Is your intranet getting diversity and inclusivity right? Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a hot topic for businesses today. But DEI is more than just a business buzzword and should have your attention year-round, not just on MLK Day. It needs to be a cornerstone of your company practices.
Even if DEI is at the heart of what you do, if your intranet doesn’t incorporate these values, employee experience will suffer. Want to know if your DEI efforts are working? Ask your employees.
- 57% of employees believe their workplace could be doing more to increase diversity.
- Gartner HR Research shows that 82% of employees think it’s important for their organization to see them as a person, not just an employee. Yet only 45% of employees believe their organization actually sees them this way.
- Gartner Research shows that companies “must reinvent their employee value proposition to deliver a more human deal.”
The experiences of your workers are deeply affected by your DEI business strategy and talent processes. When they work together, EX is greatly improved – and so is your company culture. Let’s look at statistics revealing how important DEI is to a cohesive team:
- Deloitte found that when they modeled the relationship between diversity and inclusion and business performance, they identified an ‘uplift’ of 80% when both companies offered both to employees..
- Global Diversity Practice found that teams that are gender, age, and ethnically diverse make better decisions up to 87% of the time.
- A recent BCG study on diversity in management found that having diversity in management boosts revenue by 19%.
What steps can you take to ensure that diversity and inclusivity are central to your company ? We’ll discuss that and best practices in a moment, but first let’s look at what diversity and inclusion offers companies and their employees.
Defining diversity and inclusion
These two terms are often lumped together and used interchangeably. Though they are interconnected concepts, they each bring a different value to the company table. And to fully implement DEI into the workplace, you have to understand (and accommodate for) the difference.
Diversity
Each of your employees are unique. They have different beliefs, perspectives, and ideas. They come from varied backgrounds. When we talk about diversity in the workplace, we mean respecting and appreciating those unique aspects of an individual—this includes their age,, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education, or where they’re from.
And it’s all of these differences that can help companies see the world through a different lens and help them in various challenges or opportunities. Additionally, by recognizing that each employee is an individual and respecting them for who they are and what they bring to the table, you build a more cohesive company culture.
Inclusion
Building an inclusive culture refers to organizational efforts to help employees of all backgrounds feel welcome. Employees who feel welcome and valued are happier in their workplace, and are usually more committed to doing a great job.
Combining these two values with equity (a work environment where everyone has the same set of rules, regardless of external factors)), and we have the potential for intranet DEI, as well. And this is a powerful combo that creates a better employee experience (EX) for everyone.
Learn the importance of diversity in communication in the digital workplace
How the right intranet promotes DEI
No employee wants to feel like a nameless, faceless person in a crowd. Having an intranet that’s forward-looking and adaptable is how companies inspire and engage employees. And when you have personalized content based on each worker’s needs, you recognize each employee’s individuality.
Purposeful culture must be central to your company’s intranet. Supporting your intranet DEI efforts rehumanizes communications, creates a unified, personalized, and frictionless experience.
Choose an intranet that offers:
- Personalized AI.. An intranet with personalized AI provides different content discovery for various employee interests, tailored search results, and even supports a seamless onboarding process for new employees.
- Employee analytics. Use intranet prescriptive analytics that capture a broad range of signals. These inside analytics inform you of trending topics, emotions, sentiment, and user connections. And all of this helps take the temperature of your intranet DEI efforts.
- Anonymous feedback options. Open up the communication gap and enable your employees to give honest feedback about their experience anonymously. You’ll be able to locate areas of bias in leadership and workflow. You’ll also quickly highlight DEI efforts and gaps that you may not have otherwise known about.
- Social connection with colleagues. Modern intranets should be a virtual watercooler to gather around and connect, whether they’re in the office or working remotely.. Having a social platform where employees can interact, feel heard, and align on business goals as a team will strengthen company culture and enhance inclusive efforts.
- Recognition. With an intranet that honors DEI efforts, you can stay up to date on meaningful achievements and cultural events as well as work anniversaries and birthdays. Recognizing employees’ unique perspectives raises morale and demonstrates how much you value them.
Learn how rewards and recognition can improve employee engagement
- Employee profiles. Matching names with faces helps break the ice, both online and in person. When diverse workers get to know one another, they more freely exchange ideas––and this benefits everyone.
The digital employee experience is tightly interwoven with DEI thinking. An employee intranet that’s organized and curated based on diverse employee needs creates a richer experience for everyone. Reach out for a demo and see the possibilities in action!
