Culture Can Make or Break a Business: Read 夜色直播's Top Tips for Building an Inclusive Company Culture
Go beyond just talking about diversity - it's time to commit.
If there鈥檚 any one lesson to be learned from 2017, it鈥檚 that company culture can make or break a business.
Whether it鈥檚 that acted as a catalyst to bring Uber鈥檚 toxic culture to light, or Tesla鈥檚 , it鈥檚 becoming increasingly evident that phrases like 鈥渃ultural alignment鈥� or 鈥渆mployee engagement鈥� can no longer be treated simply as buzzwords or 鈥渘ice to haves鈥�. A healthy company culture is absolutely crucial to a healthy business.
These mistakes might have you and your organization biting your nails, wondering if your company is next on the hit list of businesses to go under the radar of a 鈥渨orst places to work鈥� list. We aren鈥檛 here to stir up more unnecessary fear; we want to see your company succeed, and that starts by setting up a parameter and process to avoid the mistakes Silicon Valley has been experiencing in 2017 by examining what these crumbling company cultures have in common. For the most part, it鈥檚 a lack of commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Your company may say you鈥檙e going to 鈥渇ocus on鈥� and 鈥渁dopt鈥� diversity initiatives, and that鈥檚 great! Now it鈥檚 time to consider next steps鈥攇oing beyond saying and now planning and doing. Businesses must consider diversity and inclusion. It鈥檚 like the saying goes鈥攄iversity is inviting someone to the party, inclusion is asking them to dance. If you鈥檙e hiring diverse talent but they feel peripheral to your culture and leave within 6 months, you鈥檙e probably feeling a little defeated when it comes to your diversity and inclusion initiatives. You need a sustainable diversity and inclusion plan. So here are 4 ways your company can take practical steps to build an inclusive company culture.
Build a diverse leadership team.
When Pinterest wasn鈥檛 reaching their goal of 30% newly hired engineers being women, . Having more women in leadership positions instigated a trickle-down effect that lessoned stigmas tied to women in junior-level engineering jobs.
The truth is, , women are 20% less likely than straight white men to win endorsement for their ideas; people of colour are 24% less likely; and LGBTQ+ individuals are 21% less likely. Inevitably, when leadership lacks diversity, fewer promising ideas make it to market. This is probably why found that firms with a diverse set of leaders are 45% more likely to report market share growth, and 70% more likely to secure a new market. When people feel like their ideas and contributions are valued, not only do they feel included and engaged in the company鈥檚 culture, but the company benefits, too.
Don鈥檛 hire for 鈥渃ulture fit鈥�.
When hiring managers turn away a candidate because they鈥檙e just not a good 鈥渃ulture fit,鈥� they鈥檙e doing anything but helping the company culture. no longer allow interviewers to use the phrase 鈥渃ulture fit鈥� when providing feedback about what they liked or disliked about the candidate, because the term usually refers to people who work, live, and look like ourselves.
There is a very fine distinction here. Certainly, if your company goal is to build an innovative culture, you should hire candidates who exhibit innovative behaviours. If your company goal is to build a supportive culture, you should hire candidates who exhibit strong emotional intelligence and cultural awareness. However, the term 鈥渃ulture fit鈥� on its own, without a detailed explanation, becomes a blanket phrase that provides justification to hire based on unconscious bias, leading to homogenous work cultures. A simple and practical way to remove some unconscious bias in your hiring process is to remove 鈥渃ulture fit鈥� as a general criteria when hiring, and instead require your hiring team to provide objective behavioural data to justify their decision.
Measure first, then strategize.
When were asked to provide workplace diversity numbers, only two companies, and , had any kind of reporting鈥攄espite the fact that these companies had pledged a commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion years before. Several companies who had no reporting defended their prayer rooms, nursing mothers鈥� rooms, and gender neutral bathrooms. But here鈥檚 the thing鈥攈ow do companies know if their diversity and inclusion initiatives are making significant contributions to a healthier work culture? Major cultural engagement and inclusion strategies can be expensive and time-consuming, so wouldn鈥檛 you want a data-based roadmap to ensure these initiatives are successful? Measure where your culture is, where your organization wants it to be, and then use those deficits to drive cultural change.
Ditch the excuses.
It鈥檚 true, leading the diversity and inclusion charge is harder now than ever before, especially as we witness social media and blog posts appear to single-handedly take down multi-billion dollar companies because of sexist or racist work environments. But excuses like 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have time to hire for diversity鈥� or 鈥渋t鈥檚 not my fault that there just aren鈥檛 enough minority groups applying to these jobs鈥� are hurting your company.
The truth is, the onus is on your company, not the candidate pool, to make more diverse hires. that if a company posts a job opening with a 10-point list of job requirements, women will only apply if they match all 10, but men will apply if the match only 6. One practical way to make sure your hiring pipeline doesn鈥檛 turn away female candidates is to shorten the list of job requirements.
shows that if there鈥檚 only one woman in your final candidate pool, there鈥檚 statistically no chance she will be hired. Making sure your final candidate pool is diverse can alleviate some unconscious bias when making your next hiring decision. When companies come under fire for toxic culture, listing off excuses is a PR worst practice. Ditch the excuses now, and take these small steps towards diversifying your candidate pool before you get in hot water.
It鈥檚 not too late to learn from the mistakes of Silicon Valley culture in 2017. Inclusive hiring and cultural processes leads to a workplace that encourages all voices to be heard and considered, meaning your people鈥攖he foundation of your company鈥攆eel validated and secure, and more ideas get to market. Being a champion of diversity and inclusion initiatives may be more daunting than ever, but in the end, you are building better teams, strategizing an aligned culture, and contributing to your company鈥檚 ROI in significant ways.