And while technology can help streamline a businesses operational procedures and the internet can give a business greater marketing access; so much of what make a business strong is the team behind the brand.
And in order to attract the best talent to your business, you need to look beyond traditional and outdated recruitment pools and build a diverse and inclusive workforce that can move things forwards.
Diversity in the workplace is effectively where a company hires diverse individuals. Diversity can apply to gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexuality, language, nationality, education and so much more.
Diversity in the workplace allows each individual employee to bring with them a set of perspectives both in work and in life experiences which can be used to the benefit of the business.
Inclusion is all about having employees from different backgrounds accepted and welcomed in your place of work and treated equally. With inclusion in the workplace, you will introduce a sense of belonging that will develop a workplace culture that allows employees to feel respected and valued for who they are and what they can bring to the table.
Diversity and Inclusion do involve a shift in a businesses mindset and there can be some rough roads to navigate along the way. It can highlight Unconscious Bias issues within employees that need to be addressed. This can be anything from origin to age, race, ethnicity, religion and other reasons. Micro-aggressions are brief and commonplace verbal or behavioural indignities, typically rooted in unconscious bias, that communicate derogatory or negative messages. The person delivering these behaviours or statements is often unaware of the demeaning action they have exchanged. Unchecked these can have a negative impact on mental health, productivity, and career progression.
For inclusion to work, it needs to have a visible effect. From interactions of team members in meetings to how offices and desk allocation is organised. The process of inclusion should make people feel valued because when someone feels valued they will function at a higher capacity and feel a part of the companies ‘family’ mentality. This can create a positive ripple effect through the rest of the company. Increasing motivation and morale while creating a higher performing business that can move forwards with real global ambition.
A diverse workforce can provide a balanced social harmony in your company while increasing productivity and profitability. Inclusion allows this new diversity to work together. Everyone has a voice and it allows those voices to be heard. Good ideas are pushed forwards and businesses can become stronger thanks to having the right employees with the best forward thinking ideas and skills necessary to take the company forwards.
At Skills 4, we are an award-winning Diversity and Inclusion Training Provider. We support our clients to attract, retain and progress diverse talent.
During our 16 years at the cutting edge, we have supported the growth of more than 10,000 employees who have helped to shape the future of companies such as Atkins, Arcadis, Balfour Beatty, EDF, Kier and Mott MacDonald.
As a business which is both female founded and owned, we offer clients a diverse supply chain as well as first-hand, extensive knowledge of how to implement effective solutions.
