Employee Engagement Archives - Page 11 of 11

Medical Staffing: How to Engage and Retain Healthcare Workers

Posted on January 30, 2018November 23, 2023 by epadmin

Retaining healthcare staff and medical staffing are more important than ever. The lifeblood of a healthy healthcare organization is a happy and well-engaged staff, from food service and facility maintenance employees to clinical professionals like physicians and nurses. To ensure a happy healthcare workforce, medical staffing, employee engagement and retention need to be top priorities of healthcare HR professionals.

Unfortunately, many healthcare organizations lack concrete plans or programs for healthcare talent management, or the programs they have in place are antiquated and in need of updating. In this post, we educate healthcare HR professionals on ways to improve medical staffing by better engaging and retaining employees.

Why Engagement and Retention is Important for Medical Staffing

Healthcare employee turnover is high, according to a Leaders for Today (LPT) survey report, which included 852 participants of both clinical and non-clinical healthcare workers. The survey found that 43 percent of respondents reported they have been with their current organization for fewer than two years and 65.7 percent reported they have been with their hospital for fewer than five years. More than one-third of LPT survey respondents plan to leave their current organization within two years, and 68.6 percent plan to leave in five years.

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What’s more, the financial costs of high turnover can be significant for healthcare organizations. The turnover of a physician represents a $200,000 loss for a healthcare organization, according to a 2016 report from B.E. Smith, while the loss of a nurse can cost up to $58,400 annually according to NSI Nursing Solution’s report. By better engaging employees, healthcare organizations will not only raise morale and lower employee turnover, but they will also improve their bottom line.

Four Key Areas of Medical Staffing and Employee Engagement

Developing an effective medical staffing strategy is a challenge, especially with the healthcare industry experiencing a shortage of medical professionals. Healthcare workforce planning can help resolve some medical staffing issues. However, organizations also need to factor in the following areas to ensure strong employee engagement and retention:

Onboarding new employees: Involves training, educating and getting new employees comfortably situated in their new position.
Engaging employees: Involves managing and developing employees to become more engaged with the organization.
Retaining employees: Involves expanding responsibilities of employees as well as offering incentives to stay with an organization.

Medical Staffing Basics: Onboarding New Healthcare Employees

Making sure new hires are comfortable, connected and productive as soon as possible is essential for the success of a comprehensive medical staffing program. New hires need to know how they fit into an organization and understand how their roles support the healthcare organization’s goals. When a healthcare organization takes the time to cultivate relationships with new hires, those employees feel like part of the team from day one and are more likely to stay in their positions.

Having a strong support structure is vital for new hires, managers should work to create a support network for their new hires in their departments to help them get up to speed as soon as possible. Managers should also be as available as possible to answer questions and provide feedback to new hires.

Instead of waiting for new hires to introduce themselves to their new co-workers, healthcare HR professionals should actively introduce new hires to their teams before their start date. This can be done with email notifications or a brief in-person meeting. Veteran employees should also conduct regular follow-ups with new hires once they have started to make sure they are acclimating well to their new environment.

Additional on-boarding suggestions:

Appoint point persons and mentors to welcome and orient new hires for the first 90-days of employment.
Before a new hire’s start date, send him/her a card or letter welcoming them to the organization and include important paperwork, employee handbook and benefits package along with an agenda letting them know what to expect on their first day.
Make sure the employee’s work area is ready.
Create lunch plans for new hire’s first few days, helping her/him feel at ease and welcome. This can also can serve as a way to introduce them to the team.
Promptly educate new hires on the healthcare organization’s culture and unwritten rules. For example, what is the preferred method of communication – email, phone, chat programs or in-person meetings?

Successfully onboarding employees can be one of the most effective weapons in a healthcare organization’s arsenal. Studies have illustrated that well-designed onboarding programs can quickly transform new hires into dedicated employees, reducing the costs associated with turnover and improving overall employee morale.

Engaging Healthcare Employees

Employee engagement is one of the most important elements of successful medical staffing. Highly engaged employees often have persistent feelings of work fulfillment. This work fulfillment can often translate into increased enthusiasm and passion in employees, resulting in higher than average levels of focus and energy put into their jobs.

Employee engagement has become more important to healthcare HR professionals because there is growing evidence that employee engagement correlates to positive outcomes for individual, group and organizational performance in the areas of productivity, retention, turnover, patient care and loyalty. Here are a few practices healthcare organizations can do to better engage employees.

Professional development: For healthcare professionals—especially clinical employees—the opportunity to learn and grow professionally is very important. To better engage employees, healthcare organizations should look to create a positive learning environment for employees who seek additional skills and professional experiences. Learning opportunities can pay long-term dividends, the skills and new experiences gained by employees through education and training can be utilized to improve performance in their current position, or they can transition into vacant positions, lessening the need for hiring new personnel.

Offer better work-life balance

Healthcare workers experience the same challenges in their personal lives as employees in other industries, they are trying to balance childcare, school schedules and needing time away from work. Adding some freedom to an employee’s daily, weekly or monthly schedule is often seen as a big plus for employees and can be more important than compensation in some cases.

Working relationships and mentorship

Strong bonds and relationships between team members are important for professional growth. Veteran employees who have been with an organization for years have a lot of experience, knowledge and advice to impart to younger and less experienced employees looking for career guidance. To build better employee engagement, healthcare organizations should create a formal mentoring program. Healthcare organizations can ask seasoned employees to guide younger ones in their careers to help engage both the mentor and mentee, giving a sense of purpose and direction to both parties.

Additional employee engagement suggestions:

Make staff meetings a time to celebrate successes and highlight individual achievements.
Have managers involve employees in determining their career path goals and development plan.
Promote values such as integrity, empowerment, perseverance, equality, discipline and accountability into the organization.
Let employees know they matter and make a difference within the organization.
Give employees responsibilities and new challenges.
Give employees thank you cards for going the extra mile.
Implement employee suggestions and ideas to show you care and value their input.
Create opportunities for employees to become a “leader” in something they are interested in and knowledgeable about.
Ask employees work-appropriate questions about their family life, hobbies and interests.
Always provide staff the care, tools and resources needed to be successful in their position.

By better engaging employees, medical staffing efforts will see reduced turnover and higher levels of job satisfaction among employees. Remember, managers are key in engaging employees and must pay attention to staff needs to help create a positive working environment.

Medical Staffing Retaining Healthcare Employees

Employee retention is certainly one of the most important ingredients for success for healthcare organizations. Improving employee retention allows organizations to avoid the high cost associated with replacing employees, improves patient care and enhancing the overall quality of service to the communities served. Below are a few ways healthcare organizations can improve their employee retention efforts.

Offer flexible scheduling: Scheduling can be a rather difficult part of medical staffing. A healthcare workers’ schedule can be exhausting, as they often have to work long and unpredictable hours. To better retain employees, healthcare organizations should consider offering a wide array of scheduling options. Employees will appreciate an organization’s attempts to accommodate their personal lives and needs, and in turn, become more loyal to an organization as a result. Employees who have more control of their schedules tend to feel more job satisfaction and often stay with an organization longer.

Remove frustrating obstacles: Many employees may truly love their jobs, but due to obstacles and unnecessary challenges associated with performing their duties, they become burned out. For instance, nurses might get inundated with never-ending paperwork. This may result in nurses feeling unsatisfied with their work. A solution to this challenge could be to implement a new technology to streamline the paperwork process. Without an overload, nurses will most likely feel greater satisfaction because their workload is more balanced between administrative and clinical work.

Conduct stay interviews: Interviewing employees is often reserved for before hiring or after an employee resigns their position. Stay interviews should be conducted at least once a year with employees on a one-on-one basis in a neutral setting. Employees should be asked questions about their frustrations and issues and about ideas on how improvements can be made for them.

Questions to include in stay interviews:

What about your job makes you eager to get to work?
What makes you want to hit the snooze button instead of coming to work?
If you were to leave the organization, what would you miss the most?
What would be the one thing, if it changed in your current position, would make you consider leaving?
What would be the one thing you would change about your department if you could?

Employees who are treated well will often feel a sense of obligation or duty to their organization. As a healthcare employer, each action an organization takes to improve employee job satisfaction, morale and productivity is a step towards improving retention and improving medical staffing outcomes.

Conclusion

For healthcare organizations, medical staffing is only as successful as their ability to engage and retain the best healthcare professionals. To achieve this end, organizations must be consistently vigilant of their employees’ needs and must develop talent carefully to keep employees engaged and committed to their job.

Age Discrimination in the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know

Posted on December 7, 2017January 9, 2023 by epadmin

According to the Pew Research Council, 18.8 percent of people over 65 worked in 2016, while the National Council on Aging reports that, by 2019, over 40 percent of people over age 55 are expected to be working. With the increase of older employees in the workforce, age discrimination in the workplace will become a greater issue, necessitating strategic planning to avoid age-related issues. In this post, we outline the issues and offer concise solutions to combat age discrimination in the workplace.

What is Age Discrimination in the Workplace?

In the United States, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is a federal law that protects individuals 40 years of age or older from age-based employment discrimination. According to the ADEA, the following are examples of age discrimination in the workplace:

Not hiring an individual because an employer wants a younger-looking person for the role.
If a person receives a negative performance review because they were too old or inflexible to taking on new projects.
Firing an individual because management wants to hire and retain younger less expensive workers.
Turning an individual down for promotion because they are “too old” for the position or they want “new blood” in a position.
When company layoffs are announced, most of the persons laid off are older, while younger workers with less seniority and less on-the-job experience are kept on.
Before termination, supervisors or management made age-related remarks about an individual such as the person being “over-the-hill,” “ancient,” or “an old man or woman.”

If any of these situations take place, employees may have a solid case against a company for age discrimination in the workplace.

Managing Age Diversity in the Workplace

A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that 64 percent of CEOs surveyed had adopted strategies promoting diversity and inclusiveness. However, only 8 percent included age as a factor in their diversity strategy. This means that many businesses may be ill-equipped to properly manage an age-diverse workplace.

Older employees bring with them years of experience, tried and true ideas and problem-solving approaches that can be of great benefit to a business. However, multi-generational workplaces also come with unique challenges, which if mismanaged, can lead to unsatisfied employees and hampered business efficiency. This means getting it right depends on smart management and an open-minded leadership approach. Here are some ways businesses can effectively manage and create a positive working environment free of age discrimination in the workplace:

Flexibility:

Older individuals may need more flexibility in the workplace dues to age-related illnesses, family obligations and physical ability. Providing flexibility to older employees allows them to participate in the workplace without feeling like they are a burden to the company they work for.

Foster Multi-Generational Team building:

Building age-diverse teams in the workplace allows employees to learn from one another. Older employees can impart knowledge gained through experience to younger employees while younger employees can teach them how to use new technology and techniques.

Both parties benefit from the chance to challenge and motivate one another. That is why businesses should look for opportunities for inter-generational teams to collaborate on projects whenever possible.

Job Requirements:

There are a few circumstances when it is lawful for an employer to treat people differently if it is a legal requirement that the employee must be of a particular age. When deciding if this applies, it is necessary to consider the nature of the work and the context in which it is carried out. Jobs may change over time and companies should review whether the requirement continues to apply, particularly when recruiting for certain positions.

Age Discrimination in the Workplace and Recruitment

According to Department of Labor data, the unemployment rate for those over age 55 stands at just 3.6 percent, compared with 5 percent for the total population. While older workers have found a place in the modern workforce, many individuals find themselves the victims of age-based discrimination when it comes to being recruited and hired. There are many ways businesses can avoid age-based discriminatory hiring practices. Below we have listed a couple of tips:

Job Applications

Businesses should remove the age and date of birth fields from job applications. In addition to removing these fields, businesses should also review their applications to ensure that they are not asking for unnecessary information about dates. Asking for age-related information on an application could project an air of discrimination, which could be a liability and dissuade older candidates from applying.

Job Descriptions:

Avoid references, however oblique, to age in the job description. For example, a job seeker could challenge any time requirement, and a business may have to justify it in objective terms, again leaving a business vulnerable to discrimination allegations.

Harassment and Age Discrimination

Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, such as age, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.

Harassment may be intentional bullying which is obvious or violent, but it can also be unintentional, subtle and insidious. It may involve nicknames, teasing, name calling or other behavior that does not have malicious intent but is upsetting. It may be about the individual’s age (real or perceived), or it may be about the age of those with whom the individual associates. It may not be targeted at an individual but consist of a general culture which, for instance, appears to tolerate the telling of age-related jokes.

Businesses may also be held responsible for the actions of employees. To ensure age-related harassment does not take place, businesses should clearly communicate an anti-harassment policy and make sure the policy is thoroughly enforced.

Conclusion:

Fairness at work and good job performance go hand in hand. Tackling discrimination helps to attract, motivate and retain staff and enhances a businesses’ reputation as an employer. Eliminating age discrimination in the workplace helps everyone to have an equal opportunity to work and develop their skills regardless of age.

Improving Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Workplace

Posted on November 30, 2017June 27, 2024 by epadmin

In the modern workplace, companies are placing greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion initiatives to strengthen organizational adaptability, gain competitive advantage and reduce legal risks. Despite this trend, many companies still struggle with racial and ethnic discrimination and policymaking.

In fact, According to data collected by the EEOC, $112.7 million is collected from employers for racial discrimination violations on average each year. In this post, we outline what constitutes racial and ethnic diversity, its benefits to companies and best practices when it comes to implementing and monitoring a racial and ethnic diversity policy in the workplace.

The Benefits of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Workplace

Companies increasingly understand the value of recruiting and retaining diverse employees, as these workers play a critical role in a company’s ability to adapt, grow and sustain a competitive advantage in the modern business landscape.

However, some companies fail to recognize the benefits of having a racially and ethnically diverse workforce. Factors such as prejudice and stereotypes towards certain racial or ethnic groups, whether conscious or unconscious, can lead to discriminatory practices in hiring.

What’s more, to combat prejudice and internal resistance, companies need to create a business case for diversity by outlining the benefits of a racial and ethnically diverse workplace such as:

Gains in worker welfare and efficiency
Reduced turnover costs
Fewer internal disputes and grievances
Improved accessibility to new and diverse customer markets
Higher productivity and increased revenue
Increased innovation
Development of new products and services
Improved company reputation management
Greater flexibility and adaptability in a globalized world
More efficient risk management (e.g. legal risks due to non-compliance)
Prevention of marginalization and exclusion of categories of workers
Improved social cohesion

Companies are more likely to reap these benefits when they go beyond meeting the minimum requirements for legal compliance. Companies should strive to understand both the social and cultural complexities inherent in embracing diversity and strive to be diversity leaders in their industry.

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Key Racial and Ethnic Diversity Definitions

To effectively improve racial and ethnic diversity in the workplace, companies need to understand some of the key terms and definitions including:

Racial Discrimination: Racial discrimination in the workplace can be defined as any exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose of impairing an employee’s ability to exercise their rights to equal standing in the workplace.

Ethnic Group: The term “ethnic group” refers to a group of persons whose members identify with each other through such factors as common heritage, culture, ancestry, language, dialect, history, identity and geographic origin.

Ethnic Minority: Ethnic minority does not only refer to ethnic groups that are a numerical minority. Instead, it refers to any ethnic group that is not dominant socially, economically or politically.

Implicit Bias: Also known as unconscious or hidden bias, implicit biases are negative associations that people unknowingly hold. They are expressed automatically, without conscious awareness.

Inclusion: Authentically incorporating traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities and decision/policy making in a way that shares power.

For more diversity definitions and terms, visit Racial Equality Tools.

Employer and Employee Responsibilities

Both employers and employees have responsibilities when it comes to promoting and monitoring racial and ethnic diversity policy in the workplace. Both stakeholders have to work together to ensure the success of a company’s diversity initiatives.

Employer Responsibilities

Employers should act as facilitators and purveyors of knowledge to improve relations among their diverse workforce. Employers should also continuously work on the development of diversity policy and implementation. Management should also be trained to ensure the improvement of awareness on racial discrimination and ethnic diversity in the workplace. Furthermore, employers can help build the capacity of managers to ensure that the ethnic diversity policy is effectively applied within the company.

Employee Responsibilities

Employees and organizations tasked with protecting workers rights should lobby companies for strong ethnic diversity policies, ensuring that all workers enjoy equal opportunities at all stages of the employment cycle, including access to employment, training, promotion and retirement. Employees also have an important role in raising awareness amongst themselves on the right to a workplace free from racial discrimination and in supporting their coworkers when they issue complaints.

Introducing Racial and Ethnic Diversity Initiatives in the Workplace

Improving racial and ethnic diversity in the workplace often challenges the values and worldview of current employees. For this reason, introducing diversity initiatives is both challenging and necessary for companies looking to create a more inclusive corporate culture.

How companies introduce racial and ethnic diversity initiatives matters. To successfully introduce diversity initiatives, companies need to take a structured approach that involves assuaging feelings of uncertainty about the future of the company and effectively communicating new policies aimed at protecting workers belonging to certain racial and ethnic groups.

At the same time, companies should communicate realistic expectations to members of minority groups regarding the new policies to ensure they understand the goal and scope of the initiative.

Companies can communicate new racial and ethnic diversity policies by creating a consistent message delivered and sent to all hierarchical levels through email, internal media networks (including social media) and placing posters in high traffic areas. Messaging should also be designed to accommodate the different languages and literacy levels of employees to ensure everyone understands the new policies.

Creating an Effective Response to Complaints

Making it easy for workers to raise complaints helps demonstrate a fair and concerted effort to understand their concerns and issues surrounding diversity. If it can be shown that the complaints procedure is confidential, backed by prompt and effective action to investigate and settle them transparently and seriously, there will be not only greater acceptance of the policy but also greater commitment to practice the policy throughout the company. There are two processes to resolve complaints:

Formal Process

A formal complaint process is one that provides a written summary of the full investigation to the complainant and the alleged offender. Both parties should be given the opportunity to provide comments on the content of this summary before the full report is finalized. The final report should include who was interviewed, what questions were asked, the investigator’s conclusions, and what possible remedies, sanctions or other action may be appropriate.

Informal Processes

An informal process involves conciliation, mediation, counseling or discussions in order to resolve complaints. Peer mediators should be used instead of HR staff to facilitate dialogue between the parties but not making any recommendations, sanctions or hand down rulings.

In addition to the two processes of resolving complaints, companies should also look to the following persons, departments and organizations for help in resolving diversity-related issues:

Focal Point: Regardless of the size of a company, it is important to have one or more officials dedicated to overseeing that diversity policy is upheld. These “focal points” should be reliable, approachable and respected by staff and management, such as members of the executive board, department heads or employee relations staff. The size of the company will determine the number of focal points and how many workers are covered by each one.

Human Resources: If a company is large enough to support a human resources, transformation or diversity department; then consideration should be given to appointing the main focal point from within these departments.

Unions: If the employee base for a company is comprised of members of a union, they will need assurance that they have union support to raise issues regarding racial discrimination. Some workers, therefore, prefer to call their union representative when dealing with discrimination issues. Companies need to make sure that they have open and clear channels of communication with unions representing their employees and an established protocol when it comes to dealing with ethnic diversity policy.

Call Center: For large companies, it may be cost-effective to establish a call center for employees who are not yet ready to lodge a formal complaint with focal points, human resources or their union. These employees can anonymously contact the call center if they wish to voice concerns and seek further advice about an incident. Call centers can also be an effective means of monitoring incidents to ensure they are being tracked and followed up by managers who are responsible for the work or by the department where racial discrimination is alleged to have occurred.

Conclusion

To thrive in the current diverse times, companies need to lead the way in inclusion by creating workplaces that promote and celebrate racial and ethnic diversity. By creating diversity-friendly environments, companies gain an advantage in the competitive search for skilled talent.

Benefits of Workplace Diversity: The Value of LGBTQ+ Employees

Posted on November 20, 2017June 23, 2023 by epadmin

On June 26, 2015, the United State Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that state-level bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, ushering in marriage equality nationwide. However, despite the inroads made towards LGBTQ+ rights, many companies are still playing catch up when it comes to hiring, supporting and understanding the value of LGBTQ+ employees.

While there are legal protections in place to protect LGBTQ+ employers from discrimination in the workplace in many countries, in over half of the world, LGBTQ+ people are not protected from discrimination under workplace law. In a survey by the Center for American Progress (Cap) in 2022, half of LGBTQ+ and “sexual and gender diverse” people reported experiencing some form of workplace discrimination or harassment due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. This rocketed to 70% for transgender respondents. In the UK, 40% of LGBTQ+ workers and 55% of trans workers have experienced harassment, compared with 29% of heterosexual, cisgender employees.

These issues are not only troublesome for LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace, but they are also bad for businesses. In this post, we outline the value of hiring and fostering a positive workplace environment for LGBTQ+ employees.

The Importance of Workplace Diversity

Today’s workforce has become increasingly diverse. Companies are more aware of the benefits of hiring talent from various backgrounds and the incredible contributions these employees bring to the workplace.

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A well-managed diverse workforce will both reduce costs and generate greater profit, with companies that employ a diverse workforce having 35 percent higher financial returns than national averages according to a McKinsey report on workplace diversity. This clearly illustrates the importance of diversity in the workplace not only for a company’s culture but also for its bottom line.

Diversity does not just mean including women and persons from diverse racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds; it also means that businesses can benefit from hiring LGBTQ+ employees and creating a supportive atmosphere for them to thrive.

Workplace Diversity: Benefits for LGBTQ+ Individuals

For starters, LGBTQ+ supportive policies will have an instant effect on individual employees, consequentially creating less workplace discrimination and improved comfort about being openly LGBTQ+ at work.

According to a survey conducted by the Williams Institute, The Business Impact of LGBT-Supportive Workplace Policies, LGBTQ+ employees who feel the need to hide their identity in the workplace often feel greater levels of stress and anxiety causing health issues and work-related complaints.

By creating an LGBTQ-friendly workplace, companies can reduce stress and improve the health of LGBTQ+ employees, increase job satisfaction and create more positive relationships with co-workers and supervisors.

Workplace Diversity: Benefits for Businesses

Following the individual benefits, organizational outcomes will also improve. Employers with LGBTQ-friendly workplaces will benefit from lower legal costs related to discrimination lawsuits as well as lower health insurance cost, through improved health of employees.

In fact, a study by Out Now Consulting, LGBT 2030 – LGBT Diversity Show Me the Business Case, states that the U.S. economy could save $9 billion annually if organizations were more effective at implementing diversity and inclusion policies for LGBTQ+ staff.

By recruiting LGBTQ+ candidates, companies will open up the talent pool to more potential hires, making finding the right talent for a company easier than if they ignored a large and talent-rich demographic.

How to Successfully Recruit LGBTQ+ Individuals

Learning how to recruit LGBTQ+ individuals is the first step in creating a more LGBTQ-friendly workplace. To recruit LGBTQ+ talent, businesses need to tailor their recruitment approach to meet the unique expectations LGBTQ+ individuals have when in a job search. Below are three ways to better recruit top LGBTQ+ talent.

Do Market Research

To better understand the unique concerns and needs of LGBTQ+ individuals, businesses need to identify positive factors that appeal to LGBTQ+ candidates along with the negative factors that repel them. A good way to identify positive and negative factors is by surveying current LGBTQ+ employees. If a company lacks a large enough sample size, they can acquire survey data from third parties or diversity consultants. Companies should take the data and insights gleaned from surveys and polls to craft LGBTQ-friendly messaging in job postings and recruiter communications, so the target audience feels comfortable considering employment with the organization.

Create an LGBTQ-Friendly Recruitment Process

To successfully recruit the best LGBTQ+ talent, companies need a comprehensive approach that includes tailored LGBTQ-friendly employer branding and diversity-oriented talent acquisition professionals experienced in assessing diverse candidates. Companies can also focus efforts on recruiting LGBTQ+ interns and offer them the opportunity to join the organization full-time after the internship is completed. By creating a more LGBTQ-friendly recruitment process, companies will ensure that LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely to accept offers of employment.

Employee Referrals

Employee referrals can be a strong LGBTQ+ recruitment source. Companies with employee referral programs should adopt a diversity-focused approach that includes LGBTQ+ candidates. Companies should publicize this focus to employees, letting them know that the company is actively searching for and encouraging the recruitment of LGBTQ+ candidates to fill positions.

Workplace Inclusion Programs for LGBTQ+ Individuals

Creating a diversity inclusion program is one way of helping LGBTQ+ employees and other diverse members of a company feel welcome and comfortable at work. A well-run inclusion program should support LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace by offering workshops, training and support from both management and HR. The overall goal of inclusion is to make LGBTQ+ employees feel safe and like an integral part of a company.

Companies can also collaborate with outside LGBTQ+ organizations and charities and encourage both LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ employees to participate in events sponsored by these organizations. By aligning company values with those of LGBTQ+ organizations, companies can show their commitment not only to LGBTQ+ employees but also to supporting equality in the community as well.

Diversity and inclusion policies and programs can also save a significant amount of money spent on new talent recruitment and training by helping retain great talent. Furthermore, a more diverse and open workplace will increase creativity, which will lead to innovation and new ideas.

Conclusion

As the world becomes more accepting and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community, people expect businesses to do the same. Companies who work towards change to create a more acceptable and tolerant environment will gain the respect and loyalty of employees and the public-at-large. While there is still a lot of work ahead, there are a rising number of companies that understand that equality is good for business.

Only 5% of organizations say they’re succeeding with their DE&I initiatives. Download our free research report, Diversity & the Candidate Experience: Identifying Recruitment Pitfalls to Improve DE&I Outcomes, for insights into how to improve diversity recruitment outcomes.

Creating an Effective Diversity and Inclusion Program

Posted on November 14, 2017December 16, 2022 by epadmin

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace is becoming more important as organizations look to create workplaces more reflective of current demographic trends. According to a survey conducted by McKinsey and Company, businesses with a diverse workforce are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above industry medians. Organizations can also use diversity and inclusion programs to better meet compliance obligations and generate higher morale amongst employees. To create an effective diversity and inclusion program, companies should consider the following.

Benefits of Diversity and Inclusion Programs

Diversity and inclusion programs provide companies with the opportunity to tap into the strengths of their workforce.

According to a survey conducted by Glassdoor, 67 percent of job seekers said a diverse workforce is important when considering job offers and 57 percent of employees think their companies should be more diverse. This means that companies that implement a diversity and inclusion program are more likely to attract top talent.

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Embracing diversity and incorporating it into overall corporate culture has many benefits, such as introducing broader perspectives informed by the personal experiences of employees from various backgrounds into the workplace. Companies employing a diverse workforce also have a competitive advantage when it comes to hiring talent and attracting customers by embracing individuals from all walks of life.

Diversity and Inclusion Program Stakeholders

In order for a diversity and inclusion program to succeed, HR professionals need to secure buy-in from senior management. Obtaining buy-in requires HR professionals to outline how a diversity and inclusion program will help the company reach strategic goals, laying out the business case for the program.

Once buy-in is secured, roles and responsibilities will need to be assigned to diversity program stakeholders, so all parties involved understand their roles and what’s expected of them. For example, managers assigned the responsibility of assisting in a diversity and inclusion program rollout should be tasked with generating a dialog between themselves and employees to ensure a commitment to diversity is not only upheld by management but with non-management staff as well.

HR professionals may also want to create a diversity council or committee composed of employees from all levels. The committee or council’s duties should include defining program goals, promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and holding stakeholders accountable for outcomes. The employer should provide the committee with a clear mission, defined budget and expectations/performance goals.

In the absence of a diversity and inclusion committee, an employer can designate responsibility for the above tasks to management or consider hiring a diversity and inclusion specialist to run the program.

Diveristy Program Planning Begins With Conducting an Internal Census

The first step an organization should take in implementing a diversity and inclusion program is conducting an internal census to better understand the demographic make-up of the organization. To conduct a proper census, organizations should include information from all of the major federal and state protected groups including:

Race
Gender
Religious affiliation
Disability
Sexual orientation
Age
Nationality

Beyond government protected classes, other demographic information collected should include:

Education level
Years of experience
Family status
Languages spoken

To collect information needed for an internal census, companies should refer to EEO data collected for compliance obligations. However, data pertaining to non-compliance demographics will require conducting surveys where employees will need to self-identify voluntarily.

Self-reporting may prove difficult, as employees may not feel comfortable sharing personal information. To successfully conduct the survey, organizations must clearly communicate that the information requested is to help create a diversity and inclusion program. This will engender trust and assuage suspicions from employees who may feel uncomfortable with the process.

Once the data from the internal census is collected, it should be compared to the data available on the labor market. Organizations should look for gaps in diversity and then draft a plan to hire more members of underrepresented demographics.

What Should a Diversity Training Program Include?

Once an internal census has been conducted and all relevant data collected, areas of concern and underrepresented demographics can be identified. To begin addressing diversity issues, companies should review demographics such as age, sex and ethnicity to see if each group is properly represented throughout the business. Organizations can begin by asking the following questions:

Is management overrepresented by one demographic?
Do certain departments have trouble hiring certain demographics?
Are employees at one location less diverse than at others?

Organizations should also turn to employees to gain additional information on diversity and inclusion concerns and to learn employee attitudes on workplace culture.

Implement Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

After areas of concern have been identified, companies should look to implement diversity and inclusion initiatives to address issues and to create a more comfortable working environment for all employees.

diversity and inclusion strategy examples

Examples of diversity and inclusion initiatives are changes in company policies and practices, staff training, targeted recruiting and employer-sponsored diversity and inclusion awareness events. The organization must develop an action plan to implement these initiatives by setting realistic goals and starting with the elements that have the greatest business value or that are readily achievable to build momentum for the initiative.

Organizations should approach managers and equip them with messages to inform, educate, engage or empower employees where appropriate. The communication plan should incorporate executive presentations, social media posts, internal newsletters, intranet and email communications. The organization should use metrics and success stories to connect the diversity and inclusion efforts to its own goals and strategic diversity plans.

Types of Diversity and Inclusion Programs

Diversity and inclusion programs need to reflect the demographics of a company to better serve employees. There are many types of diversity and inclusion programs that are designed to address the special considerations that arise in a diverse workplace. For example, if a company is looking to hire more women in management positions, creating an outreach program that seeks to scout top female talent and groom them for success in leadership positions can help achieve this goal. Companies can also implement targeted diversity initiatives for veterans, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities and others.

Measure Diversity Programs Outcomes

To make sure that diversity and inclusion initiatives are having a positive impact, it is imperative for organizations to measure the results of the programs that have been implemented. Outcomes such as an increased representation of identified groups and improved employee satisfaction are two of the most important metrics to track. Other measurements, such as improved employee retention, public recognition and awards can also indicate how an organization is performing in its diversity and inclusion program.

Some efforts may seem intangible, but some measures can indicate the success levels of action items. If diversity training is implemented to increase retention, employee retention can be tracked over time, and employees can be surveyed to determine if the training was a factor, and how much so, in their continued employment.

The results of the initiatives should be communicated at all levels to demonstrate the return on investment and value-add to the organization. Communication tools can include infographics for senior leadership meetings, memos to staff and company videos for potential candidates.

The ability to manage a diversity and inclusion program will only become more important as workplace diversity continues to increase. Organizations that take to time to diversity plan and have created successful diversity programs will have a leg up when it comes to hiring talent and increasing company revenue.

Managing Diversity in the Workplace

Posted on October 18, 2017April 4, 2023 by epadmin

According to a recent demographic analysis conducted by the Pew Research Center, by 2055, the U.S. will no longer have a single racial or ethnic majority. This shift towards a more diverse population will have major impacts on the workforce and how organizations address diversity in the workplace.

In the coming years, organizations that understand how to manage diversity in the workplace effectively will hold a distinct advantage when it comes to recruiting and hiring talent. This post outlines how organizations can best approach and manage diversity in the workplace with actionable tips and advice.

What is Diversity in the Workplace?

For an organization looking to cultivate a more diverse and inclusive workplace, it is important to understand what constitutes workplace diversity.

Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between individuals in an organization. Diversity not only includes how individuals identify themselves but also how others perceive them. Diversity within a workplace encompasses race, gender, ethnic groups, age, religion, sexual orientation, citizenship status, military service and mental and physical conditions, as well as other distinct differences between people.

Research Report

Diversity & the Candidate Experience: Identifying Recruitment Pitfalls to Improve DE&I Outcomes

read the report

What are the Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace?

What are the benefits of diversity in the workplace? Well, there are many benefits to having a diverse workplace. Organizations that commit to recruiting a diverse workforce have a larger pool of applicants to choose from, which can lead to finding more qualified candidates and reducing the time it takes to fill vacant positions. Businesses that do not recruit from diverse talent pools run the risk of missing out on qualified candidates and may have a more difficult time filling key roles, which increases recruitment costs.

According to a survey conducted by Glassdoor, 67 percent of job seekers said a diverse workforce is important when considering job offers and 57 percent of employees think their companies should be more diverse. These numbers are telling. Not only can organizations fill positions with qualified candidates more quickly by recruiting from different talent pools, but a diverse workforce also benefits their employer brand which is crucial when it comes to getting the right talent.

Having a diverse workforce with multi-lingual employees and employees from varying ethnic backgrounds can also be helpful for organizations who want to expand or improve operations in international, national, regional and local markets.

More benefits to having diversity in the workplace:

Employees from diverse backgrounds imbue organizations with creative new ideas and perspectives informed by their cultural experiences
A diverse workplace will help organizations better understand target demographics and what moves them
A diverse workplace can better align an organization’s culture with the demographic make-up of America
Increased customer satisfaction by improving how employees interact with a more diverse clientele and public

Diverse Staffing: How to Manage Diversity in the Workplace

Managing diversity in the workplace presents a set of unique challenges for HR professionals. These challenges can be mitigated if an organization makes a concerted effort to encourage a more heterogeneous environment through promoting a culture of tolerance, open communication and creating conflict management strategies to address issues that may arise.

For leadership to effectively manage diversity in the workplace, they need to understand their backgrounds and how their behavior and beliefs can affect their decision-making within a diverse environment.

Tips for managing workplace diversity:

Prioritize communication

To manage a diverse workplace, organizations need to ensure that they effectively communicate with employees. Policies, procedures, safety rules and other important information should be designed to overcome language and cultural barriers by translating materials and using pictures and symbols whenever applicable.

Treat each employee as an individual

Avoid making assumptions about employees from different backgrounds. Instead, look at each employee as an individual and judge successes and failures on the individual’s merit rather than attributing actions to their background.

Encourage employees to work in diverse groups

Diverse work teams let employees get to know and value one another on an individual basis and can help break down preconceived notions and cultural misunderstandings.

Base standards on objective criteria

Set one standard of rules for all groups of employees regardless of background. Ensure that all employment actions, including discipline, follow this standardized criteria to make sure each employee is treated the same.

Be open-minded

Recognize, and encourage employees to recognize, that one’s own experience, background, and culture are not the only with value to the organization. Look for ways to incorporate a diverse range of perspectives and talents into efforts to achieve organizational goals.

Hiring

To build a diverse workplace, it is crucial to recruit and hire talent from a variety of backgrounds. This requires leadership and others who make hiring decisions to overcome bias in interviewing and assessing talent. If organizations can break through bias and hire the most qualified people, those with the right education, credentials, experience and skill sets, a diverse workplace should be the natural result.

Tips for hiring a diverse workforce:

Incorporate a diverse interview panel to ensure candidates are chosen solely based on suitability for the position.
Managers should be trained on what can and cannot be asked in an interview. For example, questions about an applicant’s personal life, such as which church they attend, their romantic life and political beliefs, are off-limits.
Get creative when recruiting. For example, if an organization would like to hire more women in the engineering department, they could reach out to professional groups that cater to women in engineering and ask to advertise open positions in their newsletter or member communications.

Diversity Management: Policies and Practices

Organizations that embrace diversity also need to ensure that there are policies and practices in place to protect employees’ rights and stay compliant with government regulations.

It is essential for an organization to think about the impact that company policies and practices have on a diverse group of employees. Companies should create a way for employees to give feedback with surveys and suggestion boxes to gain a better understanding of how employees feel about diversity policies. Any feedback received, both positive and negative, is valuable. Companies need to be ready to adapt and change policies that may be interpreted as obstructions or not helpful for employees.

In addition to the written policies, it is also essential to ensure that the non-official “rules” of an organization are thoroughly explained to all employees to communicate company values and culture to all workers effectively.

Documentation of Policies and Procedures

Properly documenting diversity policies is an effective means of communicating an organization’s stances on diversity. Once concrete plans are ready to be implemented, documents that outline each policy should be included in the employee handbook. Diversity policies should be reviewed with every new hire, and when updates to policies are made, they should be shared with current employees as well.

Employee handbooks should cover diversity in the following sections:

Code of conduct should outline the company’s policy toward diversity
Non-discrimination policy lets employees know about diversity
Compensation and benefits policy
Employment conditions and termination

Zero-Tolerance Policy

Having a diverse workplace means that off-color jokes about ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religion need to be met with zero-tolerance enforcement. Slurs, name-calling and bullying employees for any reason has no place in today’s workplace. Policies should be put in place to handle misconduct and communicate to employees that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.

Organizations will also need to make sure employees feel safe reporting any instances of inappropriate behavior by co-workers by establishing a formal complaint policy, so employees know how to report misconduct to the proper authority within an organization.

Sensitivity Training

Employees need to be aware of how to coexist with a diverse range of people, as well as be cognizant of cultural sensitivity, to achieve harmony within a diverse workplace. Sensitivity training can help an organization manage diversity in the workplace by helping employees become more self-aware, which plays a vital role in helping employees understand their own cultural biases and prejudices.

Benefits of sensitivities training:

Helps employees examine and adjust their perspectives about people from different backgrounds
Employees can learn to better appreciate the views of others
Shows employees what actions are offensive and why they are perceived as such
Teaches employees how to calmly communicate that a co-worker has offended them and how to resolve the conflict properly
Explains to employees how to apologize to a co-worker if they have indeed offended them unknowingly
All employees should be included in sensitivity training; adding specific training for managers makes it even more impactful. Some companies also offer sensitivity training online.

Stay Abreast of Diversity Laws

Managing diversity in the workplace means that businesses need to keep abreast of changing employer-related laws and trends, especially diversity-related changes. Organizations should regularly review internal policies, especially those around harassment and equal opportunity, and make sure they reflect the most current laws and regulations.

If an organization has an international or multi-state presence, it is necessary to track regional changes to laws and regulations as they vary from country to county and state to state.

Diversity law resources:

The Importance of Diversity in the Workplace

Encouraging diversity is the way forward for organizations. In a global talent market, businesses that can successfully manage diversity in the workplace will have a definite competitive advantage over others in terms of differentiation, innovation, and employer branding.

Four Ways to Strengthen your Employer Brand and Recruit Top Talent

Posted on September 25, 2017December 16, 2022 by epadmin

As the global economy grows and the talent market tightens, employers are facing increasing competition for the best workers. To succeed in attracting the best candidates and retaining top talent, organizations must place increased focus on their employment brand.

The World Economic Forum contends that “human capital is critical not only to the productivity of society, but also the functioning of its political, social and civic institutions.” The demand for high-skilled labor is growing faster than supply, with a deficit of 38 to 40 million workers with advanced education worldwide. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) 2017 survey, 77 percent of CEOs say they’re concerned that a shortage of key skills could impact their company’s growth.

In that same PwC survey, 69 percent of CEOs say they are convinced that it’s harder to gain and retain people’s trust in a digital and connected world. Cultivating trust is key to building a strong employer brand and recruiting top talent. An employer brand is a public perception of what it’s like to work for an organization. It’s what job seekers and employees think about when a company’s name is mentioned. With a strong employer brand, organizations can attract the right talent, without relying solely on compensation to improve retention rates.

In the current digital environment, job seekers are inundated with information about your organization – through your marketing, news, blogs and website. Even if your organization consistently puts out strong marketing content to attract talent, job sites like Glassdoor can help or hinder your brand and reputation based on employee reviews. 70 percent of job search candidates will use Glassdoor to help make informed decisions before they commit to their next career move. With so much information available to job seekers, employers need to be engaged with what’s being shared online.

How do you build a culture of trust and improve your employer branding?

1. Give your employees a voice on your blog and social media

The best advertisement you can get for your employer brand is recommendations from your employees; it’s the only form of advertising that is authentic. With the rise of social media, companies are more exposed than ever, whether they want to be or not. Giving your employees a voice empowers engagement and gives them ownership of the brand message.

Allowing your employees to contribute to your blog and social media accounts gives your readers a different perspective. By sharing their knowledge and experience, employees can offer an inside look at what it’s like to work for your organization. According to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer Study, 62 percent of respondents found a company’s social media more convincing than their advertising. This means that giving an employee a voice and training brand ambassadors is more important than ever.

2. Develop employee ambassadors

Changing the perception of your employer brand does not always require a big budget. One way to build a strong brand is through brand ambassadors – employees who are engaged and connected in your organization and who can share their enthusiasm outside the workplace. To develop an employee ambassador program, you need to make sure that every employee understands and is aware of your key brand messages. Set up workshops to explain your company’s mission, vision and values, share the benefits of being a part of your organization and reiterate the voice and tone of your brand.

To start your brand ambassador program, find a few creative ways to get employees more involved. Companies can set up an employee referral program for open jobs with an incentivized bonus for every successful referral. A referral program gives your employees a bonus for spreading positive word of mouth about your company. Some employees may respond better to social recognition than financial incentives. Companies could also set up a platform for sharing gratitude and social accolades for employees that refer candidates. Another way to reward participants is through charitable gestures. By adding a charity component, a company can drive participation and build a network of charitable ambassadors. Employees can spread positive messages about your organization, recruit talent and make a difference for those in need.

3. Improve your Glassdoor ratings

Another impactful approach to employer branding is asking employees and interns to review your company on Glassdoor. Also, be sure to reply publicly to both positive and critical remarks. It’s important to show others that you take criticism seriously and want to learn to be a better employer. According to a Glassdoor survey, 62 percent of candidates in the U.S. agree their perception of a company improves after seeing an employer respond to a review.

Building your Glassdoor account and obtaining an OpenCompany profile could also boost your rating and make your organization more transparent. To get an OpenCompany profile, you need to accomplish a few tasks on your Glassdoor account. As an organization, you need to update the company profile, add at least 10 photos, get reviewed by job candidates or employees, respond to those reviews and promote your Glassdoor profile with a badge on your website or blog. Accomplish those steps, and you will be among the handful of companies that have obtained the OpenCompany transparency badge on Glassdoor.

4. Digitize your brand strategy, and put mobile first

It is important to stay up-to-date on the digital technologies used for attracting the best talent. As these technologies gain even more momentum, they are profoundly changing the strategic context of employer branding. A study by Employer Branding International found that social media is the top communication medium, used by 76 percent of companies for communicating the employer brand, but only 45 percent of companies are using a mobile-optimized website.

The prevalence of smartphones and tablets means that we now have a massive audience of mobile job seekers. In addition, Generation Z is now entering the workforce and has no knowledge of life without a smartphone. For this generation, life is about being connected; sharing, searching and interacting with other consumers. As Generation Z candidates apply for jobs, they will have a different expectation for how they will communicate with potential employers. Having a strong brand with a mobile-optimized website is the first step to reaching these candidates.

As the talent market tightens around the globe, mobile optimization, social media, employee values and online ratings are growing more important for improving employer brands.

Three Ways to Increase Employee Engagement

Posted on August 28, 2017December 16, 2022 by epadmin

The workplace is changing. Leaders, HR managers and employees frequently hear this declaration. The mindset of employees has shifted from simply going to work, putting in an eight-hour shift and heading home to focusing more on workplace happiness and work-life blend. Gone are the days of sitting mindlessly through a shift; employees now want to be engaged and included in the workplace.

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to an organization and its goals. An emotional commitment means engaged employees care about their role at work and their company. They work to further the organization’s goals, mission, and vision; not just work for a paycheck.

According to a 2016 Gallup poll, only 33 percent of U.S. employees and 13 percent of employees worldwide were engaged — involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace. Engagement also plays a key role in optimizing employee performance, ensuring that organizations are getting the most out of their teams.

What’s more, a Pew Research Center study shows that in today’s society, millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. workforce. Engaging this generation calls for new strategies. How does an organization keep its employees on task and engaged?

1. Open Communication

A 2015 survey by 15Five found that out of 1,000 full-time employees across the U.S., 81 percent would rather join a company that values “open communication” than one that offers perks. Only 15 percent of workers surveyed said their companies were doing a good job communicating to employees. Millennials in particular, who make up 36 percent of the workforce, want more consistent communication. The practice of quarterly or even yearly performance reviews is not enough for employees seeking communication from their managers. More frequent feedback and communication on online platforms, such as Slack, Yammer or Skype and email is key to keeping your employees engaged and on track to meet performance goals.

2. Employee Recognition

Employees want to end their workday knowing they contributed to the organization, did an excellent job and were appreciated. However, according to a Gallup poll, only one-third of people felt strongly that their efforts were appreciated or had received praise in the last seven days. Employees that hadn’t received any recognition in the last seven days were twice as likely to leave the company. Companies should incorporate employee-based recognition into their business culture and reward employees more frequently.

Successful companies use both monetary and non-monetary based programs to reward employees for their hard work and efforts. Examples of employee recognition programs include Fond and Kudos. These platforms recognize and engage employees through features like peer-to-peer recognition, service award, spot bonuses and more based on criteria chosen by the organization.

3. Work-Life Blend

Employees today are looking for meaningful work that fits with their goals, more than a larger paycheck or perks. With employees electronically connected to the workplace 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the office and out, work-life blend can be a challenge. Employers that are successful at keeping their employees engaged embrace the idea that work can happen anywhere and at any time. That means abandoning the 9-5, Monday through Friday working requirements.

Good employers set up the expectations around working hours ahead of time. They also give employees the freedom to manage their time. Some organization may also offer work from home or other flexible scheduling opportunities.