The world is diverse, and that means workplaces are made up of people with a wide range of backgrounds. This diversity brings fresh voices and a variety of perspectives to your company. To reap those benefits, you want to build an inclusive workplace – which starts with a comprehensive DEI program.
What is DEI?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are three parts of a whole, that when applied together as part of a workplace diversity program can greatly benefit your organization.
Diversity: Refers to all the individual characteristics that make employees unique. These differences can include anything from race, religion, age, and gender to education, personality, how someone learns, where they grew up – and everything in between. There is virtually no limit to what diversity may look like in the workplace.
Equity: This is often a slightly harder concept to understand. Equity is not the same as equality, which would mean giving everyone access to the exact same resources. Equity is more about evaluating everyone’s unique circumstance and distributing resources so they have equal opportunities.
Inclusion: Another common component of workplace diversity programs, inclusion is the practice of building an environment and company culture where everyone, regardless of their differences, feels respected, valued, and accepted.
Why Is a DEI Program Important?
DEI is important because it helps to foster a positive and inclusive work environment. Maintaining diversity is also becoming an increasingly important consideration with hiring and recruiting, because of the benefits it provides. An inclusive workplace can benefit your organization in many ways, including:
- Fostering a sense of belonging – An inclusive workplace is an environment where everyone feels they belong and are comfortable. This helps lead towards better employee loyalty.
- Enhancing creativity and innovation – Diverse teams equal diverse ideas. Studies have shown diversity leads towards increased creativity and innovation.
- Improving performance – With higher creativity and innovation also comes higher productivity, which leads toward better financial gains for your company.
- Increasing employee retention and decreasing turnover – When your employees feel like they belong in your company, they’ll be more inclined to stay with your company rather than seek out other opportunities.
- Protecting the company culture – An inclusive culture is a positive culture, and your company culture improves when employees feel comfortable to share ideas and be themselves.
Online Training for DEI in the Workplace
Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training presents clear information about DEI concepts for both employees and managers – delivered through our trainingGrid® learning management system. This flexible system comes with a variety of robust features customizable to fit your needs in addition to built-in reporting and certification tools to help maintain compliance.
Request a guided demonstration of trainingGrid® today!
