Whether you're closer to the first or last day of the school year, use icebreaker activities to bring your classroom together. We can help you develop a tuition benefits program that is aligned with your DEI policies and refined for increased employee engagement and retention. Get marketing involved in diversity activities. One study found that such companies have 19% higher revenues due to innovation. DeVryWorks, the workforce solutions partner of DeVry University, can strengthen your DEI initiatives with customized learning pathways to upskill and reskill team members, solving for current and predicted talent gaps. The business world is no exception. Be proud of the culture that you are nurturing. In a workplace context, diversity of thought refers to the range of mindsets, thought processes, and perspectives that can be found within an organization's workforce. It plays an elemental role in peoples lives, and so it should in business. What could go wrong with approach in this area? Sharing those perspectives can open so many more possibilities when collaborating with others. Diversity of thought, as discussed above, is a key factor in building successful teams. To increase a diversity of thought in organizations, leaders need to keep asking questions and challenge whats in front of them, whether it is their talent, management style, or approach to a problem. As the topic of hiring a diverse workforce continues to make its way into more corporate discussions and conference agendas, the concept of diversity of thought keeps getting conflated with this work. I write about culture, equity and belonging in the workplace. Do I qualify? For example, you could share how a team member successfully managed a project. You could create a float for a parade with your team's help and include them in the festivities. Full stop. We never thought of diversity as something we needed. How to Improve Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace If making a single change to the workplace could yield enhanced productivity, greater profits, improved employee engagement, increased creativity and deeper market and customer insights, most company leaders would call that an excellent investment. Now, this only works if there is a common purpose and a framework . With this in mind, one way to improve diverse representation is to change the recruitment/hiring process to invite a broader range of applicants. 2. Diversity, Inclusion and Culture: How to Build Great Teams Being open to the new and different perspectives that each individual can offer is essential. You can update your choices at any time in your settings. Kate Gerasimova, Senior Associate at gothamCulture, has over 4 years of consulting experience, helping clients create efficiencies and improve their business performance through strategy and organizational development, change management, and process improvement. I like that a lot and you are completely correct on everything you said. In 2020, Weaver had an epiphany: The piece I think our industry was missing until now was that we were all trying to figure out how to foster diversity within the American spirits industry separately, she says. We regularly have diversity training to educate our team on topics such as the Tulsa massacre and Juneteenth, Weaver says. Moneypenny handles outsourced phone calls, live chat and digital comms. Now, to bring the names of those two people together to help solve [problems] now is the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life, hands down. Consider starting employee networksfor women, LGBTQ+ or other groups, or a DEI committee. As some students told me, it was interesting for them to get a fresh, diverse perspective and to learn more about me. They can share special cultural days and feel more like a part of the team despite being far away. Post a formal diversity policy on your About Us page as well as on the Careers page of your website. Whose responsibility is it to encourage 'diversity of thought' in VC Further, what can you do to promote and enhance that diversity in your companys workforce? We should embrace our individuality, and harness different viewpoints and opinions in order to drive innovation and progress. This has added benefits for remote team members who work in other countries. Make company holiday events non-denominational and make non-alcoholic beverages available for those who dont drink. Get the team involved in planning ways to commemorate these occasions. You've articulated this so well. By mitigating and reducing the impact of implicit or unconscious biases in your companys hiring and promotion processes, you help build a workforce with a broad variety of perspectives and experiences. The problem is most people just dont trust themselves enough to take the first steps and define their strategies. It's crucial to invite different voices and viewpoints to your company to continue its growth in all directions. Inclusion and diversity have certainly become buzzwords in recent years, but they are more than just a passing fad; They are vital elements to a business's success. Here are five ways to create an environment that champions DEI. Younger employees may be more adept in the use of social media, but because theyre likely to have begun their careers in the age of remote work, they may be lacking in interpersonal skills, negotiating or public speaking. 212.372.7382info@gothamCulture.com Value collaboration over being right. Thats not to say that the individuals are themselves diverse. - Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner, One of the ways to promote inclusion or cultural diversity in your workplace is to hold regular culture days. To learn more, please see our California Privacy Notice available on our Privacy Center. - Josh Kohlbach, Wholesale Suite, This is a BETA experience. All positive stuff in my book. To be as efficient as we can be, we need to be flexible and adaptable to change. Now, this only works if there is a common purpose and a framework within which you operate. And when you seek and embrace new perspectives, you not only help yourself but. Recognize these days within your organization by posting information about them, why they're important and how you plan to celebrate. If new hires leave at a higher rate, does that mean your salaries are not competitive or unbiased? That's the magic that makes it happen. - Bryce Welker, CPA Exam Guy, 6. Discrimination Against White Job Applicants And Employees, Or Is It Racial Equity? If anything, we try to over-index on Black, Latinx and LGBTQ populations, but the goal is to mirror America.. If there is an authenticity to relationships. Weaver fosters diversity of thought even before you work there: Prior to submitting a resume, you must review the companys 10 core principles, which include clear statements about its devotion to diversity. The area of neurodiversity diversity in thinking is chronically overlooked and encompasses a wide range of mental orientations, including autism, dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), dysgraphia, dyspraxia, Tourette syndrome and Down syndrome.Roughly 15 to 20% of the world population is considered to be neurodivergent. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Diversity of thought isnt always found where you expect it to be found. It started with hiring a team in an industry with a deep lack of demographic diversity. By focusing on diversity of thought, we may. If you're consistently engaging in the ongoing discussion, you'll find it easy to foster a work culture and team that's authentically diverse. Im African American, Weaver says, but the first two people that I brought in alongside me were white. And as Im looking for the energy, and as Im looking for the diversity of thought, it was imperative that my company looked like America. We're glad to have you! Our team members go out of their way just to hang out. The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion. Focus on more diverse areas, like college campuses. And if there is an appreciation for the unique differences between people and how that can make your organization better. I am looking forward to reading more of your articles on Diversity of Thought. Diversity is not a promotional thing, but rather a continuous process that we exercised from the start. Conduct anonymous company surveys to learn how your employees feel about diversity, inclusion, and company culture. 3 Ways to Promote Workplace Diversity - American Express Please review. And this feeling leads to a sense of belonging. Research shows that organizations with more diverse management teams perform better than those who lag behind in diversity and inclusion, and experience benefits that go beyond mere optics. Understanding the importance of diversity in a workplace is crucial to successfully implementing a diversity-building program. They may even have to consider nontraditional candidates who have had career success in other industries or business functions. Fawn Weaver was so inspired by the story and Nearests family (some of whom she interviewed) that she invested $1 million of her own money in 2017 to found a distillery in Greens name. A grounded sense of belonging and purpose. Since Maslow defined his hierarchy in 1943, belonging has been identified as a basic human need. At the root of those biases is often the failure of organizations to recruit and nurture people who think differently. Weve done skills building to have everyone walk through their journey together and identify their own implicit biases. By clicking above, I agree to the Here, eight professionals from Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the more effective ways you can promote diversity and inclusion in your company and explain how these methods can help any business succeed. That means a stronger platform on which you can build your companys future, making it both more profitable and competitive. Please enter a valid email address. [19] Mindful meditation can reduce implicit bias by encouraging reflection and self-awareness. Employees can share food and beverages traditionally tied to that event. Creating and nurturing a workplace culture that is more diverse and inclusive requires a systematic approach that goes beyond a mere checking of boxes or hiring more women or people of color. This is the case for Annie Brown, who describes her work in Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging as helping people to have the same chance at a race. One way Weaver could have approached this was to prioritize hiring minorities to start her company. We are 50% women. The term 'diversity of thought' refers to how our culture, background, experiences and personality make us think differently - or hold different opinions - than others.