How to Build a Diverse Team
Nathalie Marie Pérez Sievers Gives Advice on Diversity at the Workplace
As a young professional stepping into work, I am personally looking for a team, where I feel valued, welcomed and represented. I am looking for an organization with the right values, morals and goals. I have a background in social work, and in my industry, there is always a discussion about how to attract more men but also people with different ethnicities and genders into care-work, so more clients feel represented. The tech and gaming industry, on the other hand, are more male dominated. Regardless of the industry, there is always a need and demand for diverse teams to drive better results on both, an economic and personal level.
- Milena Imgart
The Impact of Morals and Values
In order to stay relevant, companies have to adapt fast to an ever changing environment to stay profitable. A popular example is Blockbuster, a former video rental company. Their CEO John Antioco thought of online-streaming as a niche business and declined a partnership with Netflix back in the early 2000s. In 2010 Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy. But not just technology changes extremely fast. Morals and values do, too. Sustainability for example becomes more important every day in the wake of the climate crisis. This is also reflected in the economy: A study found out that 92% of customers in the US are more likely to trust a company that supports social or environmental issues.
The Cost of Inequality
Diversity is also playing a bigger role in the workforce than just several years ago. According to research done by Deloitte, 80% of respondents said diversity and inclusion were an important factor when choosing a company. So in order to stay in business, it is important to hire diverse teams. A McKinsey report has shown that diverse teams have a significant positive impact on the profitability of a company.
Source: McKinsey
This is because diverse teams are likely:
more agile and show quicker adaptability to change
more creative thanks to their wide range of knowledge and experience
better at adapting to local markets due to a higher amount of knowledge of those said markets
better at solving problems due to being better at taking different perspectives
Word of the Week: Gender Mainstreaming
Gender Mainstreaming is equality-oriented thinking and acting in the day-to-day work of an organization and any level of politics. The term originated in 1995 at the World Conference on Women of the United Nations and was established by the European Commission in 2004.
Breaking the Thomas-Cycle
When looking at esports companies, there is often the same image to be seen: White men, very little diversity. This has also been highlighted in our first newsletter, where we took a look at esports organizations and how they highlight women on their websites. One of the main reasons for non-diverse teams is what is called the “Thomas-Cycle” in Germany. In 2017, there have been more men named Thomas on the board of public German companies than women. This is due to the fact that people are more likely to hire someone that is very similar to them, leading to the Thomas-Cycle. So the first step to creating a diverse team is being aware of exactly that. We talked to Nathalie Marie Pérez Sievers to give us more advice on creating diverse teams. She is a HR veteran with more than 10 years experience in the field.
Interview with Nathalie Marie Pérez Sievers
For those who don’t know you, could you please introduce who you are and what you do?
Hi, I’m Nathalie and founder of The People Hub. It is a passion to empower and support my clients as a people and culture consultant and business trainer.
The People Hub specializes in customized training and interim management. Our focus areas are Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Recruitment. We implement lasting solutions that strengthen companies.
How would you define a “diverse” team?
A diverse team is a group of individuals who have different backgrounds and skills that work together as a team to achieve company goals. They have differences regarding age, nationality, ethnicity, religious background, personal history, professional background, skills, gender or political preferences.
How can companies get better at hiring diverse and creating diverse teams?
There are a couple of possibilities. For example, I run trainings for talent acquisition managers and hiring managers, where we cover different topics such as DE&I, standards in recruitment processes, candidate experience.
In a nutshell:
Structured interviews, because this is very important to ensure equal opportunities.
anonymized applications
Structured feedback
Working with scorecards for each interview.
DE&I trainings - It is important that all interviewers are educated about topics like unconscious bias and how to deal with their biases.
Simply allow diversity and do not hire people who are very similar to you.
Demonstrate commitment and willingness to have diverse teams
We often hear that people say they wanted to hire someone diverse for the role but nobody applied. How can companies tackle that problem?
First of all, it should be realized that a person is not diverse. A group is diverse. This means that the first thing I would strongly recommend is to familiarize oneself with the four layers of diversity. Then we should realize that nowadays we can’t just wait for someone to apply for a job. We simply have to become active.
Here are some examples:
Gender sensitive and inclusive job postings are important. I do recommend to work with a gender decoder.
It is a good idea to consider using different platforms and fairs to address the jobs. It is important to explore other approaches in order to address different target groups.
The Active Sourcing activities can also be adapted accordingly
The four layers of diversity. Source: Gardenswartz & Rowe
What do you think is necessary to create an environment that retains diverse talent?
Integrating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the company: For example with a code of conduct, inclusive language and overall, an existing DE&I management.
Safe spaces need to be established. Companies should think about what they do for colleagues, for example. Do safe spaces exist for BIPoC and LGBTIQ+?
Equality for all and this should also be reflected in the salary.
Listen to your talents, understand the needs and then learn from them.
Most important: Walk the talk!
How to Hire for Diversity: Diverse Hiring Practices for Recruiters
LinkedIn published a self-assessment to help you get started with inclusive hiring practices. Consider the following question to help you hire more diverse teams:
Have I taken the time to truly educate myself on why there is a lack of diversity and equity at our company?
Do I have a clear perspective on my company’s diversity recruitment priorities?
Am I prepared to build a warm pipeline of diverse talent for future roles?
What steps can I take to make my company’s interviews more inclusive?
What can I do, to hold myself, my team, and my leaders accountable to diversity goals?