Reed Smith talk on how to attract & keep diverse employees

A diverse range of employees makes way for huge amount of success - but how can you allure and keep them?

Diversity at the place of work can, at all times, be mended - and it should be improved, even if it only makes business sense. A varied workforce cannot just upgrade profitability, but also relationship with customers, modernization and retention of staff.

As per a report by McKinsey & Company, a firm which has a diverse employee base has higher chances to enjoy success and profits than those which have low level of diversity. A firm is fifteen percent more hopeful to turn a profit over the national average, if a firm employs staff from both genders. A firm which has employees from different ethnicities and races is thirty five percent more probable of earning profit. The chief human capital consultant at Rework Work, a training and consulting organization, Stacey Gordon opines that the reason for the profit over the national average is the variation in ideas and thought coming from the diverse experiences each person has.

The chief diversity officer at the law firm of Reed Smith, John Iino, remarks that emphasising on inclusion and significant diversity has been advantageous for the company directly. He shares that diversity actually leads to healthier relationships with clients, as there are some common values between the firm and its clients. With the interconnectivity in the world increasing, the problems of diversity come under the limelight and several firms are making a note of it. Lino adds that his firm witnesses several clients championing and adopting diversity. He thinks that as a business, it is crucial for a firm to make better connectivity with clients, which his firm is doing.

Beginning from the top

A company can easily say that it gives importance to diversity, but it needs to be more than just an insincere approval. Firms should cultivate a practise of inclusion, if they wish to keep back diverse staff - and the culture should start from the employees at the top.

Lino says that it all comes down to the lucid dissemination and fortification of the values of a firm, especially from those who are present at the highest levels of the organisation. He confesses that without the assistance from the people at the top, it is indeed difficult to make considerable improvement. He remarks that he tries to constantly send out things that are occurring in regard to diversity. The global managing partner of his firm sends out a report nearly every month about what the firm does in respect to diversity. There invariably is something about a professional achieving in diversity and inclusion, watching those in the higher echelons acknowledging the achievers actually helps.

The management, so that it can be effective, too should discuss with the employees, on a regular basis. Gordon feels that a survey held just one time in a year is foolish, if someone thinks that the process can garner engagement. Stressing on her thoughts she says that it is like asking a person how he or she is only once in a year. Gordon asserts the uselessness of such an approach by asking if it makes any sense. Her solution is that managers should directly communicate with their employees and listen to them, besides enhancing the frequency of the surveys. She believes that leadership involves checking in on the people one is meant to lead, as there are lots of team members who are reticent and shy, and do not talk much, but have a lot to offer.

Inclusion refers to everyone

One of the most humongous tests, as per Lino is to make people understand the meaning of diversity, as they do not tend to realise that diversity is not about exclusion. Lino shares an incident when his firm had rolled out the invitation to [Reed Smith’s] Diversity Summit, a white woman had sent Iino an e-mail, which read that she had no idea why she received the invitation and was sure that it was sent to her by mistake. His reply to the lady was that she was wanted at the summit, as it was vital for her to be there. However, some individuals are of the opinion that since the term is ‘diversity,’ it refers to not being invited or included, he states.

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