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HOW FAROSIAN REPORTS ARE SUPPORTING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES IN ORGANISATIONS
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives are finally being recognised and gaining traction in the corporate world. While more businesses look to adopt and push these initiatives, it poses the question; how should organisations approach this necessary transformation, and what kind of results can be expected?
“A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.”
It is important to firstly note that although diversity and inclusion initiatives are an obvious matter of ethics, it is also something which businesses are recognising as a key driving force of growth, revenue, profit and employee satisfaction. At Farosian, we recognise the role that our social and digital media screening reports play in this noble pursuit, which is something we’ll delve into at a later stage.
For now, let us explore the complexities of diversity and inclusion, and get an understanding of how business can leverage certain tools in-order to support these endeavours.
You Cannot Have Diversity Without Inclusion
Diversity in the workplace essentially refers to a business’s workforce being made up of individuals from a range of different backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, races, religions, ages, cultures, physical abilities and ethnicities. The key principle of diversity is that nobody should be discriminated against based on any of these points.
As mentioned, many organisations are now striving to embrace diversity in-order-to create a more comfortable working environment, and one which allows the range of mindsets and differing perspectives to improve the performance of the organisation at all levels.
Some key economic facts of diversity in the workplace include:
- A diverse workforce drives economic growth
- A diverse workforce can capture a greater share of the consumer market
- Recruiting from a diverse pool of candidates mean a more qualified workforce
- A diverse and inclusive workforce helps businesses avoid employee turnover
- Diversity fosters a more creative and innovative workforce
Diversity without inclusion however, results from an organisation failing to leverage their diverse talent pool, incorporate various perspectives, and involve different approaches, all of which results in failure to maximise their success. It is critical for businesses to understand that by hiring a diverse workforce, does not automatically result in the many benefits discussed above. It is crucial that organisations take the next step in the D&I initiative which often consists of:
- Creating a safe space for individuals to speak up and be heard
- Empowering all team members to contribute and make decisions
- Supporting and networking
- Taking criticism and advice and working to make changes where necessary
- Giving credit where it is due, by recognising all those that have contributed
- Maintaining authenticity while continuing to be receptive to others
How do Farosian Social Media Reports fit in?
While it is a well-known fact that social media background checks are very quickly becoming the status quo, many key decision makers are still not familiar with the true power and potential of this practice.
“Fortune favours the brave. Social and digital media screening provides unparalleled insight, resulting in data-driven decision making. Organisations which fail to acknowledge this fact will have to deal with the consequences eventually.”
In order to effectively communicate my point, I’ll paint a picture for you. Imagine 2 individuals meet in a bar, they hit it off, and find that they quite like each other. At the end of the night, they exchange contact details and promise to meet up again. What do you think the first thing they’ll do when they part ways?
Yes, exactly. They’ll go do a personal social media background check – in order to get a better understanding of what kind of person they are dealing with and whether or not they’d in-fact like to pursue a future engagement. They’ll look to see if their values align, if they have similar interests, their histories, and so much more. This is the power of social media background checks (minus the bias and prejudice that goes with internal screening).
Farosian social media reports don’t just look to identify the red flags which prevent an individual from landing the job – we believe in taking a holistic approach to gather the full picture. Interpreting and combining the positive and negative aspects, as well as behavioural traits, results in a fair and detailed analysis of an individual. This provides organisations with actionable insights to determine whether someone will fit into their organisation and whether they are fulfilling their diversity and inclusion goals.
Identifying individuals who pose a threat to these D&I initiatives is critical as well, in order to remove them from the equation before they have a chance to stir the pot. Farosian has seen this first-hand. *Story time* An anonymous organisation hired an individual prior to conducting their social media background check. Farosian was still sent a request to conduct their report, which landed up being very high risk. The individual displayed highly reactive behaviour, aggression, homophobia, and had already been embroiled in online conflict which had been shared widely online.
It was too late to retract the offer of employment, and therefore the organisation followed through with the hire. It turns out that a few months down the line, the individual landed up in a heated argument with a co-worker, which eventually resulted in a physical altercation and a punch to the face. The individual was then dismissed, and the organisation now ensures that all candidates are screened prior to the issuing of the employment contract.
So you understand the importance of D&I initiatives, and how Farosian Reports fit in; but how can your organization adopt these practices?
The integration of social media background checks into your pre-employment process is much more seamless than you might imagine. If you would like to discuss the process in more detail and get an understanding of the costs involved, pop us an email and we’ll set up a free session to run you through the finer details of the practice, and explain how integration would work.
Remember, Farosian’s Social Media Screening doesn’t just help identify red flags and drive your D&I initiatives, but it also results in an increased retention rate, higher performance and productivity, reduced disciplinary records and complaints, a reduction in the cost per hire, the “time to fill position”, as well as the protection of brand image and reputation.
Let’s chat. Trust us – you won’t regret it.
References: Image 1: Fauxels – Pexels.com, Image 2: Nathan Dumlao – Unsplash.com, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-top-10-economic-facts-of-diversity-in-the-workplace/, https://blog.vantagecircle.com/diversity-and-inclusion/, https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ie/Documents/Consulting/DEI.pdf, https://globalforum.diaglobal.org/issue/january-2018/diversity-without-inclusion-is-exclusion/
