How diverse is your Salesforce organisation?
According to studies, radically diverse teams report around 35% higher performance than their competitors. Yet, many companies still struggle to achieve true diversity when choosing new employees. If you’re not taking the right steps towards DEI (Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion), you could be missing out on incredible business results.
Today, displaying true diversity in your Salesforce hiring strategy is about a lot more than including the right words on job descriptions or saying the right things on a company mission statement. Modern business leaders need to prove they’re taking steps to build the right team.
We have created a complimentary report that goes with this post that you can download here too.
Why is DEI Crucial for Salesforce Teams?
Diversity and inclusion issues have been common in the workforce for a number of years. Technology companies, such as those investing in Salesforce solutions, are often some of the most problematic when it comes to ensuring equality.
As government groups and legal entities take steps to fight against discrimination in the workplace, failure to diversify could lead to significant repercussions for today’s employers. Not only do you risk fines, but you could also suffer from negative side effects of poor DEI such as:
- A damaged employer brand, making it hard to attract the right candidates
- Poor productivity and creativity, due to minimal points of view
- Low employee engagement: 57% of employees wish their company were more diverse.
Implementing DEI Strategies for Your Salesforce Team
DEI is a crucial concept for any business to consider, particularly in the post-pandemic landscape, where McKinsey identifies diversity as essential to company recovery. To achieve effective DEI results, Salesforce employers need to create a comprehensive strategy for success. Some of the best practices to consider include:
1. Building the right company culture
Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion need to be embedded into the heart of the business at a cultural level. This means thinking about the kind of environment you offer employees in your workplace. What kind of management styles and work ethics do you employ? How do you ensure discrimination stays out of the workplace, and what’s your approach to emotional intelligence? Implement training methods to encourage better inclusion and equality processes among your employees.
2. Empowering all employees
All employees should feel empowered to thrive and grow within your business. If only a handful of team members ever have access to training courses, or some never seem to get promoted, this can cause an imbalance among your staff. Consider everything from your career progression strategy to the kind of opportunities you give your employees access to. If you notice any signs of discrimination or unfair decision-making, ask yourself how you can rectify them.
3. Creating a feedback loop
Creating a diverse team means listening to your employees and considering the perspectives of multiple team members. You may think your equality strategy is going well, whereas other staff members might notice inconsistencies in the opportunities available to different people. Make sure your team members have a way to share their concerns with your leadership without the threat of being judged or punished.
Bringing DEI Into the Recruitment Process
Developing a truly diverse salesforce team starts with hiring the right collection of employees. Unfortunately, a lot of hiring managers can fall into patterns of unconscious hiring bias without realising it. This is why it’s important to ensure you have the right assistance with your hiring and recruitment strategy.
On a global scale, the Salesforce community is working hard to encourage inclusivity and bring all kinds of new talent into the fold. However, it can be difficult to find a wide selection of potential employees when you don’t know where to look. Support from a specialist recruitment agency can help you to connect with candidates from different backgrounds.
The right Salesforce recruitment team can also help with things like adding more inclusive language to your job description to ensure you attract all kinds of people. These professionals also know how to avoid unconscious bias in interviews and implement “blind” recruitment.
Thanks
Lee
P.S. Contact ROD today to see how we can enhance your DEI initiatives. Don’t forget to check out our free downloadable guide to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion for behind-the-scenes tips and insights.