When we reflect back to 2010 the world looked very different from what it does today, almost ten years later. We have seen more technological and cultural shifts in this decade than any that came before. The world seemed to move so fast around us, and diversity quickly became the buzzword of the decade. Let’s take a look at how diverse voices found their way into the spotlight in the last ten years and how these same voices are going to continue to catapult us into the new decade of diversity, inclusion, and equity.
Age More recently in the last few years, Gen Z has proven that age really is just a number. Seen as the generation of young activists, Generation Z (1995-2015) have found their voices in activism and standing up for what’s right. The March for our Lives in 2018 was a student led initiative started by the students in the Parkland shooting to urge policy makers for gun control. This year, Greta Thunberg was named Time’s youngest Person of the Year for her activism to prevent climate change. Millennials, step aside for the new generation because Gen Z is leading the way in social media, activism, education, and consumerism and making sure their expectations for diversity, ethicality, and sustainability are met by every brand they engage with. Women’s Empowerment #MeToo. The most wide spread and impactful social media movement of the decade. Women took to social media to support each other and dispel the stigma around speaking and reporting sexual assault. The movement created winding change in both feminine and masculine spheres of influence as celebrities openly shared their stories of survival and masculine brands and celebrities debunked outdated stereotypes of toxic masculinity and “boys will be boys” culture in exchange for true allyship and understanding. Equally empowering, the Team USA’s women’s soccer team successfully fought for equal pay to their male counterparts after winning the Women’s World Series proving that gender has no limitations. Needless to say, 2020 is the decade of the woman. Say goodbye to locker room culture and the men’s club because women are coming in strong. Gender & Sexuality This decade saw the rise of the Gender Revolution in National Geographic and huge victories for the LGBTQ community. The 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges made marriage equality the law of the land as LGBTQ couples gained the right to marry under the law. Facebook, Twitter, Tinder, and other social media sites re-evaluated their definition of gender to include 58+ gender terms. And what was the 2019 Mariam-Webster Dictionary’s word of the year? The non-binary, gender-neutral, pronoun “they” as used by Sam Smith and countless others across the country. In the new decade we will continue to see wider forms of non-binary or genderless expression in fashion, beauty, and self-representation as employees continue to observe and celebrate their true authentic selves. Race and Ethnicity Representation was a big theme of the decade as consumers demanded to see themselves represented in media, advertising, and art. The need for diverse racial representation led to the success of prominent African American films such as Us and Black Panther and the cult followings of English language Telenovelas such as Jane the Virgin and Devious Maids. Consumers in this decade did not tolerate the omission of People of Color as seen in the 2015 Oscars awards hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. Brands also jumped onto the call for racial diversity from Coca-Cola’s “America the Beautiful” ad or Nike’s support of Colin Kaepernick. The next decade, brands will follow the precedent Rihanna started with Fenty Beauty by incorporating all skin tones into leadership, marketing, and advertising to create representation. Ability Athletes, academics, and activists all exemplified time and time again that in the last ten years people with disabilities were stronger and more vocal than ever before. In 2012, Oscar Pistorius became the first double-leg amputee to participate in the Olympics inspiring amputees across the world. Two years later people around the world began pouring buckets of ice water on their heads to raise awareness for ALS, a disease that would later take the life of the most influential scientists of our generation: Stephen Hawking. Sesame Street introduced the first autistic character on the show in 2017 to normalize different ways of behavior and ways of engaging the world. In the new decade with so many prominent voices empowering disabled individuals, stigmas around disabilities will continue to decrease as many choose to embrace and disclose disabilities to their employers, families, and friends who in turn need to learn ways accommodate all forms of how people interact with the world around them. The New Decade: 2020 The last decade has seen consumers and influencers loudly making calls to action and the brands and causes that succeeded this decade took those calls to heart. The brands that were successful saw the social and cultural shifts that were happening around them and implemented them both in and out of the office. However, the brands of 2020 are going to have to be more focused on DEI than ever before. Unlike the brands of the 2010’s, brands in 2020 will have to do more than simply recognize diversity, they are going to have to embrace it and empower diverse voices to make decisions that will impact a diverse set of consumers. 2020 will not be a homogenous decade and neither can the brands that will succeed. DCAProSearch has been at the top of this movement since for over two decades and we will continue to partner with brands to recruit diverse talent that speaks to the diverse audience of 2020. From everyone at DCAProSearch thank you for a great decade and we wish you the best in 2020.
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In the world of business, everything is measured. The same goes for our hiring practices. Diversity and inclusion cannot be an initiative that is only spoken about. As Sophie Bellon, Chairwoman of Sodexo, tells us “what gets measured gets done.” The same goes for our hiring practices. HR and hiring managers should be establishing diversity goals to encourage diverse hiring practices throughout the company. However, although 42% of the population self-identifies as “multicultural”: African-American; Hispanic; Asian; Disabled or LGBTQ+, an AIMM’s Multicultural Benchmark Study shows that only 16% of marketers imbue their outreach with cultural insights aimed at these audiences. AIMM is a committee formed by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers)and is short for Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing.
Human resources, top level executives, hiring managers, and employees should make it a priority to sit down and define what diversity looks like within the company. Hold a town hall or fireside chat so all members of your organization can get involved in defining what their workplace will look like and what improvements should be implemented in the hiring process. Here are some tips on how companies throughout the country have set and achieved their goals. Match the Demographics of the Country With countless different voices in the country, it can be difficult to ensure that all are represented within the organization. That is why many companies strive to match the racial demographics of the country to ensure all voices are present in proportion to the population. Specifically with Gen-Z consumers, younger consumers are drawn to companies that are representative of the diversity that exists within the world and want brands that demonstrate they are leading the march serving all consumers. Diversify all Levels of Management In addition to diverse hiring practices, make sure that you continue to empower different voices within the organization from interns to C-Suite executives. Diversity will not be effective if your diverse employees are concentrated at the bottom levels of management. Having diversity at all levels of your corporation allows for the dissemination of experience and solutions at all levels that will be integrated for an enhanced problem solving capacity for your business. Invest in a Chief Diversity Officer Consider your Chief Diversity Officer your accountability partner. With his/her team, the CDO will measure the effectiveness of your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and find areas to improve diversity practices by creating a report for top management every quarter. Although it’s possible to achieve diversity without a CDO, remember that achieving DEI in a company is a sensitive task that can sometimes lead to frustration if not incorporated correctly. Therefore, a certified and experienced CDO will help aid in the implementation of strategies and help you get the most of the benefits of diversity. Strive for Diversity and Inclusion Awards Various awards and recognitions exist for companies that have excelled in their DEI practices. Such awards include the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, Bloomberg's Gender Equality Ranking, NASSCOM Corporate Awards for Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion among various other awards. Although these awards shouldn’t necessarily be your motivation for implementing DEI strategies they represent a good benchmark to how well you are achieving your goals. Diversity Tip: Know the difference between a goal and a quota. Although diversity should be a goal for all growing companies, it is important that it is not forced on business leaders as a mandate from HR, but rather an attitude that is adopted by all managers throughout the company. This will lead your leaders to create goals as opposed to filling quotas. A goal is created because hiring managers recognize the value of diversity and thus they encourage diverse hiring practices. Whereas, a quota forces hiring practices without valuing what diverse talent brings to the table. Diversity and inclusion is an essential part to growing your business to reflect the modern day workforce and the modern day consumer. More than ever, consumers expect businesses to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive and will reward businesses who represent these values. While it can be tricky, DEI is well worth it and pays off in consumer loyalty and brand recognition. At DCAProSearch we have been leading the way in diversity recruiting finding diverse talent for companies and agencies for over 20 years and we will continue to shout the importance of DEI from the rooftops until diversity, equity, and inclusion are recognized as the standard. We have been, and will always be, your diversity recruiter. Please say it’s not so! Analysts again are warning of an upcoming recession due to recent market behavior and various financial factors. Whether you believe their assessment of the economy or not, the fact is we are due for a recession at some point. The American economy is cyclical in nature, and considering we are in the longest bull market in history, a recession seems to be due sooner rather than later. I am not speaking as an economist or financial adviser, but as a recruitment partner who has weathered these economic fluctuations with my clients in the past. History has proven that there are ways to weather a recession, and maybe even thrive until the market starts to pick up again.
1) Hire the Perfect Team Early We are in a booming economy right now. Use it! Build your dream team now that way you can increase your budget and secure funding now before it is too late. Once a recession hits, your ability to ask the company for a bigger budget to hire someone you need is almost impossible. On average, budgets will remain stagnant or even decrease a little bit. However, if you go into a recession already having built your recession-proof team then their salaries have already been accounted for in the budget planning meetings and their job should be secure going forward. This being said, don’t go overboard by hiring people you don’t need or whose jobs are too similar. This is when you’ll be forced to slim down and let good people go. 2) Prioritize Your Marketing During a recession, marketing is often the first thing to go. Marketing is essential in a recession to keep your brand remembered and fighting for consumers. When you decrease marketing and your competitors don’t, you have already lost consumers. However, if you keep marketing strong while your competitors lapse you have an opportunity to win market share. It is possible to grow during a recession, and marketing is the key to doing so. Instead of cutting marketing entirely, create a ranking for campaign importance. The most important and effective campaigns remain funded while other costly or overly risky campaigns get put on hold if the market goes sour. 3) Add Value not Price A big trend we saw during the 2009 recession was that prices go up and never come back down. While consumers may choose your brand for a number of reasons, you can be sure that during a recession price is a huge factor of if they keep choosing you or try someone new. Increasing your price will turn away loyal consumers who are looking for a cheaper alternative, therefore boosting your competitors and making you lose market share. Instead, focus on adding value that doesn’t cost much such as excellent customer service, satisfaction guarantees, and loyalty programs to convince your consumer that your existing price is worth it. 4) Develop Short Term Goals A volatile market can make long term goals tricky. The economic conditions that exist at the beginning of a recession may not exist in a month, or even a week, after. Therefore, make your goals reflect the volatile nature of the market by adopting challenging yet achievable short term goals. A 30-day goal that can adapt to market volatility from month to month is a good way to keep realistic expectations and act quickly when the market begins to change. 5) Utilize Partnerships You aren’t the only one going through the recession. Every one of your partners is feeling it too. Incorporate Co-op marketing campaigns with retailers or other brands. You marketing dollars will be stretched by bringing partners into a campaign. You should focus on preserving your partnerships because you and your partners are able to do a lot more together than each of you can do alone. To go back to economics 101, like nations, companies have comparative advantages. An advertising firm can do advertising for much less than it would cost you. Similarly, a recruiter can recruit talent for much less than it would cost you. Therefore, by utilizing each of your partners' specialties each of you are able to benefit from gains of trade and produce much better than you would be able to alone. A recession can be nerve-wracking but you will get through it. Make preparations now before you are left scrambling when the market begins to slow. It may be in a month, a year, or 5 years but it is always better to be ready for anything. DCAProSearch is proud to be your recruiting partners throughout good and bad, and we are always ready to help you build your corporate dream team to help you ride out any storm. ![]() Diversity in the workplace has been praised as not only being ethical but a smart business decision. However, the main question that stumps passionate diversity advocates is, “How will investing in diversity make us money?” In, a perfect world, arguing that investing in diversity is the ethical thing to do would be enough for any hiring manager. Unfortunately, most of us live in the business world where nothing is done unless it helps raise the bottom line, and now it is up to you to prove that diversity does exactly that. Admittedly, it’s a difficult argument to quantify. Saying that adding diversity initiatives would add X amount of dollars to the bottom line would be oversimplifying the benefits of diversity because the exact benefits are hard to trace. Lucky for you, we’ve put together the business case that you have been looking for. Whether you are a skeptic of diversity or a diversity devotee, the numbers prove that diversity works. Diversity is an Expectation for Top Talent Job seekers are beginning to expect companies to have a diverse workforce and value diverse employees. According to Glassdoor, 2 in every 3 active and passive job seekers said that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. According to a Glassdoor study, when asked how important a diverse workforce is when evaluating companies and job offers 67% of respondents indicated that diversity was important or very important to their decision. When broken down, the numbers were even higher among women (72%), African Americans (89%), Hispanics (70%), Asians (80%), and millennials (86%). However, nearly 6 out of 10 employees think their company should be doing more to increase diversity. Therefore, by not investing in diversity efforts you are actively persuading top talent to look elsewhere for the diversity of thought they are looking for. Higher Financial Performance McKinsey & Company published a study in 2018 correlating higher gender and ethnic diversity to higher earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). The study concluded that companies in the top quartile of gender diversity had a 21% higher likelihood of above-average financial performance than companies in the bottom quartile. Similarly, companies in the top quartile of ethnic diversity saw 33% higher likelihood of having above-average financial performance than companies in the bottom quartile. This is in part to diverse teams having more innovative R&I, enhanced group think, greater insight into real-world perspectives, quick access to cultural ambassadors, new product concepts, and introduction to new markets. Greater Innovation Boston Consulting Group (BCG) came out with a similar study concluding that there existed a statistically significant correlation between the diversity of management teams and innovation. Companies that had higher diversity within management saw 19% higher innovation revenue than companies with below-average diversity. A Harvard Business Review study tied this correlation to the fact that diverse teams understand diverse market needs, leading to more relevant product development that meets real-world needs versus non-existent problems. A 2017 Harvard Business Review report found that teams with higher cognitive diversity were 53% more effective and efficient in completing cognitive tasks than less diverse teams. From being able to identify sore spots in brand marketing to revealing new product and research opportunities, multicultural talent brings new perspectives and solutions. Racial Minorities are only Getting Larger The Brookings Institute estimates that minorities will make up the majority of the United States population by the year 2045. The Hispanic community is set to see the fastest growth in population. However, all minority groups are forecasted to see steady growth as well. By 2045, whites will make up 49.7% of the United States population, while Hispanics will make up 24.6%, African Americans 13.1%, Asian’s 7.9%, and all other racial minorities 5%. If we look at the racial demographics by age in the table, minorities will be the majority of the workforce even sooner. Therefore, by delaying diversity initiatives you are isolating young talent and simply delaying the inevitable. Not only is diversity the right thing to do, but it would be a mistake to ignore or delay the benefits of diversity in the workplace. Although many skeptics still believe the financial benefits of diversity are non-existent or not proven, hundreds of companies around the world have proven that diversity initiatives are beneficial, if not necessary, to grow in today’s consumer-driven market. That is why DCAProsearch is dedicated to diversifying the marketing and advertising space with top diverse talent because we believe that diversity isn’t only the right thing to do, it is the way of the future. Resignations happen all the time. People find better opportunities, life happens, and people move on for all sorts of reasons. Good talent leaving isn’t something to be alarmed about, but when multiple resignations occur in close proximity to each other it is time for alarm. A mass exodus of talent can happen for a number of reasons: loyal employees following a good leader, an ethical scandal that has shaken the moral compass of employees, a bad financial report that tests the confidence in the future of the company. Whatever the reason, the top priority for top executives and HR should be to limit the number of employees who jump ship to avoid losing good talent. De-escalate the conflict quickly and most times the company will come out stronger on the other side.
1) Don’t Counter. Listen and Ask When you see your best employees leaving, your instinctual move is to create a counter-offer to make them stay. It makes sense, give them an offer that you think they can’t refuse. However, don’t be so hasty. At the end of the day, a counter-offer is a power play and an unwise one at that. Most counter-offers are like throwing a dart in a dark room. Most will offer a raise or promotion, but few will hit the reason the employee is actually leaving. The reality is your employee is the one in power, and you shouldn’t exert your power to sway their decision until you know what it is they need. Instead of designing a counter that you think would sway them, listen to the reasons they are leaving and ask if there is anything that could influence their decision. 2) Call your Recruiter Immediately Whenever you battle a crisis there is always a risk for casualties. You cannot be so naïve to think that everyone will stay with you. Identify loose links and call your recruiter immediately so they can start a search for replacements. This minimizes the loss to the company and to the morale of your employees if you do lose some talent. Hiring a replacement quickly after you lose talent keeps your employees from feeling overworked for extended periods of time, fills the empty desk feeling of the office place, and brings new ideas to a stagnant workplace that can actually serve to improve the business. 3) Secure Top Talent People follow people, and there are some people you simply can’t afford to lose. You have to act quickly to make sure top talent has no inclination of leaving the company or taking other talent with them. Talk to them personally out of the office to eliminate any intimidation or pressure they may feel when talking about such issues with their boss. Make them feel comfortable and ensure them about the future of the company and the future of their career. Sometimes it may even be necessary to offer them incentives to stay such as more vacation time or a raise to sweeten the deal, but it’s worth it if it means they’ll stay. 4) Promote Worthy Employees No one is going to leave a job they just started. If you are nervous about employees following a leader then make them a leader, but only if they are ready. On average, an employee will wait at least one to two years after starting a new job to even consider leaving their position. Promoting worthy employees will inspire loyalty to the company, and even keep lower-level employees from jumping ship because they see their colleagues staying and thriving. 5) Create a Challenge The saying goes that an idle mind is the devil’s playground. From a career standpoint that rings even more true. Ambitious employees don’t like to feel stagnant, and no overachiever wants to leave loose ends. Therefore, by constantly challenging your employees to find new solutions, reach further, and follow unique ideas you are inspiring them to remain with their jobs regardless of company politics, changing leadership, or newsroom events. Keeping your employees engaged and invested in their work gives them a reason to stay on even through turmoil that may have demotivated them in slow seasons. An exodus of top talent can have far-reaching effects within the company, but quick action can easily stop a crisis if you take the right steps. However, the fact is at some point or another you will lose good talent. Keep DCAProSearch in the loop to minimize the effects of losing good employees and find talent that may even exceed what you thought possible before. Any crisis can be averted with good planning. Do you have a plan? This week DCAProsearch released an all-encompassing 36 page guide about recruiting and retaining diverse talent in order to create a more multicultural workforce. This valuable guide is split into three concise sections that clearly address the state of diversity in the workplace and methods in which hiring managers, HR, and corporate leaders can take to recruit and retain multicultural talent through effective DEI policies. While the full guide is only a thirty minute read, I wanted to provide a quick executive summary for professionals to read on-the-go while commuting to work or taking a quick break from the office. For the full guide feel free to download it here.
A Business Case for Diversity When it comes to business decisions, it all comes down to the numbers, and diversity is no exception. Whether you are a skeptic of diversity or a diversity devotee, the numbers prove that diversity works. McKinsey & Company published a study in 2018 correlating that companies in the top quartile of gender diversity a 21% higher likelihood of having above average EBIT and companies in the top quartile of ethnic diversity had a 33% higher likelihood of above average EBIT. A separate Boston Consulting Group found that there exists a statistically significant correlation between the diversity of management teams and innovation. Companies with higher management diversity saw 19% higher innovation revenue than companies with below-average diversity. The Harvard Review also found that teams with higher cognitive diversity were 53% more effective and efficient in completing cognitive tasks than less diverse teams. Pt I: The Current State of Diversity A common misconception of multiculturalism is that it consists of only racial and ethnic identities. However, multiculturalism consists of various identities from age, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity each of which consists of different cultural norms and values. Having teams that encompass multicultural perspectives has proven to allow companies to innovate R&I, enhance groupthink, foster cultural ambassadors, reach new markets, incorporate real-world perspectives, and design more relevant product concepts. While many companies have already recognized the value in investing in multiculturalism there is still a lot to be done. By 2045, racial minorities will be the majority of the nation. If we look at the numbers by age group, it is even sooner. Minors under 18 will be majority minority as soon as 2020, and twenty year olds as soon as 2027. Although minority communities are growing quickly, corporate America still has a long way to catch up. Out of all Fortune 500 CEO’s only 11 are Hispanic (2.2%) and 5 are African American (1%). There are more Fortune 500 CEO’s name David (4.5%) than there are female Fortune 500 CEO’s (4.1%). The average woman gets paid only $0.78 for each dollar earned by a white man, and women of color make even less with Hispanic women getting the least at only $0.53 per dollar. However, regardless of all the shocking statistics, 41% of managers say they are “too busy” to implement diversity initiatives. To say it bluntly, the state of diversity in America should be viewed as unacceptable for any company that strives to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI). Pt II: Recruiting for Diversity at Work Diversity has become expected in today’s workplace. According to glassdoor, 67% of job candidates believe that a company having a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers, and 57% of employees believe their company should be doing more to increase diversity. Who exactly is responsible for diversity though? The number one answer was hiring managers, followed by the CEO and HR. However, 1 in 4 people believes that employees have a large role to do with recruiting diversity as well. This makes diversity a responsibility for everyone in the company, but especially those who make the hiring decisions. When it comes to achieving diversity, companies have taken varied approaches from matching the diversity of the company to diversifying all levels of management. However, the most effective means were to create a team dedicated to DEI and invest in a Chief Diversity Officer who sits with other top-level executives in making decisions. This officer should be tasked with understanding the current state of diversity within the company and identify areas where diversity needs to be improved. Look at whether diversity is integrated across all departments and leadership levels within the company, and that you are also working with diverse vendors and partners such as multicultural ad agencies or diversity recruiters. When it comes to actually recruiting diverse candidates, there are a number of ways that a company can attract multicultural talent that is more engaging than typical recruiting efforts. Start by diversifying where you recruit for talent. This can mean appearing at Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) or Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), sponsoring cultural celebrations, or hosting networking events for minority communities. Additionally, you should be showcasing your diverse talent on social media and award employee referrals to assure diverse talent that your office is a place they can excel and grow. Consider hiring a diversity recruiter to handle your diversity recruiting needs. Diversity recruiters are experienced in finding top diverse talent and abide by the golden rule of recruiting: less is more. Experienced recruiters will only send you a max of 5 resumes rather than overwhelming you with bad candidates, thus letting you make a more informed and attentive decision. Pt III: Retaining Multicultural Talent If your focus is on diversifying your workforce, then you should know that hiring for diversity is not enough. Research by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) identified four main reasons for diversity efforts failing: management disconnect, macroaggressions, cultural illiteracy, and workplace integration dissonance. To put it more simply, nobody took the time to enforce equitable and inclusive policies. When looking to see whether your company is inclusive look at policies that are relevant to minority employees and ensure that policies address their needs as well. Allow them to submit concerns anonymously, and ensure that all employees are respected as valuable individuals. Various techniques have been utilized around the country by business big and small to foster inclusive work environments. Various companies seek to amplify minority voices by establishing Diversity Group Think Tanks (also known as employee resource groups, ERGs) and encouraging company leaders to mentor lower level employees who have different points of view and perspectives. Additionally, having multicultural teams and management gives employees the ability market brands to multicultural audiences that they are familiar with. To avoid employees not understanding each other’s points of views and backgrounds, invest in cultural brokers on your teams and stress the importance of valuing diverse points of views to ensure that all ideas get heard and considered. It is important to also note that not all employees have the same experiences, skills, or definitions of success. Many employees may benefit from systematic advantages or unacknowledged bias while putting others at a disadvantage. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all policies and practices within the company are equitable. Not to be confused with equal opportunity which provides equal resources and equal assessment to all employees without regard to previous advantages or setbacks, equitable policies stress fairness by recognizing what is/was needed to be successful based on previous skills, tasks, or abilities. Equitable policies focus on acknowledging the role of systematic privilege in the success of some employees over others due to underlying bias and seek to bridge the gap between marginalized groups of employees while addressing and eliminating corporate bias. Companies should provide development resources, such as optional quarterly training, for employees who want to improve their skills and company leaders should diversify performance matrix to recognize various forms of success within the company. Furthermore, establish clear promotion tracks to take out the ambiguity and bias that exist when choosing who gets promoted and standardize pay brackets based on task and level within the company to eliminate large gaps in wages while still allowing room for wage negotiations and raises. Conclusion A successful DEI strategy has proven to be beneficial for the productivity, success, and well-being of your employees. Employees who work in diverse workplaces reported feeling happier and more likely to stay with the company than employees who work in homogeneous environments. Constantly review your DEI practices and hold quarterly meetings with your Chief Diversity Officer to identify ways in which the company can grow and continue to promote DEI. At DCAProSearch we want to share the diversity that exists within the workforce with you and your company. We recognize that diverse mindsets bring about new solutions, new ways of thinking, and new opportunities that make our world better. We thank you for being a part of this movement and challenge you to continue to redefine what it means to be a diverse, inclusive, and equitable company. --- We hope you enjoyed this executive summary of Diversity Recruiting. If you want to get the full 36 page report that goes into detail about the various methods used to recruit and retain diversity plus ways to establish DEI policies in your company download the full report at https://www.dcaprosearch.com/diversity-guide-request.html This is going to be hard hitting on some people, but we need to stop relying on the words Diversity and Inclusion. Why? Because the modern institution of diversity and inclusion allows companies to pat themselves on the back for doing a few things, while allowing them to fall short on the promise they made to minority employees. Simply relying on D&I is limiting us on how we look at recruiting and retaining diverse talent. Although I firmly stand behind the values and meaning surrounding D&I, the institutions companies have created around D&I need to be redefined and expanded to the point where current definitions of diversity and inclusion are considered obsolete.
As an executive recruiter, I specialize in the area of diversity recruiting. However, my goal is for the candidates and clients we match to grow together through their career and business practices. What we've realized is that diversity initiatives alone may not be enough to ensure success. Companies may be able to attract multicultural talent, but when there is no real effort in transforming culture, D&I policies and initiatives that exist to make diverse voices feel valued and respected are bound to fail. Diverse employees will not be able to thrive within the company and will leave the company within a year or two at most. Whereas clients that actively promote, celebrate, and empower diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are where we see our clients and candidates thrive and grow together for years to come. If the culture isn’t already inclusive, you’re not ready for diversity When companies start seriously thinking about diversity and inclusion, it is typically an afterthought based on complaints by unhappy employees, or an exodus of minority employees. Even the name “Diversity and Inclusion” seems to imply that the order is diversity THEN inclusion. However, a design set up on securing vast amounts of diversity talent before establishing a culture of inclusivity is already designed to fail. Before companies seek to expand in hiring diverse mindsets, they should observe the diversity that already exists within the office and ensure that inclusive practices already exist within the workplace for current employees (ex: parents, age groups, gender). When the company then seeks to attract new forms of diversity, they can simply expand on those practice already in place and create new policies as needed rather than scrambling to create something from scratch. ‘Diversity first’ puts the burden on minorities to create inclusion For many companies the reality of ‘diversity first’ has already hit and they are scrambling to create inclusion programs. Unfortunately, this is putting an undue burden on minority employees who have been tasked with either learning to adapt to a non-inclusive environment or with designing inclusion for themselves and others like them in the company. Both of these tasks require minority employees to take on responsibility above and beyond what their job calls for. This can have long lasting effects on their performance, efficiency, and longevity within the company. D&I means nothing if the corporate system isn’t equitable Equity within the workplace starts with understanding that there are underlying, and often unacknowledged, biases built within organizations that favor some groups of people over others. Furthermore, equity is acknowledging the role of systematic privilege in the success of some employees over other employees due to underlying biases. Therefore, equitable policies are those that help to bridge the gap between marginalized groups of employees while addressing and eliminating corporate bias by recognizing what was/is needed to be successful based on previous skills, tasks, or abilities. Equitable policies should seek to provide supplemental training for all employees who need to refresh their skills, diversify performance matrix by recognizing multiple forms of success, establish clear promotion tracks to eliminate bias in management, and establish pay brackets across management levels to eliminate wage gaps for similar work. D&I shouldn’t be limited to a department in Human Resources When many people think of diversity and inclusion they think it’s admirable, but it’s also not their problem. D&I has been reduced to a department out of HR rather than a movement within the company. In reality, DEI should be an ideology held by all members of the company that affects every business decision from hiring, to expanding a product line, to finalizing a marketing campaign. When D&I is siloed within HR, employees and hiring managers are able to brush it off as a responsibility that only exists for HR when they should be the ones at the forefront to create an inclusive and equitable environment for employees and colleagues. Diversity is a movement, not a mandate A movement serves as a force that revolutionizes the values and decision making process of a company, leaving no process untouched. Although hiring multicultural talent is beneficial toward improving diversity of thought, if companies do not take active steps to foster a multicultural movement then diverse thinkers will feel marginalized and excluded, stifling your employee’s ability to fully participate in the culture of the company. Therefore if companies want multicultural talent, they need to take the time and resources to ensure that multiculturalism is fully implemented into the vision and culture of the company to ensure the promise of diversity, inclusion, and equity is fulfilled. The problem with modern D&I is that companies will stop at creating a D&I department thinking that is enough without changing company culture, practices, and values. The movement toward valuing diversity has to extend further than the work that has already been done in modern day D&I departments and needs to extend far past diversity and inclusion to ensure an equitable work place as well. Companies need to step away from the siloed D&I model in HR and begin transitioning a DEI corporate culture that transforms the values held within the company, within management, and within employees. It isn’t until we embrace the movement that is diversity and ensure the success of all voices that we can really begin to say that the American corporation has succeeded in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. Author's Note: You might be wondering why an Executive Recruiter is so hung up on the DEI issue, it is because we want our clients to thrive and they will thrive when they set themselves up for it by incorporating a successful DEI process in which the STAR Diverse Talent we recruit for them will shine and be able to bring all they have to the company including their diverse thought process, ideologies and new product ideas to serve other markets. This is only part of a 30 page guide which will be made available to prospective clients within the month on how to ensure DEI. If you would like to receive this guide the second it comes out, please sign up at www.dcaprosearch.com/diversity-guide-signup.html Albert Einstein defines insanity as trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The same thing goes for your hiring practices. If you continue utilizing the same hiring process you will continue to hire the same type of employee. Hiring diverse employees has been a goal for most Fortune 500 companies. However, only a few have succeeded in truly diversifying their workforce and experiencing the benefits that diversity brings. If you want to attract diverse talent, the first thing you need to do is diversify your hiring practices.
1) Recruit in Diverse Places This goes without saying, but if you want to attract multicultural candidates then recruit in places that attract multicultural professionals. This includes Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), diversity conferences, job fairs in minority communities, and online social media pages or forums serving minority communities. Not only do you meet a diverse set of candidates, but you also position your company's brand to be one that values diverse talent. When candidates feel like they are being sought out by a company they are more likely to want to work for the company because they feel wanted and valued. Therefore, continuously seek out diverse talent and they will seek you out in return. 2) Sponsor Cultural Celebrations Sometimes the best recruiting happens when you are not trying to recruit at all. By creating a reputation for your company as an ally to diversity you are attracting top talent without even having to ask for a resume. Diverse candidates like to see their potential employer champion diverse causes and show their support for cultural activities. It makes potential employees feel that your company is a place that they could feel at home and valued. There are thousands of events that you can sponsor: Cinco de Mayo Parades, Dia de los Muertos Celebrations, Black History Month Exhibits, Pride, Women's March, ect. It is also a fun event just to take some friends from the company and enjoy a day celebrating diversity. Who says you can't have fun at work. 3) Showcase Diverse Talent You are proud of your employees. There is no shame in letting the world know too. People want to work at places that they know they will feel challenged and where they will succeed. When companies showcase that diverse talent has thrived within their workplace, it attracts other diverse voices to join the team. No one wants to work at a place where they do not feel represented or where their voices won't be valued. When showcasing your team on social media, ensure that the diversity of your team is represented. Avoid only sharing images that consist of only one type of gender, race, age, etc. Showcase the diversity of your workplace and be proud of the teams you have put together. 4) Host Networking Events Who doesn't love Friday happy hours? It is great getting together with members of the company after a long week, but what about bringing together top talent from various companies to mix and mingle? Large companies are often coming together to empower minority groups within the industry to meet each other and share ideas. Events such as 'Women who Code,' LGBTQ+ Marketing mixers, and Society of Hispanic Engineers events happen throughout the country. Team up with other companies and host an event at a local brewery or park and get all of your employees to meet people from other companies. Your employees create connections and mentorships that will attract talent to your company because of how well your employees were admired. 5) Empower Minority Youth Representation is one of the most important things when creating a spark in young talent. Teens and college students want to work at a place where they see themselves. Organize outreach missions that empower the youth and inspire them to reach for their dreams. No kid will ever forget the first time they felt like they could be the next CEO or create the big viral ad. Create opportunities for minority youth to engage with your brand such as Hackathons, school events, company tours, and other fun events that allow students to see themselves working for your company in a few years. Investing in students and continuously engaging with them year after year is the best way to capture young talent and develop them throughout their career. 6) Hire a Diversity Recruiter If you want diverse employees, diversity should also exist within the vendors and partners you choose to work with outside the office. These can include advertising agencies, freelancers, contractors, but especially executive recruiters. Diversity recruiters are experts in identifying talent that will expand your company’s capabilities by finding the right talent to build your power teams. At DCAProSearch we have placed diverse talent within top agencies and companies for over 24 years and can confidently say that diverse talent is essential to tapping the benefits of multiculturalism. The fact is simple, if you want to attract diverse talent you have to reevaluate your hiring practices to market your open positions to attract that diverse talent. If you continue using your old hiring practices, you will continue to hire the same type of employees you have always hired. Therefore, switch things up and diversify your hiring process and you will see the types of candidates you attract begin to differ as well. We are in a candidate market, which means one thing: If you are not giving your employees what they want, they will leave you. To make matters more complicated, once your employees leave you, it will be difficult to fill those positions unless you give the new candidates what they want plus more. The most recent jobs report revealed that companies have more open positions than there are qualified employees to fill them. The vacancy of a mid-to-top-tier level employee making $100,000 typically costs a company $1,149 a day, assuming the average employee brings in three times their salary. Therefore, as an employer and team leader you need to take a few steps to ensure your talent remains with you to avoid the costs of an unexpected vacant position.
Team Up with an Outside Recruiter When I connect with new clients, the main excuse they give me is, “Why do we need an outside recruiter? That’s what HR is for.” Except not really”. Your company’s HR has many essential functions they oversee. Recruiting and developing talent is an area they can’t truly devote too much time to and a lot of great talent is missed or neglected. When employees decide they want to pursue another position, it is likely because an outside recruiter contacted them about a great opportunity elsewhere. Therefore, an outside recruiter can either be your biggest competition or your best friend. Job candidates see outside recruiters as an unbiased third party and more trustworthy than your HR contact. As your ally, executive recruiters can train an employee on how to progress within the company rather than find a new position. Furthermore, any ethical recruiter will refuse to siphon talent from an existing client making the executive recruiter your friend as opposed to your competition. Ensure Your Employees are Your Top Priority The expectations of employers usually revolve around two ideals: make a profit for shareholders and keep customers happy. However, employees have begun to demand that they be included in the mix too. Studies have shown that the happier employees are at work the less likely they are to leave, and the more value they bring to the company. Therefore, implement office activities that break the monotony of the work day and keep employees excited about coming to work. For offices on a higher budget that could be taking team development days at a Ropes Course or schedule an office Happy Hour. Offices on a lower budget can sign up for an Ice Cream of the Month Subscription or even go out to volunteer together as a team. Stop Building a Team and Start Forming a Family While team building is important, no amount of team development days can replace the connection that you will build with your employees. The number one reason candidates refuse to leave their current position is because of the bonds they have formed with their managers and colleagues. Make it a point to get to know what your employees do outside of work. Meet their families and connect with their kids on bring your kid to work day. Attend events that your employees invite you to. Form connections with them outside of the daily 9 to 5. The close family bonds that employees form with the people they work with are what keeps them at a company, and in some cases cause them to follow their bosses or colleagues to a new company if they leave. Train Steadily and Promote Regularly Nobody likes to feel stagnant in their job. The majority of employers will hire new talent and expect them to hit the ground running. However, training them too quickly will typically result in one of two things: the employee will feel overwhelmed, shut down, and leave after a year, or the employee will perfect their role, enjoy it, and then feel unchallenged after a year. The key to a new hire is to continue to develop their skills steadily to keep your employees challenged and always learning. Training them steadily as opposed to all at once will allow them to master, and in some cases improve, how they perform each task they are assigned before venturing to the next challenge. Finally, after about two to three years when they have learned everything in their current role, promote them to continue challenging their skills and keep them from feeling stagnant. If you Love Them, Let them Go It’s hard to accept, but sometimes there just is not anything more you can do for your employees and it is out of your control. It may be that they deserve to get promoted but you do not have a position, or they got an offer that is too good to be true. Whatever the case, if you want to see them succeed you have to let them go. Throw them a departure party and invite the rest of the team. This way you can get closure, the rest of your employees can get closer, and the employee leaving can feel valued. Letting your employee leave will give them skills and experiences you could not have taught them, and will make them better. However, do not throw away all hope. If you did everything right, many employees realize how good they had it at their previous company and will come back later when a position opens. Therefore, it isn’t a “goodbye,” but rather a “see you later.” In the meantime call your outside recruiter and start a search to find the next member of your team. Losing an employee is always difficult and costly, but making your employees feel valued is the best way to ensure that you retain your team. Build a connection with them and the other members on your team and express with them that you are glad they joined the team. However, don’t be so naive to believe an employee will never leave you. Be ready for them to depart unexpectedly, because one day they will find an opportunity that is too good to pass up. Find an executive recruiter, and be proactive in recruiting by forming a relationship with your recruiter. That way your recruiter knows what you value in your employees so they can keep some people in mind if the day comes you need to replace an employee. Before the rise of the modern day activist brand, companies previously held a low standard on what it meant to be a socially conscious brand. However, as the evolution of the socially conscious brand has begun to take on more meaning, consumers are demanding brands take a stand on the social inequalities that the brands had once tried to ignore. Marketers must understand the evolution of the socially conscious brand to foresee the future of what the socially conscious brand will become.
1900’s: Fiscal Philanthropist In the past, brands did not have to do much to be considered socially conscious. All they had to do was simply write a yearly check toward a cause or selected charity. Their impact to bring about social change was no more than the silent Fiscal Philanthropist. Although their monetary donations are appreciated, the donations did little to bring positive social change. Today, brands still claim to be socially conscious by writing a yearly check. However, consumers are dismissing the "blank check" approach as part of a corporate show with little sentiment to create lasting social change. Mid 2000’s: Social Givers Then came along brands like Tom's and Warby Parker that revolutionized the Socially Conscious Brand with the Buy One, Give One model of giving that redefined what it meant to not only be socially conscious, but active. The new socially conscious brand was no longer a once-a-year commitment, but a constant source of social good to support far-away nations and impoverished peoples. This created a wave of corporations poorly copying the Tom's and Warby Parker model of the socially conscious brand, pushing to remain relevant by engaging in a form of corporate poverty porn. Major companies patted themselves on the back by appearing in photos and videos as saviors of the third world, but continuing to remain silent to the inequalities that existed at home. 2010 – 2016: Cautious Ally With the rise of multiculturalism and the modern LGBT movement, 2010 brands began to test their influence to impact social change. As support for diversity and LGBT causes increased, brands such as IKEA, Oreo, and Tiffany & Company recognized the power of representation by engaging with the LGBT movement. The introduction of same-sex couples to their advertisements not only brought higher sales and brand recognition, it created discourse about the subject. This recognition brought about the need for increased diversity and multiculturalism in advertising to represent all consumers. Companies followed suit, releasing campaigns like Coca Cola’s America the Beautiful ad in 2014 that championed racial and ethnic diversity. The new Socially Conscious brand was a champion for diversity and used its influence to recognize the beauty of multiculturalism. Consumers rewarded brands that they saw represented the diversity of America with higher sales and higher brand recognition. Hundreds of companies began establishing diversity and inclusion departments to mirror the diversity of the marketplace in their offices to encourage diversity of thought. However, although brands were quick to embrace multiculturalism and include those once ignored by advertisers, their involvement only went as far as being cautious corporate allies. Brands were still skittish around causing real social change. 2016 - Present: Vocal Activist The election of the new administration rang in a new era for the Socially Conscious Brand: The era of the Resistors. Socially Conscious Brands have evolved from the brand as an active observer to a vocal advocate against injustice. The presence of more multicultural, female, and LGBT representation in the workforce has given rise to the vocally polarizing brands we see today. From Ben & Jerry refusing to serve two scoops of the same ice cream in Australia for LGBT rights to Nike’s Collin Kaepernick ad to the recent Gillette #MeToo ad, brands have recognized the power of their voice for social change. Today, the socially conscious brand must go further than donate money. They must create discourses around injustice and be able to challenge the status quo. Consumers are more active in social issues than ever, and they expect the brands they use to reflect those values. Although new social warrior brands have repelled some consumers, all in all, they have been rewarded for their social convictions by loyalists and activists alike. 2020 – Future: Transparent Role Model Skepticism still exists around the socially conscious brand of today and the motives behind becoming social warriors. Many consumers argue that the socially conscious brand is only challenging the status quo to benefit their bottom line. Therefore, the socially conscious brand of the future must prove to consumers that they practice what they preach by incorporating diversity throughout the office. Transparency is the next step in brand evolution where consumers will want to see top management reflecting diversity principles that the company promotes. Customers in stores will want to see products that accommodate people of different abilities, religions, and gender identities. Marketers, heed note because soon enough diversity will become tangible in the products and services we use every day. Utilize diversity recruiters to start the change in the office space, create social groups within your company to celebrate diversity, and engage in social celebrations such as Pride and other cultural festivals. Start preparing your corporate culture now because otherwise, you will fail to be the socially conscious brand of tomorrow. |
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