaders
Workshops to sharpen empathy and self-awareness skills are a great idea. As a leader, you should be able to understand what struggles your employees might be facing and how your actions might be interpreted by them.
By: Miranda Hardesty Hoffpauir
