Pandemic aside, 2020 has been a year for Americans to evaluate efforts – or lack of them – towards real diversity and inclusion in their workplaces. From race and cultural relations to balancing employment stats and pay grades among genders to the differences we hold toward “essential” and “non-essential” workers, people are desperately seeking something beyond their paychecks.
The HR buzzwords of late are “diversity” and “inclusion” or “D&I.” Most people can give a roundabout explanation of D&I, but what do the individual terms really mean? And what do they mean for our workplaces?
The term “diversity” represents a variety of people of different genders, ages, ethnicities, abilities, and sexual orientations who come from different backgrounds, religious beliefs, educational backgrounds, and beyond. Diverse is just the opposite of alike and, in a workplace, the goal is to avoid homogeneity. A workforce has more opportunities for success when the skills, talent, and knowledge available to it is varied.
Of course, employing a diverse team accomplishes nothing if your workplace fails at inclusion. “Inclusion” is about belonging and identifying with the larger group of coworkers. An inclusive workplace not only employs a diverse team of coworkers, but it also treats each and every one of them the same. Employees are much more likely to succeed in the workplace when they feel accepted as part of the entire team striving for accomplishments in the name of their employer.
Beyond the value of unique and specialized knowledge that each employee brings to the workplace, success at D&I drives workplace success by inspiring things as simple as positive attitudes and intellectual growth while reducing negative attitudes.
ClearStar has spent more than 25 years developing HR technology solutions for the digital age and now provides tools to assist employers with securing diverse candidates and building inclusive workforces. Ask ClearStar how our proprietary technology and unmatched candidate care can help you hire the best and the brightest employees from anywhere and everywhere.
