Create change in the workplace by investing in Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging (DIEB).
21 September 2021
What is DIEB?
Firstly, let’s look at what DIEB is. Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging are important qualities that employers and HR must invest in at work to promote wellbeing and fairness among their employees.
Diversity is having a culture that values uniqueness: people of different backgrounds, cultures, genders, and races.
Inclusion means inviting diverse groups to take part in company life.
Workplace equity is the concept of providing fair opportunities for all of your employees based on their individual needs.
It’s belonging that makes each individual feel accepted for who they are.
Why is this important?
There are many benefits derived from DIEBs in the workplace for the employer:
- Increased range of ideas. One of the key benefits of diversity in society is the vast range of ideas that can be explored.
- Diversity in the workplace will often result in a much broader spectrum of creativity, from people with different backgrounds, skills and experiences. A wider range of different perspectives will be highly beneficial across all teams; from marketing to finance.
- Increased employee engagement. Generally speaking, employees who feel included and wanted will be more engaged and motivated to do well. In turn, a more engaged team will often yield better team performance; making it a win-win for employers.
- Boosts company reputation & simplifies recruitment processes. Diversity in the workplace will help to build a great reputation for the company; especially important when you are looking to hire and retain talent. Especially in terms of graduate recruitment, DIEBs can play a huge role in attracting candidates to your business; if done well, it can also help you stand out from the bigger firms.
By working towards equity – for instance, asking different individuals from different groups to spearhead meetings – dissatisfaction could be curbed, ultimately bringing down employee attrition.
Most studies surrounding diversity in the workplace have found that for every 1% increase in gender diversity, company revenue increases by 3%.
Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging in the workplace
How to promote DIEB in the workplace
Plan for Improving Diversity in Hiring
Ireland is known for being a friendly, accepting nation of diverse backgrounds. A recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 57% of recruiters say their talent acquisition strategies are designed to attract diverse candidates.
Diversity in hiring leads to the following positive outcomes:
Appeal to a wide range of applicants. A larger pool of applicants increases the likelihood of attracting top talent who are going to buy into the diverse company culture, stay around for longer, and be have high levels of productivity.
Decrease bias. Decreased bias in recruitment, as well as adhering to anti discrimination legislation, allows for the best candidate to be chosen on merit rather than any other grounds of possible recruitment bias.
Reduce the likelihood of hiring the wrong person for the job. A candidate will not be chosen just because they are the right fit based on existing staff, but rather because they are the best candidate based on suitability factors, such as education, qualification, work ethos and having given a successful interview.
We explore further ways to promote DIEBS in our Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging online course.