While the importance of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) initiatives is greater than ever, the struggle to make real progress is greater too. In some cases, that struggle is about obtaining (and maintaining) buy-in from stakeholders like the board. Especially during the recent economic downturn. For others, however, it’s a matter of having the right tech for DEIB in place to support your DEIB goals. Either way, knowing how technology can help you create a more inclusive workplace.
The first, and possibly most important, way that technology can support your DEIB goals is through data. Gathering and analysing data about your workforce’s important diversity metrics is key to understanding where your business is at currently and what it would take to achieve important inclusion goals.
Advanced HCMs and HRIS platforms may have this sort of analytics capability in place as it stands. That said, looking into a platform with AI analytics may give you deeper insights without as much manual processing.
Aside from the data side of things, technology can have a more direct impact on DEIB by providing accessibility solutions. For example, screen readers or speech-to-text software can be used by people with a number of disabilities.
But it can also be types of tech that you haven’t considered. Ask yourself questions like:
Although you might not recognise them as such, these are actually accessibility tools too. Making your workplace more accessible ends up being better and more productive for all employees.
Platforms like Slack have integrations that you can install to help encourage more inclusive language in internal communications. These integrations give you a little nudge as you type to make suggestions of more inclusive ways to say what you mean. Sort of like how Grammarly can detect for tone in your writing or emails. This can be an easy and fun way to help teams who are enthusiastic about getting it right, but not comfortable knowing what that may be.
AI bias removal is an interesting one. In many ways, it is extremely useful to have a way of taking the human bias out of certain parts of the recruitment process like CV reviews. However, AI shouldn’t be left to do all of the decision making itself. You absolutely need human oversight in these processes. Particularly when you remember that AI is built and trained by humans, so some of their existing biases may have made it into the code. This is something to ask about when selecting any AI-driven recruitment tools.
One way that AI can support inclusive recruitment with fairly consistent success is by writing inclusive job descriptions. This can help mitigate bias and encourage a more diverse pool of candidates to apply for a role.
Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to make a significant growth in empathy with the right experience or platform. It has a unique way of putting you in another person’s shoes and showing the viewer directly what living like someone else is like. These tools have been becoming more prominent over recent years and the impact has been backed up by a study from Stanford researchers. VR could be a great way to help build kindness and understanding toward marginalised groups in your workplace.
These are just a few of the ways that tech can support your DEIB goals and help you create a more inclusive workplace. From tangible accessibility to pulling more from your data, having the right technology in place can go a long way toward making your DEIB strategy impactful.
Interested in finding the right HR technology to support your DEIB strategy and goals? Speak to our Client Transformation team! They are passionate about getting you the right tech first time.