shaping inclusive cultures: employer branding as a strategic tool.
Creating a working environment where all employees feel welcome, appreciated, and supported regardless of their background is not only an ethical decision, it can also be a smart business move. Recruiting employees from diverse backgrounds brings a range of perspectives to your business, enhancing creativity, teamworking, and problem-solving abilities.
In fact, it has been shown that diverse teams outperform those without gender and racial diversity around 87% of the time. As a result, building a diverse team is not only the right thing to do morally - it also makes business sense and contributes to a better working environment for all.
According to our 2023 Randstad Employer Brand Research Report (REBR), a positive working environment for UK workers is the fifth most important reason to choose an employer. This underscores the significance of creating an inclusive and welcoming workplace. When employees feel valued and supported, they are more likely to be committed, engaged, and proud to be part of the organisation.
Read on to learn how you can leverage workplace diversity to not only improve business performance, but strengthen your employer brand.
benefits of an inclusive employer brand.
Research shows that diverse companies tend to be more innovative and adaptable than their peers, as there are many benefits to building an inclusive employer brand:
- attracting and retaining a diverse talent pool.
Hiring a diverse range of talent signifies to job hunters that you value and support diversity amongst your team. As a result, these talented candidates are more likely to consider your company as an attractive place to work.
- enhancing organisation innovation and performance.
Recruiting employees from a variety of backgrounds brings a range of perspectives and experiences to your business. This will enhance creative problem-solving and foster a dynamic working environment. Plus, creating a diverse and supportive culture will develop a culture of continuous learning where employees learn from each other’s perspectives and approaches.
- strengthening reputation and market position.
A commitment to diversity will enhance your organisation’s reputation among job hunters and consumers. Buyers and candidates alike value social responsibility, diversity, and equality. As a result, leveraging your brand as one that supports diversity will attract a wider audience.
- boosting employee engagement and retention.
Emphasising your commitment to employee diversity and equality will communicate to employees that they are valued, supported, and appreciated in your business. This will make them feel like integral members of the organisation and promote a strong sense of belonging. When employees feel valued and supported, it has a profound impact on their overall job satisfaction and morale. This makes them less likely to leave your organisation in favour of other businesses with a less diverse culture.
- attracting diverse clients.
Diverse clients often prefer to do business with companies that share their values and principles, including a commitment to diversity and inclusion. When your organisation actively promotes a diverse and inclusive culture, it sends a powerful message to those clients and customers, making them more likely to do business with you and ultimately increasing your bottom line.
strategies to build an inclusive employer brand.
Building an inclusive employer brand means taking an intentional approach toward equality and diversity. Try the following strategies to enhance D&I initiatives among your team and customers:
- diverse by default.
Write diversity-friendly practices into your workplace policies and encourage small acts of inclusivity to embed a culture of inclusion throughout your organisation. For example, encouraging employees to include their pronouns in their email signature will make LGBTQ+ employees feel supported, or allowing flexible working practices will encourage new parents to return to the workplace. In fact, work life balance is the most important workplace driver according to our UK report. As a result, you might consider encouraging flexible working practices for all employees. - celebrating the diversity currently in your team.
Celebrate holidays and days of recognition for minority groups. For example, encourage employees to learn about the history of different cultures and celebrations during the particular time of year that they fall. - championing fair recruitment practices.
Encourage hiring managers to use diverse interviewing panels, to score candidates objectively, and to be aware of disabilities and the needs of protected groups during the interview process. - hold the business accountable.
It isn’t possible to get it right all the time. If you make a mistake from a diversity perspective— own up to it. Apologise sincerely, and move forward. For example, in 2015, Airbnb was accused of racially profiling their customers. They proactively approached the matter, sent a personalised apology from their CEO at the time, and moved forward with a strong resolve to do better.
Remember, while it’s important to be proud of your efforts in diversity, all communication needs to come from a place of sincerity. Otherwise, it may come across as tokenistic or inauthentic, which will have the opposite effect to that desired.
overcoming challenges.
The road to building a diverse and inclusive workplace may not be smooth sailing. Watch out for these common pitfalls:
microaggressions and unconscious bias
Microaggressions and unconscious bias are insidious obstacles to creating an inclusive workplace. They may not always be overt or intentional, but they can have a profound impact on individuals and the overall workplace environment.
Microaggressions are subtle, often unintentional, acts or comments that communicate bias or discrimination against individuals based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, or other aspects of their identity. These acts can be harmful and create a hostile or unwelcoming atmosphere for those targeted. For example, assuming that those of Indian descent do not celebrate Christmas without any knowledge of their personal beliefs or traditions is a form of microaggression.
Unconscious bias, on the other hand, refers to automatic, ingrained stereotypes or prejudices that affect our judgments and actions without our awareness. For example, an interview panel may have an unconscious bias towards women over men which may make a woman more likely to get a job. These biases can influence hiring decisions, performance evaluations, and daily interactions, often perpetuating inequality.
The consequences of microaggressions and unconscious bias include lowered employee morale, decreased job satisfaction, and hindered collaboration. They can also result in a less diverse workforce, as individuals from underrepresented groups may choose to leave an organisation that tolerates or ignores such behaviours.
The only way to prevent microaggressions and unconscious bias is to train your employees to recognise and prevent them. Through active learning, ongoing education, and a commitment to change, organisations can mitigate the impact of microaggressions and unconscious bias and create a more inclusive workplace.
not engaging senior leaders
Not involving senior leaders in your diversity and inclusion efforts can be a significant roadblock to progress. It can reduce resource allocation, influence the wider employee culture, and create a lack of accountability.
As above, the only way to get buy-in from senior leaders is to provide adequate training and support. Senior managers need to encourage a culture of diversity and inclusivity and communicate this. Culture is frequently set at the top, so senior leaders play a pivotal role in shaping the organisation's culture.
not utilising technology
Technology plays a critical role in supporting D&I efforts. For example, your business could try:
- using AI powered recruitment tools. AI powered recruitment tools can help remove bias from the interview process with automatic scoring tools, anonymised CV, and advanced analytics.
- accessibility tools. Advances in technology can help the disabled community break through barriers that may usually prevent them from accessing work. For example, providing automatic screen readers for partially sighted or blind employees or captioning & transcription services for those who are unable to type.
There is a clear link between a strong employer brand and those who support D&I initiatives. In fact, there is not only a compelling moral argument for these business practices, but a strong economic one.
However, it’s important to strike the balance between supporting and embracing diverse and inclusive employees and not appearing as tokenistic or disingenuous. To do this, you should ensure that your commitment to diversity and inclusion is authentic and integrated into your organisation's core values and practices.
For more ideas on how to strengthen your employer brand, we recommend downloading our report. This report will not only help you understand why a positive working environment will enhance employer brand, but also what other steps you can take to ensure a positive and productive working environment.
Click below to download: