7 Steps Which Can Improve Workplace Diversity For Free

7 Steps Which Can Improve Workplace Diversity For Free First of all what does a diverse workforce mean and why is it important? If youre looking to improve diversity in the workplace its essential to understand this! Before being involved in a diversity scheme I had a perception  that diversity programs were introduced to improve male to female and ethnic ratios. Actually, diversity goes far beyond that its about ensuring that you include people from as many walks of life,  at different stages in their life / career who draw on diverse experiences! So now that we know diversity means so much more than a set of traits  how do we make sure we are attracting a wide pool  of potential candidates and providing an environment which will make them want to stay? Here are some top tips: 1. Improve  your adverts Make sure you create job adverts which have less fixed requirements. For example, research shows that  women (typically)  feel they need to hit (close to) 100% of the job experience requirements before applying for a job, whilst men require a much lower match to feel confident in applying. This means that if youre putting out a long list of must haves you are probably immediately discounting a large pool of potential candidates. Instead,  describe any areas of support and development which can be offered. Women, typically are not as self promoting and are put off by wordings such as rockstar or best of the best so make sure you steer clear of words like that. In general, describing an atmosphere which promotes values and loyalty above freebies will attract a larger candidate pool. 2.  Remove subconscious bias So once youve got candidates to apply how do you make sure youre giving them the best chance to succeed? You need to understand that natural bias is a thing!  We are naturally  drawn to people that  we think are  similar to ourselves and tend to lean towards  people that share the same opinion or have the same likes and dislikes. By developing  a structure to your hiring process which requires set interview questions for every interviewee you can look to limit unconscious bias towards potential employees and this is important if you want to hire a diverse range of candidates. Try to neutralise subconscious bias my ensuring  that more than one member of staff interviews any potential candidate separately and  correlate scoring before commenting on things like personal fit. 3.Introduce a buddy up scheme Great, now youve hired a good candidate! But what is going to make them want to stay?   Buddy up new starters with a member of staff that has been with the company  for a while.  This is  great for allowing employees to speak informally about particular areas (of concern) which they might not feel comfortable voicing (for example: if a female new starter has a male line manager there may be certain things they dont feel comfortable speaking  about). Its important that this scheme is completely informal and its made clear that conversations are completely confidential. The buddy should be there to mentor and help the employee develop and settle in their role and look to reduce potential drop outs. 4. Cater incentives Try to create  incentives which  are actually incentivising all of your employees (for example a drink at the end of the day isnt going to appeal to many individuals and actually excludes some individuals due to religious beliefs). Not sure what incentivises your staff? Ask them what they would like to see  and build individual incentive programs. Some employees might not feel confident asking for incentives so make sure you come armed with suggestions to encourage them. 5. Create diversity inclusion champions Celebrate employees who champion diversity and inclusion elect them to spearhead your office/team. This isnt always easy to do, if you dont have employees that dont buy in to the idea, start by educating them. Run workshops, or event based days (sales days etc) which have a particular focus on diversity. Many companies now allow diversity champions work into promotion credits this is great as it will allow you to put tangible targets in place which you can work together to achieve. 6. Celebrate diversity  wins Shout about diversity, your wins, your champions and how it has benefited the business! Ensure that its clear from your website/job description/interview material that this is something which you are really invested in and discuss with potential employees. At the same time, be careful not to highlight members of staff based solely  on matters of diversity. This is extremely important to ensure that youre not creating a divide in the workplace, create speculation of positive discrimination and that you arent making employees self-conscious! 7. Educate your employees Part of the biggest challenge in any organisation is getting your employees to understand what diversity is and why its important. There are many  misinformed opinions about what building a diverse workforce actually means and the benefits which it has on an organisations workforce. Create an education program with workshops and get your employees to openly discuss questions they have about diversity!