A commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) is crucial for helping businesses attract and retain top talent.
According to one study, 70% of job seekers said they look at a company’s DEIB goals when evaluating whether or not to work there. Another study reported that millennial workers tend to stay at a company longer when that company understands the need for a diverse workforce.
The returns on building a diverse team extend beyond attracting talent. Creating an atmosphere that’s culturally and geographically diverse where employees feel welcome and supported can have a multitude of benefits.
In fact, gender-diverse companies are 15 percent more likely to surpass industry median financial returns. So diversity isn’t only good for culture, but it actually positively impacts the bottom line.
We spoke with Grow Therapy’s Head of People, Keshar Sheridan, to discuss how we’re building a better team and what we’re doing to achieve DEIB goals.
Why should companies be investing in DEIB?
Sheridan: DEIB is critical to the success of an organization. There are multiple studies out there that show when you build a diverse and inclusive organization, you as a company succeed far beyond what you would have done if you had an extremely homogenous organization.
Why is building the right team so important?
Sheridan: Having the right team makes you more productive, more efficient, and as an organization makes you more profitable. But outside the business setting, having the right team has such a huge cultural impact on your organization. It makes you more cohesive, creates better team bonding moments, and establishes a general environment of happiness.
What do you look for when hiring new team members?
Sheridan: We have a set of core values and beliefs we look for people to satisfy: having a high level of empathy and respect, being extremely collaborative, being mission-driven and wanting to make an impact in the mental health space, and lastly, folks who are kind human beings and want to work in this type of environment.
What does Grow’s current team makeup look like?
Sheridan: We’re working to continuously improve DEIB at Grow. Currently, around 45% of our organization identifies as a woman, 50% of leadership identifies as a woman, and approximately 30% of our team identifies as an underrepresented group.
What meaningful investments is Grow making when considering DEIB, especially whilst scaling rapidly?
Sheridan: We are looking to see what meaningful investments we can make to ensure we are taking steps in the right direction. What partners do we want to work with? What outside consultants do we want to work with? How are we altering our hiring practices to make sure we are bringing in a diverse workforce? Are we keeping an eye on teams that are more homogenous and how can we diversity them? These are all things we are exploring right now.
What would you say to people who are looking for a quick fix to DEIB?
Sheridan: There’s no right or wrong solution, but it’s important to be mindful that the work of DEIB is never done and you should constantly be evaluating your organization to make sure you’re achieving those goals.