What is a Director of Diversity and Inclusion? And 5 Reasons You Should Hire One!

Everyone who has ever taken a walk in the forest must have noticed that, although it is full of trees, not one is the same. There are tall trees, short trees, and some of them turn orange in the fall, while a spruce remains green all year round. There are many different types of trees, like the birch with its white paper bark and the thick oak in the open part of the forest. Some grow better close to water, and some need more light. Some grow very fast and are the first to occupy new areas, while others grow more slowly but become steady strongholds that you can count on for many years to come. They are all different, yet they are all trees and part of the same forest. Together, because of their diversity, they form an ecosystem that is in perfect balance. All trees play a crucial part in maintaining a strong and healthy forest.

Your Company as an Ecosystem

Just as in the forest, a great variety of trees creates a balanced ecosystem and a healthy forest, a great diversity of people together forms a healthy team and business. Like those trees, different people have different needs. Some are fast learners who are the first to take their place in a meeting, while others need a bit more time but grow to be steady and reliable workers.

The Director of Diversity and Inclusion

To ensure that all people in your team or company feel at home and safe to realize their full potential, a Director of Diversity and Inclusion makes sure that your employees don’t just feel included but also experience a deep sense of belonging. People who work in the right place have more meaning in their job, feel safe, and are willing to go the extra mile.

How a Director of Diversity and Inclusion Helps Your Company Flourish

The Director of Diversity and Inclusion Creates a Strong Team: Diversity in a team, in a safe environment, leads to a strong sense of teamwork, where everyone is appreciated for who they are.

Improve Productivity by up to 56%: When people feel appreciated for their unique qualities, they tend to use them. It improves creativity and productivity for individual employees as well as the team. A well-directed, inclusive team performs better than the sum of individual workers; that’s synergy.

Reduce Sick Leave: Research conducted by BetterUp showed that a sense of belonging provides companies with a substantial benefit when it comes to reducing the number of sick days. Being part of a strong team reduced employee sick days by 75%.

Lower Turnover: With research showing a 50% reduction in turnover risk, it’s safe to say that a strong sense of belonging makes people want to stay. Employees who stay retain knowledge within your company, reduce the cost of training new employees, and make your company a pleasant place to work.

Turn Employees into Ambassadors: What happens when your employees feel like happy trees in a healthy forest? You guessed it! They become true ambassadors for your company. They talk about their job on every birthday or event. They are proud to be a part of it and happy to talk about it.

By now, we can all agree that a happy, diverse, and inclusive team makes for a great workplace. And the numbers don’t lie. By hiring a Director of Diversity and Inclusion, you ensure your company is the kind of team where people want to work to their maximum potential and for a long, long time.

We hope we could provide you with a better understanding of what a Director of Diversity and Inclusion is and why you should hire one. Do you feel ready to take the next step in diversity and inclusion in your team or company? Take a look at sustainablejobs.com to post the job where your future Director of Diversity and Inclusion can be found! ♻️

Marc Wijnja.
Source of research (26 Oct 2023) BetterUp >>