While the main driver for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) should always be that it is the right thing to do, the commercial benefits of DEI efforts to both businesses and individuals are well supported by research. 

For example, McKinsey & Company’s 2020 report Diversity wins: How inclusion matters studied at over 1,000 companies in 15 countries, finding a 48% performance differential between the most and least gender-diverse companies. But when it comes to driving DEI, it can be hard to know where to start, especially for large, multinational companies with unique factors to address in different markets. 

In Page Outsourcing’s recent eBook, we provided a comprehensive guide to overcoming this exact challenge.

Here, we’ll be sharing some of the highlights. 

Practical Tips to Manage DEI on a Global Scale

So how should you go about building a strong DEI program across a large or global organisation? Here are a few essential success factors:

1.    Collect, Track, and Analyze Data 

For the best results, your Human Resources department should provide leaders in the company with data (in countries where data can be gathered) on the make-up of the workforce. Analysis of this data will help shape the company’s DEI strategy. 

2.    Promote Inclusive Recruitment

To build a more inclusive company, review your end-to-end recruitment processes, ensuring that candidates can be the best version of themselves. Here are a few ways to do this: 

  • Use Page Outsourcing’s Gender Bias Decoder tool to check if your job descriptions are gender neutral 
  • Review your interview environments, and how and by whom the interviews are conducted 
  • Train all managers on inclusive hiring practices 
  • Review the data to ensure that no biases have been built into the process and that it is appropriate and fair 

3.    Educate the Workforce 

Avoid confusion around terminologies like “inequity” and “unconscious bias.” Ensure all key stakeholders attend education programs on unconscious bias, overt and systemic discrimination, microinequities, privilege, and bystander training.

4.    Build a Workplace Community

Having a sense of community at work is important for the wellbeing and happiness of your people. To promote inclusive work cultures, we would suggest that businesses: 

  • Invest in Employee Resource Groups 
  • Empower leaders and make their voices central to the DEI strategy 
  • Measure progress on inclusion through employee engagement surveys covering psychological safety, connectivity, and belonging 

5.    Set DEI Targets

It is important to set targets internally to make sure that all your workplaces are diverse and inclusive. Once you have decided what these should be, communicate them both internally and externally as appropriate.

Ensure that efforts to meet these goals are authentic and ensure that once new hires are on board, that equity piece is in place in order to make their working environment positive. This way retention will not be a challenge and your new hires can thrive. 

6.    Establish Accountability Structures

Finally, to ensure that your DEI drive doesn’t lose momentum, create structures that enable you to progress and act accordingly. Accountability should be led top down, but also owned by everyone.

Current and Future Trends

To drive real change internally, it’s critical to stay ahead of the game and understand the major trends, both current and emerging, when it comes to DEI.

Here are some of the most significant, specifically in regard to the rise of hybrid working:

  • Talent attraction. The removal of the geographical restrictions associated with traditional onsite working has enabled access to new diverse talent pools.
  • Recruitment. Removing on-site attendance requirements will create a larger and more diverse candidate pool. It’s important to maintain this momentum and think about which other barriers can be removed. For instance, could academic requirements be replaced with skills or competency-based assessments? 
  • Virtual onboarding. Creating a strong virtual culture for new starters will help new remote or hybrid workers to connect with business purposes and how their role contributes to wider organisational goals. 
  • Learning and development. Ensuring all workers have the digital skills to succeed in a hybrid world is essential, as is supporting managers and teams to flex their management, coaching and mentoring skills to accommodate remote working. 
  • Reward, recognition, and benefits. Traditionally, many employee benefits were location-based, but remote working offers an opportunity to review this. With the cost of living rising, businesses may wish to update their reward packages to remain competitive and attractive. 

How Page Outsourcing Clients Have Adopted Global DEI Strategies

At Page Outsourcing, we work closely with clients to help them develop and drive highly effective DEI strategies across their operations and supply chains. Here is just one example of challenges our clients have faced and how we have the helped to solve them:

The Client: Tapestry

The Challenge: In mid-2021, Tapestry approached Page Outsourcing for help hiring 100+ IT roles in a short time in the US. DEI is a core priority for Tapestry, and they are keen to ensure a diverse slate of hires from underrepresented groups, specifically BIPOC – Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. 

The Solution: We used our strong track record in tech hiring to develop a highly personalized focus on IT in the early stages of the engagement that was culturally aligned to Tapestry’s business. We identified non-traditional sourcing channels to attract diverse talent. 

We also helped Tapestry to update their interview process to be more candidate-friendly, and to deliver hiring manager training to upskill their teams. 

The Impact:

  • 100+ professionals hired 
  • 67% hires who fit into groups with historically lower representation (10% higher than initial target) 
  • 15% internal moves 
  • Expansion of roles to include finance, creative, HR, procurement, and legal as well as IT

What Next?

At Page Outsourcing, we’ve implemented the DEI practices we promote. With thousands of people across nearly 40 countries, and a candidate database that’s been built up over 40 years in several industries, we are uniquely placed to help you expand and thrive.

For an introductory conversation with one of our expert consultants, please get in touch today.

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