Why does Diversity and Inclusion matter in the workforce?
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads in the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their colour is. -Maya Angelou
What is Diversity and Inclusion?
Diversity in the workforce refers to having a varied team of employees regardless of their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, or appearance. But just having a diverse team is not enough, apart from hiring a large number of employees from varied backgrounds, the value of these employees and the ideas that they bring to the table must be embraced and included. Most people are puzzled by diversity and inclusion; therefore, they are often being used interchangeably.
Kayla Kozan, describes Inclusion as a collaborative, supportive, and respectful environment that increases the participation and contribution of all employees”. Just having a diverse team, is not enough. All members of the team need to be respected, included, and allowed to state their ideas and opinions.
Why is D&I a rising topic in the workplace
A survey carried out by Glassdoor found that 67% of ‘active and passionate job seekers said that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers? Therefore, remote hiring becoming more popular due to the global pandemic. Organisations need to turn towards having employees from varied backgrounds thereby creating a diverse team.
In a diverse team, all members are considered and supported regardless of their ability or impairment. Creating such an environment, where workers are valued for their diversity of thought makes them feel more valued and more at ease at work. This in turn benefits the company. Forbes Insight survey showed that 60% of organisations use metrics to track the success of their diversity and inclusion strategies. Among them
- 77% reported improved employee productivity
- 58% reduced employee turnover
Companies that actively implement D&I policies have shown to have reduced turnover rates and increased innovation which is important in the competitive business world.
At Compaira - we want a world where everyone has the chance to progress; we will provide the connections to do this simply and without bias.
What steps are currently being taken by businesses to improve diversity and inclusion?
Statistics show that 70% of organisations think that they have a diverse team whereas the actual number was close to around 11%. So, with all the improvements that diversity brings. Why aren’t more organisations rushing to improve diversity in their workplace?
One reason is that like everything that happens in a workplace, it needs to start from the top. Senior executives need to take the initiative to introduce strategies that can improve diversity in a workplace.
Another reason could be due to unconscious bias on the part of the recruiter. Recruiters play a crucial role in the hiring process. By chance, if the recruiter takes a dislike to a particular candidate even if the said candidate possesses all the qualifications necessary for the job. There is a very likely chance that the candidate would lose the job offer simply because the recruiter felt biased. This unconscious bias of the recruiter may hinder hiring opportunities and prevent the perfect candidate from being selected. organisations need to ensure that every applicant gets a fair and equal opportunity.
To overcome this recruiter bias, companies can use collaborative hiring techniques where candidates are evaluated by multiple people. Placing more emphasis on employee referrals can also improve workplace diversity.
How can Compaira help your business?
Organisations need to ensure that every applicant gets a fair and equal opportunity. This is only achievable if a company goes to great lengths to debias their hiring process and establish an objective screening procedure based on data rather than intuition. Companies, therefore, use hiring programs with tools that eliminate bias to hire candidates fairly.
One such tool is Compaira. Compaira is an ethical management platform that uses specially designed AI management tools and behavioural algorithms to recruit the best possible candidate without any ethical bias. The system built by Compaira uses AI algorithms to make an objective assessment of the applicant's experience, requirements, and duties based on the organisation's criteria. This approach considers a person's full talents before discounting them based on other factors. Hence, Compaira is the solution for both employers and employees alike to find the perfect job without any hiring bias as it stands for diversity, inclusion, and ethical hiring.
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