How Diversity and Inclusion Impact Your Employer Brand

Before you learn about how diversity and inclusion impact your brand, we should first clarify the meaning of the two human resources terms. Diversity means ensuring professionals of all beliefs, backgrounds and experiences are recruited for career opportunities. Inclusion is the practice of providing equal opportunities for all professionals to contribute to the success of an organization.

Headquartered in London, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) expounds on the definition of diversity by stating “there is a compelling moral case for diversity and inclusion in the workplace and beyond. Ensuring everyone is treated equally, with dignity and has their fair share of resources is simply the right thing to do. People matter, and we all should have equal opportunity to develop, progress, and be rewarded and recognized at work. Organizations must ensure that their people management practices champion this fundamental principle.”

Diversity means different things to different organizations. However, one thing remains clear. Differences in age, race, gender, national origin and sexual orientation should be encouraged to ensure optimal organizational performance. When expanded in meaning, diversity and inclusion also covers differences in personalities, political opinions and communication styles.

Is Diversity and Inclusion all about Statistics?

Does diversity and inclusion mean your company must establish some type of miracle formula to include every different demographic in the labor force? The answer is an emphatic no. The primary objective of diversity and inclusion initiatives is to have a workforce that closely resembles your organization’s target audience and the growing group of loyal customers you have worked hard to retain. Putting numbers by the side of age, race, gender, national origin, and sexual orientation categories might not properly reflect the consumers you want to reach.

Here are four questions to ask that should determine whether your organization’s diversity and inclusion programs are positively impacting your brand:

Is every demographic group working for your company provided the same benefits, compensation, and opportunities?

Does your leadership reflect the diverse composition of your entire workforce?

Do the minority members of your team believe their contributions are respected in the same way as the contributions made by other team members?

Does your company protect team members from harassing and discriminatory practices?

What are the Diversity and Inclusion Impacts to Your Employer Brand?

It is one thing to hop on the inclusion and diversity bandwagon just to ensure your organization complies with both state and federal anti-discrimination laws. It is quite another thing to craft compelling diversity and inclusion initiatives that have a positive impact on the performance of your company.

Let’s look at a few ways inclusion and diversity positively impact organizational performance.

Fosters Creativity

A study lasting more than six years that involved polling nearly 3,000 business executives and entrepreneurs demonstrated the most creative and innovative leaders “go out of their way to meet people with different kinds of ideas and perspectives to extend their own knowledge domains.” According to an article presented by the Scientific American: “People who are different from one another in race, gender and other dimensions bring unique information and experiences to bear on the task at hand. A male and a female engineer might have perspectives as different from one another as an engineer and a physicist-and that is a good thing.”

Because of different perspectives and experiences, diverse teams of professionals impact employer brands by developing more creative approaches to solving problems.

More Inclusive Marketing Equals More Customers

Marketers have come late to the diversity and inclusion table, but at least they have finally set the table up for success. As recently as 2014, advertisers were known for targeting like-minded consumers. When Advertising Age covered the diversity and inclusion issue in 2014, the publication stressed the success of an ad created by Chevrolet that targeted both LGBT and interracial couples. Brand perception jumped dramatically for Chevrolet among LGBT and interracial consumers.

Nonetheless, there is obviously a lot of work that still needs to be done if the marketing industry wants to promote diversity and inclusion in its advertising campaigns. A Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) press release presented data showing that out of the nearly 560,000 Americans working in marketing related services, fewer than 50% were women and only 5% identified themselves as African Americans.

Improved Organizational Performance

The bottom line is that your company will be impacted positively by inclusion and diversity programs. McKinsey and Co. released research that concluded companies employing top level executives from diverse backgrounds financially outperform rivals employing much more monolithic labor forces. The study went on to state that diversity positively impacts other facets of business operations, including “advantages in recruiting the best talent, stronger customer orientation, increased employee satisfaction, and improved decision making.”

Wider Talent Pool

PwC discovered more than 80% of participants of a recently released survey said an employer’s diversity and inclusion policies is an important factor in determining whether to work for the employer. The survey emphasized the importance of increasing the breadth of your company’s talent pool to attract more qualified professionals as job candidates. In an era of low unemployment and highly competitive recruiting strategies, it makes sense to foster a diverse and inclusive work environment to attract a wider pool of professional talent.

Better Retention Rates

Perhaps the greatest positive impact diversity and inclusion has on employer brands is boosting employee morale. Several studies indicate that diverse and inclusive workplaces improve employee morale, which directly makes a positive impact on employee retention rates. With turnover costs a major problem in a low unemployment economy, it is important for companies to bolster their brands by lowering employee turnover rates.