Most executives and hiring managers would say they want to be inclusive and that they value diversity. But their hiring practices don’t seem to reflect their intentions.
Although female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies are at an all-time high, that high is only 29 women, breaking 5 percent in 2017 for the first time ever. At the end of 2016, there were just five African American Fortune 500 CEOs, or 1 percent, and just one openly gay CEO in 2015.
But diversity isn’t just about gender, race or sexual preference. It’s also about a mindset that leads those who do the hiring to gravitate toward the same kind of employee over and over again. Maybe it’s something seemingly harmless like frequently hiring graduates of a certain college; or maybe it’s employees that have worked for a certain company and have a certain kind of experience. There could be an unintentional but engrained bias.
Diversity in the workplace is both ethically and financially profitable. While it may seem that a group of people with little in common would become a source of strife, it isn’t actually the case. A variety of backgrounds yields a variety of ideas and solutions.
At least two-thirds of job-seekers say diversity is important to them and a recent study by McKinsey and Company found a direct link between racial and ethnic diversity in senior management and profit: For every 10 percent increase in management diversity, there is an .8 percent increase in corporate earnings.
To be viable in a diverse world, companies must also have a team that reflects difference and versatility. Both employees and customers feel more comfortable where they feel their views are reflected. Now back to those good intentions. Here are a few tips to start your company on its way to greater profit and a deeper employee pool:
- Remember that the best and the brightest don’t all look alike. Step back and assess existing employees and honestly evaluate the selection process. No one needs to know the results of that evaluation but if you see a pattern, learn from it and change it.
- Set up a diverse group to review and interview prospective employees. A diverse group will recognize a broader set of attributes in applicants.
- Make working arrangements flexible. This reduces stress in employees and projects an overall feeling of fairness and open mindedness stemming from upper management. Flexible schedules and working remotely have gained great momentum in recent years.
- Encourage interaction among employees that don’t always work together. Be attentive to situations that would allow different individuals to work as a team. An example is training programs that bring a cross-section of the company together.
- Familiarize yourself with the cultures of your employees so that your efforts toward diversity aren’t accidentally undone by a thoughtless word or action.