Diversity among their employees is integral to the development and growth of a business. Not only in terms of financial growth but because of the positive reputation you gain in the market when you are known as a progressive and supportive workplace.
Innovation starts from within. This means that, for any company to be at the forefront of advancement and development in their industry, they need to be able to support their employees and create an inclusive environment where no one feels out of place. All workers are comfortable enough to perform to their maximum potential, which is where the DEI strategy comes in.
Also known as the Diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy, the main function is to provide businesses with a means to keep track of measures taken to promote diversity and inclusion within a workplace.
Not only does this help businesses maintain a positive work environment and increase productivity, but it is also known to be one of the most effective risk management and mitigation practices.
Let us explore this in more detail, looking at how formulating a DEI strategy allows businesses to manage risks efficiently throughout operations.
Ways Dei Can Help Manage Risk
1. Reputational Bias
One of the major reasons to formulate a DEI strategy for your business is its absence and result in your organization being prone to certain factors which can jeopardize your company’s reputation in the market.
Addressing DEI within a company is especially important in such a sensitive socio-economic climate. Even the slightest matters can spark nationwide debates and protests.
This is why addressing these concerns is very important because adopting such a strategy allows your company to express to the general public that you promote an all-inclusive workplace, resulting in a positive reputation for your business, in the market, and in the public eye as well.
Working on DEI is especially useful for small businesses or start-ups, primarily because it helps them establish a strong market reputation, allowing them to mitigate risk while working on their brand image.
When a business starts, they need to adopt lean operations, meaning they need to get the most out of what they have.
What this means is that small businesses do not have state-of-the-art equipment and an extensive budget at their disposal, which is why they need to think out of the box when it comes to risk mitigation, making the creation of a DEI strategy a great way to manage risk while building their brand as well.
From a consumer’s point of view, a DEI strategy is something businesses need to be incredibly careful with. This is because a slight mistake in the DEI for an organization can cost them a great portion of their profits.
In a generation where the general public is well aware of inclusion and diversity, a small mistake can result in a very offensive marketing campaign or a negative message being promoted by your company, painting you in a negative light and losing consumer interest.
2. Different Systems and Procedures
Before a company can formulate an effective DEI strategy for their workplace, there are numerous factors, such as various procedures, policies, and culture, that they need to consider.
When forming the right DEI, not only are they looking to solve for ‘people bias’, but the right strategy also solves the ‘process bias’.
This means that many procedures involved within the workflow, including but not limited to the onboarding process for new employees and the places you target for recruiting, are also subject to DEI, which needs to be addressed for proper risk management.
For example, certain companies have been seen to show bias during the recruitment process, creating exclusion which can create risks within their company, such as a lack of productivity and damage to their reputation.
Some companies post job listings only on their websites, which creates a bias throughout this procedure.
To recruit a more diverse batch of employees, promote DEI and mitigate risks for your business, it is essential to keep contact with diverse recruitment agencies situated in different areas and other forums that may be prevalent in communities belonging to the underrepresented population.
3. Audit Leveraging
In addition to monitoring and keeping business procedures in mind when formulating DEI, a business also needs to leverage the audits and assessments they conduct in the workplace.
Proper use of audits and other assessments conducted throughout the workplace can assist you in identifying any departments throughout your company which may pose a risk to the DEI standards.
When in the process of conducting these assessments, there are several different approaches you can take. One common assessment that many companies tend to conduct among all of their employees is feedback surveys which encourage employee engagement.
Furthermore, you can schedule one-on-one conversations if you are a small business or do not have that many workers employed in your company.
Whatever approach you take, the purpose of this assessment is to collect information and feedback from your employees to utilize them to consider the employees when making certain decisions.
In addition to these, another important assessment you can conduct is the stay interview, which can not only allow you to gain valuable information from employees for risk management but can also boost your company’s employee retention.
Conclusion
Risk management is a huge part of a company’s growth, so much so that many companies have set up entire departments in charge of this.
Although there are many ways you can manage certain potential risks throughout your company, one of the most effective ones is creating an effective DEI strategy keeping all types of bias in mind.
