Having a diverse team is almost a necessity for every organization that is focused on growth. Besides being a way of fulfilling the law in some countries, a diverse team is a valuable asset that any organization can leverage. Bringing in people who have different perspectives results in increased creativity and innovation. Decision-making and problem solving are simplified. Better yet, employees in a diverse team feel included, which enhances their engagement in the organization. In addition, embracing diversity puts you in the right standing with the community. The people view your brand as socially responsible and ethical when you have people from different groups in your team.
However, attracting a diverse team isn’t always easy, but it can be done with the right strategies in place. Here are 4 ways that you can use it.
1. Foster an inclusive company culture
Inclusivity is a factor that many candidates check in an employer before deciding to render an application. Employees are looking for a place where they will be heard and respected regardless of their color, gender, disability, and sexual orientation among others. If your company culture doesn’t support diversity, then it can be hard to attract diverse people to your organization. To start fostering a diverse culture, conduct employee surveys and be open to critical feedback. Encourage respectful behavior towards everyone in the team. Celebrate each member’s uniqueness and give everyone a seat at the table. You can also start making the workplace accessible to people living with disabilities.
Moreover, let these efforts be known to the people through social media and your company website. You can also encourage your employees to post about moments they felt included in the workplace on their social media pages.
2. Use more inclusive job descriptions
You have probably heard of unconscious bias. Your job descriptions could be encouraging this bias, keeping certain groups of people from applying for positions in your company. For this reason, be careful of the words that you use in your job posts. Avoid words that might unintentionally discourage people from either gender to apply. The good thing is that technology has made available tools that you can use to eliminate bias language from your job descriptions. In addition, be very specific on the must-haves and the nice-to-have skills. And don’t forget to add an equity statement encouraging all people who are qualified to apply.
3. Personalize the equal opportunity employer statement
Talking about the equity statement in your job posts, avoid copying the generic statement that every other employer uses. The majority of job seekers are too familiar with equal opportunity employer statements such that they can easily tell a copied statement from a well-thought statement. If it appears copied, potential candidates are likely to perceive that you put it there for compliance purposes. They are likely to ignore your post as it seems forced and not coming from the heart. If you want to have people from diverse groups apply for positions in your company, take your time to personalize the equality statement. Let it be a reflection of your diverse culture and values.
4. Actively search for diverse candidates
If you are waiting for candidates from diverse groups to apply for your job positions, you are highly likely to wait forever. Instead of just waiting, start to actively source candidates from the groups that you are focusing on. You can start getting involved with minority groups and institutions in your community to raise the chances of spotting the candidates that you want. In addition, if you have people in mind who are a good fit in your company, start sending personalized messages to try to reach out to them.
Conclusion
To build a diverse team, it is important to first define what diversity means to your organization. You can then start implementing the right strategies to attract these people to your team. Be intentional in building a diverse culture in the workplace. In addition, work on eliminating words that can be biased from your job posts and do your best to personalize the equality statement. If the candidates aren’t coming to you, seek them out from where they are found. Moreover, save yourself the trouble by working with experts.
