4 Leadership Tips for Building a Diverse and Inclusive Culture
Highlights
Diversity in the workplace isn’t just about hiring people; it’s about extracting the full value of how a diverse workforce and inclusive culture contributes to company goals.
DEI starts with leadership: Set immediate diversity goals, make those goals a priority at the executive level, provide clear proof of diversity’s role, and participate in the larger DEI conversations.
Diversity in the workplace starts with hiring the right people, but it doesn’t end there. There are many other aspects companies need to have in place in order to foster and promote a diverse and inclusive culture. This includes focusing on existing employees, building equity in the performance review process, identifying different ways to infuse and leverage diversity in projects — I could go on all day.
Ultimately, a diverse and inclusive culture is a business strategy, and developing this strategy begins with company leadership.
In this series on diversity and inclusion in the workplace, I’ve shared the business case for workforce diversity and why diversity and inclusion start with leadership. Let’s now examine some helpful tips leaders can use to build an inclusive culture that extracts the full value of a diverse workforce.
1. Start with Immediate Diversity Goals
As I’ve mentioned previously in this series, diversity isn’t an endgame; it’s an ongoing journey. But that journey has to start somewhere, which is why hiring a diverse workforce is just one of the early steps.
From a larger viewpoint, diversity is the impact that people can have on organizations, communities, and the lives of others. It’s hard to measure this impact, so when put DEI goals in place, it’s best to think of those goals as guideposts rather than boxes to check.
It’s helpful to start with the immediate goal of creating a diverse workforce. We know that if we have diversity in the workplace, we’re on our way to bringing all these viewpoints and expertise together. This means having a good mix of genders, ethnicities, skills, and other criteria that allow people to bring their best to the company.
2. Make Diversity a Priority at the Executive Level
Employees expect leaders to lead by example. Exhibiting clear intentionality that DEI matters at the executive level helps others to make diversity a priority, too.
One example of how we do this at Prime 8 is to set diversity goals according to the role within the company. We have a diversity council where we get together to develop strategies that help evolve and progress along our own diversity journey. As with any organization, we have key players who will implement the strategies in line with their roles.
For instance, our recruiters are responsible for talent acquisition. We infuse our diversity goals around how recruiters attract and advertise to candidates. Everyone lives and plays in different ways, so relying on just one recruiting channel isn’t enough to attract a diverse workforce. Instead, we think about how to reach candidates where they spend their time digitally and engage them there.
Another example is the Chief People Officer — the person responsible for internal diversity and culture. They help to shape how we think about diversity internally as employees. Those initiatives will align directly with our larger organizational goals and contribute to a holistic approach to diversity in the workplace.
You need to have a clear statement of what leaders are doing to advance the diversity journey. Diversity doesn’t just spontaneously happen. It’s not a list of boxes to check, especially considering that diversity itself is always evolving. Businesses are evolving, too, and are constantly bringing in new ideas, acquiring new clients with new needs, and experiencing a changing landscape of talent and skills.
To evolve in alignment with diversity goals, leaders must be intentional about how they’re approaching the diversity journey, both from a workforce perspective and within the company’s internal operations.
3. Provide Clear, Obvious Proof of Diversity’s Importance in the Organization
Words are important, but they’re not enough; you need to follow them up with action. Hollow sentiments about a company’s views on diversity isn’t as effective or impactful as showing hard evidence of its value and how you’re going about increasing it.
Leaders need to demonstrate how they’re sourcing and hiring diverse candidates and integrating them into the workplace.
Revisiting the recruiting example, companies could showcase the various channels in which they source candidates. Leveraging just one channel could mean attracting just one type of candidate, whereas using multiple channels means reaching more people from more diverse backgrounds.
Recruiting data and HR surveys can be leveraged to see aggregates of candidates who applied and interviewed for various roles. These numbers illustrate whether diverse candidates are being reached or a broader recruiting channel strategy is needed.
We are also publicly transparent about our diversity progress and the work we still have to do.
4. Participate in Larger Diversity Conversations
Fostering a diverse and inclusive culture means going beyond company walls and understanding the broader landscape of DE&I. Diversity and its benefits are bigger than any one company. Understanding diversity in a greater context can provide leaders with real-life insights that they can apply to their own workforce.
Some ways to do this include:
Getting involved with non-profit organizations known for their stance on diversity and inclusion (think Special Olympics, low-income families, students of color, etc.)
Attending community events to see how diversity is evolving on the local level
Reading and contributing to publications that feature stories, research, data, and insights on diversity topics
Attending conferences and seminars on DE&I
By proactively learning how diversity is evolving, leaders can bring their findings and experiences back into their own organizations and add impact where it’s most needed. This shows an act of intentionality that other companies simply don’t do — yet.
Creating a Diverse and Inclusive Culture with Prime 8
Our consultants bring a broad range of skills and perspectives to the teams they work with. Contact us to learn how our commitment to DE&I can help you harness the power of diversity and inclusion in your workplace.
