Diversity in the work place

One of the most talked about areas in recruiting right now is the is the subject of diversity.

More companies strive to becoming more appealing for all backgrounds from both an employee perspective as well as from a customer perspective.

Thankfully the “cultural fit” for many companies is changing and becoming less defined.

Changing tastes, changing industries and changing technologies are leading to a move away from “the way that we have always done things.”

We met with a company recently that was extremely forward in terms of their focus on working with suppliers that not only could reach diverse talent pools of candidates but also who also insisted that all of their suppliers themselves were also very diverse.

Their candidness was rather refreshing in our industry where sometime clients will discount candidates on “fit” but often do not feel comfortable in describing what their “fit” may or may not include.

The clients that are becoming more vocal are often describing their needs in the following areas:

-

Adding females to the company board of directors and particularly to roles not limited to human resources positions on the board.

-

Adding women to senior leadership positions to the company.

These roles will often encourage other women and promote the fact that women are able to succeed within that company’s culture.

-

Adding diverse backgrounds to management areas outside of areas such as technology.

Sales and marketing (high profile) roles are often of most interest and these appointments can also deliver effective messaging to other top employees and prospects.

Many companies are now making concessions to policy in order to attract the best talent in an attempt to tap into a larger diverse market.

The two latest trends include:

1.

Reinstituting work from home policies for employees.

2.

Relaxing the dress code to one that is more casual. (i.e. jeans)

This type of mentality may not work for all companies but I think it is important to note that diversity seeking is more common, is not a fad, and is viewed by many as the key to staying relevant to customer markets.

If your company for whatever reason still does not view this type of approach to be worthwhile, you should at least be aware that there will be more progressive companies that are targeting the best talent in the marketplace which may even include your own employees who might be attracted to another company where they believe they will have a better opportunity to prosper.

Farewell,

Mike