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How Your Company Can be Successful in Your DEI Strategies
Diversity, equity, and inclusion among underrepresented groups is a matter of valuing employees as individuals. It is also an opportunity to create a dynamic and successful workplace. An article by Sustainability Magazine states, “As a result of workplace culture shifts, companies are looking to become more diverse and leverage the abilities of their employees to spark ideas and growth.”
If you want your business to flourish, here are some ways to progressively go about DEI initiatives at your company.
When starting your initiatives, be sure to get input from your current employees. Include specialists from underrepresented groups in your DEI programs. At the Sustainability conference discussing DEI, Wineke Haagsma suggests, “If you’re not from that group, please hire someone from that group to come up with the program”.
Survey your employees to get their opinions about DEI in the workplace. Here are some example questions:
How could DEI hiring be improved? Have you faced any challenges due to underrepresentation that you would like to see addressed?
- Include employees with experience with these issues in the hiring process. Show your DEI hiring team is valued and appreciated.
Do you face any difficulties in the workplace due to a lack of inclusion and/or equity? Do you face any difficulties outside the workplace due to a lack of inclusion and/or equity that affect your work performance?
- Address these issues through training and education programs. For instance, understanding the proper use of pronouns. Or guidance on minimizing discrimination. Create a safe and inclusive place for all your employees to learn about diversity.
Do you feel that you are at an educational or experiential disadvantage due to your underrepresented background? And if so, do you think you could benefit from a training and development program?
- Create training and development programs for your underrepresented employees. Considering hiring employees from different educational backgrounds, including those without college degrees.
Ask these questions in a safe environment where your employees can respond openly. You need to know what the problems are before you can attempt to create a program to address them. As Wineke Haagsma explains, “…when you’re part of the problem, you don’t see the problem”. So, your employees’ input is crucial for incorporating into these initiatives.
How PrincetonOne Can Help
At PrincetonOne, we understand the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusivity. We strive to continue informing, educating, and supporting this initiative with our employees and clients.
“Being a member of an “underrepresented group,” I was quite familiar with the various ways that bias is displayed, as well as how it can negatively impact individuals and an organization. However, this training shined an additional light on the various forms of bias, and how we can all do our part to minimize it in our personal lives, and in the workplace, no matter your place within the organization or affiliation to the marginalized group.” – Juanita Hampton Williams, sourcing lead at PrincetonOne.
As a Sourcing Lead for PrincetonOne, Juanita provides our teams with the infrastructure to support our clients. With her new multi-phased series of diversity training, PrincetonOne teams will support the success of our clients in their DEI hiring initiatives. To help your company strategically hire highly qualified individuals from underrepresented groups, contact us about our DE&I initiatives.
Sources:
https://sustainabilitymag.com/top10/top-10-ways-to-improve-workplace-d-e-i
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