It is Pride month once again and we at Aspiring to Include want to use this special time of year to discuss issues and topics that affect and impact the LGBTQIA community. In this blog, we want to discuss the importance of being an inclusive employer in 2022 and what benefits inclusivity has to bring. What better way to celebrate pride than to focus on the positives diversity has in store for all of us.
Being an inclusive employer means that everyone you employ receives equal treatment and equal opportunities in the workplace. It means that you actively create an inclusive and accessible working environment that allows people of all genders, identities, races, economic backgrounds, and so on and so forth, to thrive and achieve.
Gallup writes that in an inclusive working culture:
- Everyone treats everyone else with respect.
- Managers appreciate the unique characteristics of everyone on their teams.
- Leaders do what’s right.
Achieving an inclusive working culture and being an inclusive employer holds a lot of benefits in store in 2022. It is not only in the interests of your employees, it is also very much in your own interest. While, of course, it should often be enough to know that we are simply doing the right thing based on human empathy and connection, business is business and we understand that employers also want to know that they are making the right decisions for themselves.
If you want to be reassured that being an inclusive employer is the right move in 2022, this blog is going to provide that exact reassurance for you. We are going to talk about the very real benefits in store if you commit to recruiting and employing in an equal and inclusive way.
The Benefits of Being an Inclusive Employer
Reaching a Wider and More Diverse Talent Pool
When you actively work on diversity and inclusion, you get a lot of talented, skilled, and experienced people walking through your recruitment doors. When you engage in non-diverse, unequal recruiting and employment, you miss a lot of amazing candidates.
From the very starting point of recruiting, you can choose to be inclusive or exclusionary. Even things as simple as the language you use in your job postings can affect what kind of candidates are reaching the next levels of your application process.
If you want good employees, you need to keep your net wide. Don’t miss out on talent because of unconscious bias or poor accessibility.
Organizations with inclusive cultures are statistically two times more likely to exceed financial targets and three times more likely to be high-performing… It isn’t a far reach to connect the dots between these results and the fact that more diverse candidates are being recruited and employed.
Good employees, good results.
Better Personal Relations and Employer Growth
An inclusive working environment breeds better personal relations between all members of staff at all levels. When people feel included, safe, and involved, they are in a better mood. Simply put. And from studies, we know that people in a better mood make other people feel in a better mood.
This, in turn, leads to a noticeable improvement in staff retention levels and staff loyalty. People who are happy at work don’t need to leave and find new jobs. They will stay and they will also recommend your company to friends and family, creating waves of interest and loyalty for years to come.
Including everyone allows a place of employment to feel happy and safe, and that is a wonderful thing.
You may also find yourself growing as a person in the process too. Meeting and working with a diverse range of employees helps you learn, develop, and understand new perspectives. This personal growth can be a wonderful thing for both you personally and your company’s success going forward.
Improved Employer Image and Community Engagement
According to statistics, diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture new markets. People enjoy working with and buying from inclusive companies and employers, it’s as simple as that.
Communities at large are more likely to engage with your business if you are known to be Diversity-Positive. Particularly if you publicly commit to equality, diversity and inclusion. Publishing your EDI figures is one great way that you can move this process along if you are interested.
In 2022, archaic ways of working aren’t working anymore. People don’t want to support businesses that don’t represent the full range of the human spectrum. They don’t want to give their money to people who don’t offer equal opportunities.
Being inclusive is “in”.
Company Success and Profit
Companies that had “higher-than-average gender diversity and employee engagement” show a 46% to 58% better financial performance than other companies.
This increased revenue and profit comes from different avenues, including:
- increased business opportunities
- improved public relations
- improved staff retention
- better levels of engagement
- productivity of staff
All the reasons we have talked about for being an inclusive employer in 2022 all lead back to success and profit.
Not only are you opening up opportunities to people who want and deserve them, but you are also boosting the economy and your own business while you are at it.
That sounds like a win-win situation all around.
Becoming an Inclusive Employer Now
If you want to get in on this success and become a more inclusive employer yourself, you can do so with Aspiring to Include. You can sign up to create a company profile, advertise inclusive jobs, and reach the diverse candidates that you need to fill them.
With inclusive recruitment, you can begin your journey to becoming an inclusive employer. And all the success we discussed in this blog can be yours for the taking.
What’s not to love?
