What is workplace diversity?

Workplace diversity is understanding, accepting, and valuing

differences between people including those:

 of different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions,

disabilities, and sexual orientations
 with differences in education, personalities, skill sets,
experiences, and knowledge bases
Interestingly, research by Deloitte finds that diversity is perceived
differently by generations. Millennials view workplace diversity as
the combining of different backgrounds, experiences, and
perspectives, and they believe taking advantage of these
differences is what leads to innovation. 

Gen Xers and Boomers, on the other hand, view workplace diversity
as equal and fair representation regardless of demographics without
necessarily considering diversity’s relationship with business
results. Diversity and inclusion are more than buzzwords, and need
to be taken seriously and understood in the workplace.

What is inclusion?
Inclusion is a collaborative, supportive, and respectful environment
that increases the participation and contribution of all employees.

What is diversity and inclusion?

Diversity and inclusion is a company’s mission, strategies, and
practices to support a diverse workplace and leverage the effects of
diversity to achieve a competitive business advantage.

Diversity and inclusion priorities

A survey by Forbes Insights of more than 300 senior executives
– 32% who were in HR or talent management – found their
companies’ diversity and inclusion priorities include:
 65% said recruitment of diverse employees
 44% said retention of diverse talent
 35% said ensuring diversity in the workplace
 29% said developing a robust pipeline of diverse talent
 28% said managing cross-generational issues

65% of senior executives believe the responsibility for implementing

diversity and inclusion programs falls on HR, while 45% say it’s the
responsibility of senior leaders within a business unit or division.

56% of the companies surveyed strongly agree that diversity helps

drive innovation. It’s clear that they believe this innovation
advantage is achieved through their ability to attract and recruit
diverse talent.

Diversity and inclusion best practices

A survey of 330 HR executives by Professor Roberson found that
diversity and inclusion best practices include:
 fair treatment
 equal access to opportunity
 teamwork and collaboration
 a focus on innovation and creativity
 organizational flexibility, responsiveness, and agility
 conflict resolution processes that are collaborative
 evidence of leadership’s commitment to diversity (e.g.,
appointing a Chief Diversity / Equality Officer)
 representation of diversity at all levels of the organization
 representation of diversity among internal and external
stakeholders
 diversity education and training
The interesting thing to note is that employees perceive their
company as diverse and inclusive based on practices that aren’t
even directly related to diversity such as a focus on innovation and
creativity.

Instead, these best practices are ones that are desired by everyone
in the workplace.

Diversity and inclusion strategies

Some of the key strategies of Bersin by Deloitte’s diversity and
Inclusion framework include:

 Creating a focus and strategy at the CEO/COO/CHRO level

 Assigning a top executive the responsibility for leading and
sponsoring the diversity and inclusion program
 Creating behavioral standards and holding leaders
accountable for results
 Training people at all levels on topics like unconscious bias
 Integrating diversity and inclusion strategies in recruitment,
performance management, leadership assessment, and training
 Creating employee networks (e.g, employee resource groups,
community outreach groups)
 Creating an externally visible scorecard to measure progress
including metrics for recruiting, promotion rates, compensation
levels, turnover, participation in ERGs, and supplier diversity

Diversity and Inclusion is a top-to-bottom business

strategy – not just an HR program.

Diversity and inclusion success metrics

The Forbes Insights survey found that 60% of companies have metrics in place to measure
the success of their diversity and inclusion efforts.

If we couldn’t measure the impact of our diversity and inclusion efforts

and programs, it would be a hard sell among company executives.
– Huey Wilson, SVP HR & Diversity Board Member, Mattel
The most popular success metrics are:

 77% said employee productivity

 67% said employee morale
 58% said employee turnover
Senior executives are being held accountable for their diversity and inclusion programs
performance through:

 66% said performance reviews

 51% said bonuses
 48% said business/department reviews
 42% said salary increases
 41% said promotions

The takeaways
1. Diversity and inclusion is a company’s mission, strategies, and practices to support a
diverse workplace and leverage the effects of diversity to achieve a competitive business
advantage.
2. The top diversity and inclusion priority is recruitment of diverse employees.
3. Approximately 50% of diversity and inclusion best practices are not directly related to
diversity per se but are practices desired by everyone such as fair treatment and
organizational flexibility.
4. To be successful, diversity and inclusion has to be a top-to-bottom business strategy
and not just an HR program. However, 65% of senior executives believe it’s HR’s
responsibility to implement diversity and inclusion programs.
5. The majority of companies measure the success of their diversity and inclusion efforts
with metrics such as employee productivity and turnover.
Workplace diversity and inclusion are top of mind these days and will only grow in
importance as companies continue to invest in their diversity and inclusion programs.

If you’re able to implement at least a few of the best diversity hiring practices and strategies
outlined here, you’ll be giving yourself one of today’s biggest competitive advantages.

Strategies
1.  Use The “Inclusive Workplace Model”
What’s the difference between diversity and inclusion in your
workplace? If your company doesn’t score high inclusivity marks,
you risk alienating some of your workforce.
For example, consider the employee who’s a native Spanish
speaker but doesn’t feel entirely comfortable to speak any
language other than English in workplace common areas.
When your employees feel they have to hide or mask core parts
of themselves at work because they feel unsure, unsafe, or
invisible, it can take a toll on motivation, engagement, and
(ultimately) employee retention and turnover rates.

Diversity in the workplace statistics show that most companies

desperately need to consider aspects of inclusivity as part of their
efforts to create a workforce that reflects a variety of
backgrounds and experiences.

2. Evaluate Your Executive Team – Do They Portray

Diversity And Inclusion?
How diverse is your executive team?
The makeup of your executive team is a huge signifier to the rest
of your workforce (not to mention your customers, partners, and
other stakeholders). The top management of a company speaks
volumes about your culture.
Accordingly, it is essential to have diversity among top
management that is diverse. Are men and women equally
represented? What about people from various cultural and
religious backgrounds?
A survey report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found
among the Fortune 500 companies, only 24 CEOs are women,
which represents just 5% of the total number of CEOs. The same
report pointed out that, among the 500 CEOs, only three are
black, another three are openly gay, and one identifies as a
lesbian.
As an HR professional, you may not have much control over your
executive team; but if you do have the means to make a case
about diversity and inclusion to the C-suite, you should. And you
can help your executives communicate with employees
authentically and transparently. 
A survey report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found among the
Fortune 500 companies, only 24 CEOs are women, which represents just
5% of the total number of CEOs.

3. Acknowledge And Honor Multiple Religious And

Cultural Practices.
Introduce a policy for honoring a variety of cultural and religious
practices.
You can do this by focusing on holidays and celebrations.
This Forbes article suggests designating a special refrigerator to
keep Kosher food items separate, for example. And the Society of
Human Resource Management (SHRM) notes some companies
still give Christmas Day off, but also offer “floating holidays” to
accommodate the religious preferences of all employees.
(Speaking of Christmas, make your holiday party
nondenominational.)  
Again when employees feel satisfied with and supported in their
work environment, the company benefits from higher employee
retention.
  

4. Foster A Company Culture Where Every Voice Is

Welcome, Heard, And Respected.
Most often employees quit jobs when they feel that their
authentic self and uniqueness is not appreciated or valued. As
such, it is vital to create an environment where they feel a sense
of connectedness to the company and its people.
Employees need to feel free to express themselves based on their
unique perspectives. Companies must make sure employees feel
included and respected regardless of their
 age,
 gender,
 race,
 religion,
 sexual orientation,
 physical conditions,
 cultural background or
 country of origin.
When it comes to supporting diversity and inclusion in the
workplace, don’t play favorites, practice basic courtesy, and pay
special attention to how you can embrace non-discriminatory
practices and policies. Employees feel included when they feel
“safe” to voice their concerns and opinions without fear of
victimization. The freedom of expression without fear also
empowers companies to not just listen to but also actively
embrace diverse viewpoints.
One great way to do this is to invest in a workforce
communications platform. By integrating all your communications
channel into one platform, you will reach each worker on their
preferred channel. You will truly help your workforce feel
connected and included in larger company initiatives and goals.
Also, you will gain insights from unified analytics to understand
how best to meet their needs and help them thrive. And you’ll
provide a personalized employee experience that is inclusive and
allows all voices to be heard.
5. Open A Dialogue About Gender Pay Inequality.
Want a culture of inclusion built on trust and transparency? Get
ready to talk about gender and potential pay disparities, and
possibly reveal some of the company’s data points around
compensation.
Gender pay equity is a big point of contention at many
companies. Workforce trust and a sense of inclusion are built
around a company’s transparency in its policies and
communication about those policies. For companies that have
gender pay imbalance, it is important to open the communication
channels so that employees can give their feelings and opinions.
Additionally, present to them with clarity, the strategy the
company is or will be using to address the gap. That way, they
will feel safe knowing that the company is committed to taking
action to bridge the gender pay gap.
It is crucial to avoid being defensive in presenting your company’s
data around such policies. If data is skewed for a variety of factors
(such as maternity leave vs. untaken paternity leave, for
example), explain this the employees in a straightforward, clear
way.
Gender pay equity is a big point of contention at many companies.
Workforce trust and a sense of inclusion are built around a company’s
transparency in its policies and communication about those policies.
6. Welcome A Multilingual Workforce.
Imagine being part of a working environment where almost
everyone regularly speaks a language not native to you?
If you truly want everyone to feel included, make sure you take
into account language barriers and preferences. Global
companies deal with this sort of thing all the time; let’s say they
have different teams, working in different countries, speaking the
same language … but they want to invite all those teams to
participate in a virtual event. What language should be spoken by
the person who introduced that event? What language will your
CEO make her speech in?
Global companies know to offer translation services so that
everyone can understand what’s being said and also feel
included. (If the CEO speaks multiple languages, she might opt to
leverage that in her speech as well.) But just as important in small
companies is simply to make sure everyday employees feel
secure and comfortable communicating in whatever language
they find most suitable for them, especially in common areas or
during company-sponsored or sanctioned events.
As a long-term approach, having a multilingual workforce may call
for educational opportunities for workers to learn other
languages. This might sound prohibitively expensive but think of
it as an investment that yields returns in due time.
It is also a good idea to consider applicants’ language skills during
the recruitment process. For example, with the same
qualifications, it might make more sense to hire an individual
who speaks more than one language.
 

7. Foster Diverse Thinking.

When you make an effort to hire for diversity, you put your
company in a good position to think in culturally diverse ways. But
for diverse viewpoints to really stick, you must account for
inclusivity.
This is important because different people from different
backgrounds and generations sometimes have vastly different
perspectives on all sorts of issues, from what they choose to wear
to work, to how they compose an email, to the kind of feedback
they give on employee reviews, to what kinds of ideas they pitch
in meetings. So it’s not just important for an individual employee
or even a small team or department to understand thinking
patterns; it’s also important that they know and understand how
other people at the company think.
Embracing diverse thinking is useful in generating ideas and
getting useful feedback while at the same time creating an
environment where everyone feels relevant and part of a shared
mission.
8. Build A Multigenerational Workforce.
Today, millennials make up the vast majority of the workforce.
Having a workforce that recognizes and accommodates multiple
generations is essential in building a diverse and inclusive
workforce. And while millennials are generally known for being
tech savvy, bear in mind this generation encompasses ages 22 to
38. The older millennials might not have the same proficiency
with tech tools as their younger counterparts.
You can really see this at work in communications practices.
Sometimes certain employees are more comfortable using social
channels, for example, or group chat functions. On the other
hand, employees of older generations might not embrace such
communications channels so readily.
Again, communications professionals can invest in a workforce
communications platform to easily and efficiently create and send
messages via channels that employees prefer; this will help
communicators craft messages that will appeal to all generations,
and encourage engagement.  
 

Having a workforce that recognizes and accommodates multiple

generations is essential in building a diverse and inclusive
workforce.

9. Reflect Everyone’s Needs And Preferences At

Everyday Gatherings.
In addition to holiday parties, many offices celebrate minor
holidays (like Halloween) or events like birthdays. Whenever you
have even a casual company event, be sure to include food and
beverages that everyone can eat and drink. For instance, include
both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks during events, and you
may want to avoid hosting offsite events at bars. (Happy hours
can be held in bar/restaurant spaces.)
Also, not everyone likes to celebrate birthdays, so be sure to ask
the employee what he or she prefers (and never reveal the
employee’s age or year of birth). Make sure employees know such
events are optional. For example, some employees may suffer
from intense shyness and would panic at the thought of having to
attend a work-sponsored karaoke event.  
This doesn’t mean you have to forgo small, ordinary celebrations
altogether. But asking proper questions about preferences and
offering a variety of food and drink options will go a long way in
making such experiences more inclusive.
10. Strengthen Anti-Discriminatory Policies.
A Harvard Business Review survey found that 75% of respondents
found that superficial policies and language was insufficient to
truly institute real change. They believed that leadership
commitment and strengthening anti-discriminatory policies were
critical. Also, every organization is different, so a tailored
approach makes sense for success.
11. Make Your Workspaces Inclusive.
You can establish gender-friendly bathrooms and restrooms and
also set up dedicated nursing rooms for mothers. (Mothers should
not have to book a conference room or hide in the bathroom.) A
nursing room needs a door that locks, a comfortable chair,
covered windows, proper ventilation, and a special refrigerator to
store the pumped milk.
12. Eliminate Bias In The Evaluation Process And
Promotion Opportunities.
A large body of research shows that the hiring process is unfair
and full of bias. Much of it is unconscious sexism, racism, and
ageism. If left unchecked, it can harm your company. Iris Bohnet,
director of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard
Kennedy School and author of What Works: Gender Equality by
Design explains, “Seeing is believing… If we don’t see male
kindergarten teachers or female engineers we don’t naturally
associate women and men with those jobs, and we apply different
standards” when we hire, promote, and evaluate job
performance. “Managers have to learn to de-bias their practices
and procedures.”
Some strategies to combat bias include:  
 Rewriting job descriptions so they are gender neutral and use words that
strike a balance of gendered descriptors and verbs
 Create a blind system of reviewing resumes so you don’t see “demographic
characteristics”
 Set diversity goals as an organization, which will help you track your
progress
13 Segment Employee Engagement Surveys By
Minority Groups.
The annual pulse survey is common among companies, but many
neglect to segment that data according to gender, generation,
ethnicity, geography, and others. By only looking at total
numbers, HR pros may miss the whole picture and an opportunity
to identify issues pertaining to those groups.
14. Use Independent Groups To Conduct Focus
Groups.
Focus groups are a good way to collect qualitative data and gain
deeper insights into employees. By using an outside facilitator,
employees may be more comfortable speaking freely, and the
outside company will maintain a neutral position.
15 Personalize One-On-One Discussions.
One of the best ways to learn what employees care about is one-
on-one talks with their manager. In order for these discussions to
truly be effective, managers must have an “open door” policy.
Workers need to feel comfortable in speaking their mind honestly
and openly.
Managers (and leaders in general) can do this with authentic
executive communications. By showing they too are human,
employees will feel comfortable speaking up and trusting their
leadership.