Between the Great Resignation, quiet and loud quitting, along with rage applying, the talent acquisition trends within the workplace culture are ever evolving. However, one thing will remain consistent: the positive impact of DEI on talent attraction and retention. Diversity, equity and inclusion should be the lens we look through to evaluate all hiring and talent development practices. Keeping DEI intertwined with these initiatives creates effective engagement that prevents employees from prematurely creating their exit strategy. When equity and inclusion are vital components of your culture, employees find that their voice and input matter, which inspires them to be more committed to your vision. Similarly, DEI influences retention because employees feel a genuine connection when encouraged to interact and collaborate as a valuable member of your organization. When potential candidates see that you allow your employees to be themselves, they feel their originality will be welcomed. It’s difficult for employees to pretend to be someone other than themselves for an extended period. Code switching is exhausting and environments that allow micro-aggressions to remain unchecked are costly. Without DEI practices in place, this is the stressful and uncomfortable position we put employees in, limiting their capacity to commit to long-term engagement. 

The correct implementation of DEI supports a sensitive approach to welcoming and sustaining your potential and current employees while reinforcing belonging. A transformed, inclusive culture supports diverse recruiting efforts and the breadth of your talent pool. This DEI-centered approach should be apparent from the beginning of your application process to onboarding and throughout the tenure of your employees. A climate that embraces belonging allows your employees to show up to work as their authentic selves without fearing discounting, dismissal or retaliation when they express their concerns or needs. DEI principles create an avenue for constructive conversations that create opportunities for growth and understanding. 

To improve your attractiveness to a diverse talent pool, you must be aware of your organizational population, which starts with the data. Without accurate data, you are prone to window dressing which gives the appearance of active DEI recruitment and retention strategies. Still, employees will quickly feel a bait-and-switch tactic if what you say about your company does not match what they experience. How diverse is your organization? When your hiring data is transparent and reviewed consistently, you can evaluate how diverse your hiring practices are and determine where diversity retention is the strongest. Ensuring your talent pool represents the communities you serve and attracting more than one prominent set of diversity factors to your organization is critical to your brand reputation and ability to achieve long-term business objectives. Diverse representation strengthens your brand awareness because you reach more than a homogenous group of customers, suppliers and future talent. 

Talent Acquisition Partners and HR Leaders should be allies committed to staying curious about how inclusive their hiring practices and promotion processes are within the culture. They should commit to be well-informed about acquisition trends that may be unfair or alienating to specific groups. On the opposite end of the spectrum, in today’s climate, we see layoffs increasing. Are these decisions being made equitably and fairly? We can ensure fairness through data analysis and bias mitigation training and processes. 

 

Three components prove the relationship between DEI and talent attraction and retention is a major one: 

Effective Talent and Retention Strategy or Effective Leadership Training -When DEI is integrated into talent acquisition, there is an intentional perspective of what hiring, and talent development looks like for diverse populations. Data will be at the helm for making decisions on all employment practices. In addition, managers should receive inclusive leadership and bias mitigation training that will prepare them to interview and promote candidates using fair practices with limited bias. This will improve engagement within teams in a way that supports retention and long-term growth. This is a cyclical process that continues to yield results because the internal framework is consistently being evaluated. 

Innovative Practices that Create Company Wins- Research has shown that more diverse teams perform better Forbes . Higher organizational performance is vital for employees to feel job security, especially during difficult financial climates.  Diverse talent is essential, but it matters most when inclusive practices are in place that supports more than presence but integral participation. Greater innovation will be experienced from collaborative efforts that originate from broader perspectives that are not one-dimensional. Successful interactions and results yield company pride, which improves retention. 

Equitable Leadership and Career Advancement Potential-With diversity, equity, and inclusion-centered hiring, equitable opportunities within leadership and promotion practices for all employees are normalized. Talent Attraction and retention thrive when employees see those with similar diversity factors experiencing upward mobility. How equitable are your promotion practices, and is there room for underrepresented groups in leadership? 

Potential candidates and current employees are seeking advancement opportunities and want to know that their contributions are not overlooked based on their identity factors.  Forbes 

Making sure that DEI is a part of your talent management processes will reduce your cost of turnover and the interruptions the lack of retention causes. Your organization will benefit from this implementation and the influence it will have on your culture.