Читать книгу Diversity, Equity & Inclusion For Dummies - Dr. Shirley Davis - Страница 46

The COVID-19 pandemic and the increased amount of virtual work that came with it pushed DEI efforts to the forefront. Offering more remote work increased job opportunities for people across all geographic locations. In other words, workers could basically live anywhere to get work done. The ten most expensive cities in the United States tend to be hubs for many sought-after industries, yet the cost of living in those areas greatly limits affordability. Remote work eliminates this economic barrier and also widens the applicant pool. Think about the number of companies that started hiring again following the pandemic and the economic recovery. So many of them no longer required that you live in the same location where the job was posted.

A LinkedIn story reports some additional DEI benefits resulting from the shift to remote work:

 No geographic barriers means no relocation costs and no location bias.

 Remote work can promote greater psychological safety for LGBTQ employees.

 Employees with disabilities have no commute and greater access to support.

Although the flexibility of remote work fosters greater inclusivity and diversity, you still need to employ special techniques to keep workers engaged. The Society for Human Resource Management notes six ways to keep remote workers engaged. Consider which of the following you currently demonstrate effectively and consistently:

 Be empathetic: Create a sense of belonging by showing you care about colleagues and managers.

 Encourage participation: Create a communication plan to engage all team members individually and directly, but also learn your team’s communication style to cultivate productive participation during team meetings.

 Create structured team building: Develop games and activities that let you to get to know one another.

 Utilize employee resource groups (ERGs): ERGs can be a source for data collection and ides for inclusive activities.

 Be intentional about talent development: Schedule one-on-one meetings (outside the performance review process schedule) to discuss and plan team members’ goals, interests, and career development areas.

Measure and evaluate inclusion efforts: Consistently interact and engage with remote workers to see how the inclusion practices are progressing. This practice is constant and evolutionary. You fix what isn’t working and continue to improve on what is working to keep workers engaged.