HighMatch Guides
How to Increase Diversity in the Workplace
Fostering diversity and inclusion (D&I) means emphasizing a workplace environment that values and respects individuals of differing race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, and cultural or religious beliefs.
Whereas diversity is the representation and presence of different identities, perspectives, and experiences, inclusion is the establishing of an environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and empowered to contribute their unique insights and talents.
The following guide will discuss how D&I is crucial to the hiring process.
Benefits of Promoting Diversity and Inclusion
There are more benefits to promoting diversity and inclusion than just legal compliance. D&I can have direct, immediate impacts on both small and large workplaces.
- Enhanced creativity and innovation: People from diverse backgrounds bring a wide range of perspectives, ideas, and problem-solving approaches
- Broader talent pool: Fostering diversity attracts candidates with varied skill sets and experiences, which can create a more versatile team
- Improved decision-making: Diverse teams are more likely to consider multiple perspectives, weigh different options, and make well-rounded decisions, which can minimize biases that homogeneous groups may overlook
- Enhanced employee engagement and retention: Employees who feel valued and included in the workplace are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and committed to their roles
How D&I is Achieved in the Workplace
Adopting strategies such as blind hiring, providing anti-bias training to hiring managers, and using pre-employment software can help improve D&I and reduce unconscious bias.
- Blind hiring is a standardized screening and selection process where personal information such as names, gender, and ethnicity are removed from resumes during the initial review, placing the reviewer’s focus on the candidate’s experience and skills
- Anti-bias training provides increased awareness of biases, challenges stereotypes, and teaches strategies for promoting D&I to all employees, including hiring managers
- Pre-employment software is designed to be unbiased, objective, and consistent for all candidates and administers structured tests that focus on job-related skills and competencies
Learn more about how pre-employment tests can assist D&I efforts.
Summary
Building diverse and inclusive teams requires deliberate action. It is essential that D&I not be treated as a token gesture, as reaping the benefits of diversity takes genuine commitment, continuous effort, and a workplace culture that values and respects the contributions of all its individuals.
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Improving Diversity & Inclusion
Standardizing your hiring process prevents unconscious bias from compromising your search for candidates.
Get additional facts about the true costs of unconscious bias and learn how the right pre-employment assessment can help remove bias from your hiring process.
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