Beyond Recruitment: Building a Culture of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

According to the Global Diversity Practice, diversity and inclusion are about “empowering people by respecting and appreciating what makes them different”. Diversity and inclusion practices should promote the equal treatment, acceptance, and welcoming of people within the different dimensions of diversity. Companies should embrace differences amongst its workforce, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s good for business. In fact, many studies show that companies celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion are more likely to financially outperform companies that don’t; According to Boston Consulting Group, companies with diverse management teams have a stronger ability to innovate and thereby generate 19% higher revenues.

It’s all about creating the right culture 

Hiring for diversity is not always conclusive to inclusion. Hiring for diversity should only be a prerequisite for a diverse and inclusive corporate workforce; the bulk of efforts should lie in creating a culture where, beyond the process of hiring and onboarding, people from diverse backgrounds truly become part of the business DNA.

To turn the benefits of diversity and inclusion into tangible business results, people must feel empowered to leverage their differences; differences in talent, perspective, strengths, viewpoints, experiences and other areas of diversity to enhance innovation, creativity, and productivity, ultimately making the company more competitive, as evidenced in the aforementioned findings.

The benefits of a diverse and inclusive work environment cannot only be measured in financial metrics but can be assessed from a human resource perspective as research shows that companies become better at retaining and acquiring talent, employee satisfaction and engagement improve and businesses experience reduced turnover. A study by Glassdoor reveals that 3 in 4 employees and job seekers heavily consider workforce diversity when evaluating job offers; while almost half of the respondents with a Black and Hispanic background have quit a job after witnessing or experiencing discrimination at work.

Nevertheless, building a healthy corporate culture, one where everyone believes in “doing the right thing”, one that celebrates diversity, encourages inclusion, and instills trust, is no easy feat. It takes time, patience, iteration, and close tracking before the fruits of success can be reaped.

Trust is key 

Building a culture of trust is key to inclusion, companies and leaders must be intentional about building a trust within their teams and the extended organization to allow individuals to bring their whole self to work and contribute without fear of discrimination. The results have been demonstrated; Companies with a strong culture of trust can brag of a more innovative, happier, and more engaged workforce.

Ensure everyone is heard

Albeit being one element amongst others making up an inclusive culture, the ability to speak up is critical. If safe and secure channels allow employees to report on breaches of company codes of conduct and policies pertaining to diversity and inclusion; such as discrimination and harassment are not efficient, then misconduct will go unchecked, and eventually, employees will not report it. Poorly handled investigations into discriminatory behavior risk retaliation against whistleblowers causing damage to the culture, and trust, and could lead to grave reputational, regulatory and financial consequences for the company.

It is, therefore, crucial that organizations provide and nurture a safe space for whistleblowers to speak up and flag behavior, decisions, or actions that may undermine inclusion efforts. A strong speak-up program, on the other hand, allows organizations to quickly resolve concerns before they snowball into bigger organizational problems.

GAN Integrity’s stance on Diversity and Inclusion

GAN Integrity is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.  We believe that every employee has the right to work in a positive, collaborative atmosphere that promotes equal opportunities and prohibits discriminatory practices. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments, reinforced by our values, are obvious in our day-to-day working practices.

Since its inception, GAN Integrity has celebrated differences by bringing together talent from all walks of life with diverse backgrounds. Today GAN Integrity has 110 employees that can count more than 50 different nationalities amongst its ranks. We like to think that our differences make us stronger and are what enable us to “punch above our weight” as we often say.

To practice what we preach, GAN Integrity’s teams have ensured that our stance on diversity and inclusion is clearly communicated in the organization, stated in our code of conduct, and explained in our dedicated training on diversity and inclusion. We communicate these values in every job posting and ensure that everyone is heard thanks to an independent and secure speak-up platform.

'At GAN, we are committed to creating a culture where inclusivity is the norm. As a company that has employees from a myriad of cultural backgrounds, we are inherently committed to establishing a culture that promotes inclusiveness, transparency, and equity.' 

Anna O'Leary, Head of People at GAN Integrity

Every step and everyone counts 

The journey towards a culture of trust and inclusion is indeed a journey and companies of different sizes and structures will find that a tailored approach towards building their culture is indeed the best approach, what works for one company might not work for another, but the principles and values remain the same. The question is how do you ensure that these values are ingrained into the way business is done. To that end, every step matters and everyone on that journey can make an impact.