Inclusion isn’t just good policy — it’s good for business
Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEA&I) are a set of values widely adopted across many organizations throughout the entire business community. DEA&I proponents highlight that a more diverse workforce will produce a greater diversity of ideas and a more inclusive working environment. For many businesses, the altruistic nature of these values is enough to adopt and practice DEA&I in their workplace; for other businesses, it may come down to numbers.
Measuring the success of a business involves analyzing data, monitoring processes, and evaluating workforce performance. As DEA&I programs are mainly targeted towards the workforce, evaluating the following key workforce metrics will help you monitor the effectiveness of your DEA&I investment.
1. Productivity
Productivity is a key metric for any business. Measuring productivity helps determine how you are spending your time and resources. Gains to productivity will significantly improve your chances of long-term success in a competitive environment. Increased awareness of DEA&I helps organizations become more productive by bringing together different talents, strengths, understandings, and skills.
2. Turnover
Turnover, when viewed through a diversity lens, is a critical metric for any business to track. A business should apply a diversity lens to employee turnover to understand if you have an issue with one demographic group, which could be a symptom of an exclusionary workplace.
3. Morale
Morale is important, especially for leaders, as it trickles down throughout the entire organization. High morale will increase efficiencies, time management, creativity, and key employee retention. It will also reduce negative sick days and poor performance.
On average, businesses with more diverse workforces:
- Have 19% higher revenues with 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee.
- Are two times more likely to meet or exceed financial targets.
- Have higher employee retention.
- Access to a bigger talent pool.
Plus, their employees are:
- 9.8 times more likely to look forward to work.
- 6.3 times more likely to take pride in their job.
- 6 times more likely to be innovative and agile.
- Part of teams that made better decisions than individuals 87% of the time.
- Three times as likely to be high performing.
While we may expect to experience fewer conflicts within teams we are similar to, it can also prevents us from growing outside our comfort zones. This limits how we develop and improve ourselves, and our organizations from reaching their full potential.
For more details on these statistics, see The lasting benefits of DEI in the Workplace published by GLOBIS Insights, Diversity wins: How inclusion matters published by McKinsey & Company, and The diversity and Inclusion Revolution: Eight powerful truths published by Deloitte Insights.
Also, be sure to check out our online DEA&I toolkit for resources to support you on your journey to becoming a more diverse, equitable, accessible and inclusive employer (and employee!).
halifaxchamber.com/deai-toolkit
If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please reach out to me.
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