HR Connection blog

A diverse workplace is a successful workplace: organizations that embrace diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) enjoy increased revenue, greater readiness for innovation, and improved retention.1 Improving workplace diversity and inclusion entails more than hiring more women, BIPOC, nonbinary, or neurodiverse employees, however. It includes weaving genuine inclusion into the fabric of the organization--that is, not simply having diverse people on board but also ensuring that they're involved, empowered, and trusted within the business. Identify DEIB as a strategic priority. Workplaces can move the needle only if they make DEIB a key organizational strategic priority with clear goals and performance measures that are regularly reviewed and discussed by the CEO and leadership. Conduct pay equity reviews. The U.S. Equal Pay Act may have been passed in 1963, but the gender pay gap still persists, with a woman earning an average of only 82 cents for every dollar a man makes. The disparity is even greater for Black women and for Hispanic or Latina women, who earn 61 percent and 53 percent, respectively, of the average salary of non-Hispanic white men. Organizations that are committed to DEIB should conduct formal reviews of their pay structures and make adjustments to address pay gaps. Recruit and promote from a diverse POV. Having a diverse slate of candidates is essential, but it's not enough. If it wants to be a truly inclusive workplace that supports DEIB, an organization also needs diverse hiring panels to improve objectivity and fairness in its recruitment and hiring processes. Create a robust mentorship program. The options for providing employees of underrepresented groups with greater exposure to mentorship opportunities are endless. Initiatives such as cross-department shadowing and breakfasts with the CEO, for example, boost engagement and prime employees for promotion, no matter where they are in the company hierarchy. A robust mentorship program sets clear expectations for both mentor and mentee, crosses all levels of the business, and encourages dynamic, two-way mentorship that enables both parties to learn from each other (rather than simply set up a teacher-student arrangement). Consistently train and engage employees on DEIB. Although diversity and unconscious bias training is required in many workplaces, it doesn't always a have long-term impact.2 When DEIB training programs are presented as lessons to be passively absorbed, they may raise awareness but don't necessarily stimulate behavioral change. To be truly effective, training needs to be interactive, ongoing, and part of a broader conversation within the organization. Make sure benefits and programs meet the needs of caregivers. Companies should evaluate their employee benefit plans and programs to ensure that they adequately support the caregivers (of both children and elders) within the organization's workforce. Caregiver resources (such as designated nursing spaces or eldercare seminars) and flexible schedules go a long way toward enabling employees with caregiver responsibilities to contribute fully at work and balance their workplace responsibilities with their obligations and needs at homes. Set up ERGs for success. To be effective, employee resource groups (ERGs) need to be developed, encouraged, and supported (with both time and money) by the organization. Although senior leaders who pledge to assist ERGs usually believe that their companies encourage ERG participation, most ERG leaders report low budgets and a lack of influence within their organizations.3 Leadership should participate and engage with ERGs more and leverage them to support the organization's DEIB goals. Scrutinize board and executive team representation. If the composition of an organization's board and executive team doesn't reflect the diversity of the geographical area, its leadership should take action. They should make sure that action is effective, though, and beware of what one diversity expert has termed "the Black bluff" Black employees are now being hired into leadership positions at companies that aren't actively anti-racist and committed to cultivating a sense of belonging among all employees. Because these employees are set up to fail as a result of working amid systems that are not equipped to effectively support them, they're at risk for falling victim to the Black bluff.4 Hold leaders accountable. A DEIB strategy will take hold within an organization only if leadership supports space and accountability for it. Once a company's goals are set and its DEIB results measured against them, the leadership team must be held accountable for those results--good or bad. Employees look to their workplace leaders for guidance but will follow if they believe that those leaders are changemakers alongside them. This list of best practices may seem overwhelming, but it's really just a set of steps that together lead toward an important--but achievable--goal. Selecting one task and doing it well will help any organization make progress on the path to greater diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. One step at a time!

The volume and variety of talent acquisition technologies on the market would lead even experienced HR professionals to believe that at least one of those technologies must be the key to improving the speed and quality of hiring. In fact, in 2019 experts predicted that the market for human capital–related technology (mostly related to hiring and retention) would approach $30 billion by 2025.  Even during the difficult economic times of the past year and a half, much of the talent acquisition chatter continues to have a strong technology bent. 

Today’s business leaders have firsthand experience with the distinct sets of values that each generation brings to the workplace. Whereas younger generations often prioritize the holistic employee experience, older generations focus more on “traditional” motivators, such as high paychecks and prestigious titles. In spite of their differences, however, the different generations share one preference that transcends age: a desire for recognition.  

Are you an overwhelmed HR manager looking for solutions? A hard-working business owner with too much on your plate? Or are you looking for ways to expand your business with niche suppliers? Look no further—we’ve got the solutions you need.

As summer hits its stride and life starts to return to normal in the USA, businesses are lifting pandemic-related restrictions, and the percentage of the population that has been fully vaccinated grows every day. In spite of this upswing, though, talent remains a serious concern of many companies. One recent survey of HR leaders found just over half (51 percent) mainly worried about keeping the talent they have, and just under half (49 percent) mostly anxious about attracting new talent.1  Employers are struggling to appeal to and retain talent for many reasons, but fear and money are at the top of the list.

Let’s not tempt fate by asking if finding talent and filling roles can get any harder or the job market could get any stranger. Instead, let’s focus on what works to get talent in the door and on the job.

It's time that CHROs take steps to build a business-based talent strategy to increase their effectiveness and better support their CEO and business strategy. This article, and our upcoming webinar, focuses on:

Like an elevator, employee loyalty can move in only two directions: up or down. Because it is constantly changing, executives want to know if their employees’ loyalty is rising or falling — and what it might look like in the years ahead. But how does one measure something as abstract as loyalty? 

In 2016 Harvard Business Review published an article that listed the usual reasons why people quit their jobs: “because they don’t like their boss, don’t see opportunities for promotion or growth, or are offered a better gig (and often higher pay)1.”  It also highlighted one somewhat surprising reason: because of “their sense of how they’re doing compared with other people in their peer group, or with where they thought they would be at a certain point in life.” Humans are competitive by nature, and the drive to “keep up with the Jones’s” lies behind this reason for quitting jobs.  

Everyone is spending a lot more time online these days—including job applicants. Job seekers (especially younger ones) are increasingly using social media in their job searches, and organizations are capitalizing on this trend to widen their applicant pools. Companies worldwide are leveraging their social media platforms to build their employer brands and create fun, laid-back content that attracts potential candidates. With the following strategies, organizations can drive interest in their next hiring campaigns.