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Diversity in the High-Tech Industry

The high-tech industry’s diversity issues are in the news. Whether it’s a story about gender pay inequity or one about workforce composition, headlines are ubiquitous.

The State of Diversity in Tech

The business case for diversity is undeniable. As technology continues to interconnect our societies, our workplaces must mirror these changing environments. A diverse and inclusive workplace offers more creativity and innovation, plus empowers employees with the freedom to bring their best and authentic selves to the workplace. A company that is serious about its future success cannot ignore the financial and competitive benefits inclusivity brings.

Planning for Diversity

The following section is intended to provide support and resources for inclusive workforce planning and diversity recruitment strategies. Workforce planning requires knowledge of current industry demographics as well as internal staffing needs and potential candidate pools, particularly on a regional level. While broad workforce recruitment can be done nationally, truly successful diverse recruitment and retention plans require small to mid-sized technology solution providers examine their hiring practices and make every effort to source new talent that is reflective of the communities they serve and in which they reside.

If senior management and/or human resources is unsure of where to start, pull the census info for your geographical region (accessible via the U.S. Census Bureau). This will provide statistical parameters for diversity inclusion goals as well as help to identify opportunities for growth.

Additional components worth assessing at the outset include:

Taking a detailed look at staff demographics.

Does a particular department have a more homogeneous culture in regard to race, ethnicity, gender, age, veteran or disability status? For example, you may find a one area has much higher percentage of employees approaching eligibility for retirement than others. By clarifying where current (or projected) diversity deficits exist, the company can better strategize for ongoing recruitment.

Reviewing minimum skill requirements and emerging trends of interest.

Both are appropriate benchmarks to establish when identifying a beneficial knowledge base for incoming employees. Avoid assuming that one staff loss equals one replacement. Be willing to ask the question, “What different skills sets are needed for the future?” (Particularly regarding company-wide, long-term goals).

Engaging lower management in workforce planning.

Entry-level supervisors often know exactly what skills and diversity their teams currently lack and the characteristics which are likely to add value to the group. While it is still nearly impossible to take workforce planning to an individual level (except during the start-up phase), valuable information can still be gained related to managers’ needs if they are involved in the process.

Anticipating the company-wide impact improving inclusion.

Evaluate if certain departments already have fewer employees and could use additional assistance. Should their staffing needs take priority on a fundamental level? Assess the frequency of highly skilled and knowledgeable employees of diverse backgrounds being offered promotions, transfers and/or other opportunities for advancement.

Developing flexible workplace plans that can accommodate unforeseen changes.

Many factors can impact diversity recruitment and retention, including fluctuating economic conditions, legislative changes or world events. Create low, median and high projections for recruitment and retention as baseline measures of success.

Remember: A workforce plan is a living document that should evolve with the tech industry and your company’s mission. As new skill sets become desired and weak spots identified within a workplace culture, workforce plans must be adjusted accordingly.

Diverse Workforce – Talent Acquisition and Retention Checklists

A shortage of technology professionals is an ongoing concern on an international level and the average employee retention period is approximately three years. Companies need to be invested in closing this gap with diversity and inclusion. Senior management should be committed to seeking diversity in terms of skills, experience and cultural backgrounds—plus they need to ensure this mindset is communicated throughout the organization. Senior management thereby sets the tone for prioritizing diversity in every aspect for the talent leadership team. This will also help increase retention rates by creating opportunities to address individual and collective differences among the staff as these initiatives are launched and expanded beyond recruitment into onboarding, professional development, leadership training, performance and evaluation, and workforce planning.

Acquisition

A three-year outline for drafting recruitment efforts aimed at obtaining quality, diverse talent should involve:

• Prioritize “buy in” from senior management. This must happen before any lasting change can occur. Organizing offsite meetings or retreats to explore what’s working or not working with current D&I efforts. Asking questions like, 'What does America look like today?' and 'How is or isn't our company reflective,' can be a good place to begin.
• Follow-up with internal diversity training for current employees. Eventually transition these into monthly strategy sessions (“power hours”). These may taper off to quarterly conference calls or brief in-person meetings after the initial six months or one year.
• Deploy meeting transcripts or written recaps of key talking points to all meeting attendees and leadership team members within 24-48 hours of each session.
• Give practical prompts intended to generate concrete connections—and solutions—to real-life workplace scenarios. (Examples: Name an effective D&I protocol in your department. Describe a challenge you are now facing in recruiting local talent.)
• Create a system of support to track how newly acquired staff is adapting to the workplace culture.
• Solicit industry and legal experts to facilitate ongoing D&I training modules such as the company’s attorney or an HR hiring specialist. These professionals can frankly address interview and hiring do’s and don’ts beyond best practices by also clarifying what is required—and prohibited—by state and federal laws regarding interview questions, reference checks and more.
• Ask regularly, “How are we sourcing new hires at all levels?” D&I needs to be a priority at each employment tier. Also keep in mind that potential clients’ first impressions are formed by whom they encounter on your front line. Company guests should see people like themselves on the other side of the desk. It helps builds trust and confidence.

Retention

About 18 months into initiating improved D&I strategies, evaluating how new staff is acclimating to workplace culture becomes an equally important component to focus on. It can be one of the most accurate indicators of whether or not leadership and hiring teams are accomplishing what they set out to do (based on internal feedback from staff and turnover statistics). Organizations that retain high levels of diverse talent typically do the following:

• Produce onboarding guides based on different hiring authority needs.
• Provide online hiring resources for new managers (email templates, short video clips, etc.).
• Create professional development plans for all employees (5-10 year projection).
• Acquire interns who self-identify as the demographic in which diversity growth is needed.
• Offer staff opportunities to be trained specifically in recruitment and/or data analysis.
• Ensure visual materials (brochures, websites, social media posts) reflect workplace diversity.
• Make a company-wide database to log previously screened and qualified resumes.

Your company should also create ways for your personnel to connect with each other through affinity or employee resource groups by providing networking, mentoring and social settings. Such groups increase employee engagement by demonstrating to individuals that people like themselves are not only finding success within the enterprise but are willing to help them succeed as well.

Download the full Diversity & Inclusion Plan for Technology SMBs for additional tips, Q&As with diversity and inclusion experts, resources and more.

The Importance of Inclusive Cultures

When thinking about the importance of branding your organization as welcoming a diverse workforce and having an inclusive culture, it can be a struggle to represent employees from underrepresented populations, but it’s also crucial not to tokenize anyone. The worst thing that an organization can do is to be insincere. Your company should not try to represent itself as something it is not. Additionally, if your engagement with underrepresented employees is limited to asking them to be in marketing materials, but not decision-making processes, then you are starting in the wrong place. Show your workforce and culture at your company authentically, while articulating a vision for diversity and revealing your workforce composition.

What’s an Employee Resource Group and Why Do We Need One?

Employee resource groups (ERGs) support an organization’s inclusion and diversity goals and objectives as determined by organizational leadership and exist to benefit and advance their own group members by working strategically internally and externally. ERGs are entirely employee-led communities that allow employees to express themselves freely and drive organizational change. They are open communities that support and empower underrepresented groups and educate and inspire allies to drive equality. ERGs can drive customer engagement, transform culture and spark innovation.

Aligning ERGs with business imperatives and priorities show how an employee community can add value to an organization as well as develop its functions and brand. Also, ERGs give people the chance to develop their careers by learning new skills, presenting in front of leaders, managing budgets, leading strategies, and helping address business issues.

ERGs are good for business and can also:

• Play an important role in supporting an organization’s business initiatives.
• Act as a sounding board around strategic diversity objectives within the organization, in support of a more inclusive work environment.
• Be a collective voice around shared issues or concerns that help to promote an inclusive, respectful workplace, by uncovering issues that are specific to the needs of a diversity community within the organization.
• Provide opportunities for employee development, education, and training, recruitment, retention, and business outreach and development.
• Support innovation by providing insights on new markets, product development and multicultural marketing, while enhancing the company reputation in the marketplace.

To learn more about the benefits of employee resource groups and the steps to establishing and ERG, download the full guide.

Supplier Diversity: Why Participate?

The phrase “money talks” is key when thinking about supplier diversity programs. Not everyone qualifies to be a diverse supplier; however, any entity can be a diverse spender because anyone can do business with diverse suppliers. How—and to whom—funds are allocated toward indicates what is valued on a macro-level. Spending with diverse suppliers is a way to demonstrate brand priorities, in addition to supporting more equity and inclusion across sectors. Being thoughtful about how company funds are spent can significantly increase positive impact—perhaps even beyond initial projections.

Deciding who gets your company’s spend can be something that is overlooked when thinking about making an impact on diversity and building more inclusive cultures within the technology industry.

Starting a Supplier Diversity Program

1. Start with a small goal, say 10% of organizational spend for diverse suppliers.
2. Identify areas for new suppliers to participate (network support, hardware components, etc.).
3. Search online supplier diversity databases like ConnXus, CVM and THOMAS to find suppliers in your target categories.
4. Continuously increase organizational commitment by evaluating more areas for new suppliers and set new goals for greater spend by 30-40% for example.

How to Effectively Build Diverse Supplier Bridge

• Be visible! Look for new opportunities and potential partners.
• Respond to the sources sought and request information on FedBizzOpps. A search on the site revealed that 13,360 IT related contracts were awarded during fiscal year 2019 (October 1-September 30).
• Use the SBA Dynamic Small Business Search. There are over 3,658 IT related small businesses, indicating there are thousands of opportunities to partner with small businesses.
• Intentionally and purposefully seek to make connections and network with small business liaisons of organizations with supplier diversity programs/initiatives.
• Contact the small business specialist of the federal agencies you would like to do business with.
• Pursue government contracts and engagements with prime contractors for diversity vendor set asides by registering with System for Award Management.

As a solution provider, if the thought of responding to another request for proposal (RFP) makes your head spin, consider changing your mindset. Preparing ahead of time can eliminate some of the frustrations of gathering information and rushing to meet yet another deadline. In other words, shift your mindset and think of an RFP as an acronym for “ready for proposal.”

Supplier Diversity and the Importance of Business Certifications

In today’s highly competitive market, many small business owners can leverage small business certifications to position themselves for greater success. Business certifications for small, veteran, minority and women-owned businesses elevate value and energize supply chain relationships. Business classification certification demonstrates to the buying organization that your firm has done its due diligence to show who you are and better positions you to compete for contracts and subcontracts.

Buyer-supplier relationships that celebrate diversity increase relationship marketing opportunities, CEO approval and consumer interest. In addition, stakeholder interest, government contract opportunities, profits and innovation reach new peaks when diversity is a shared common ground between business entities.

Explore Certifications

1. Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) certification is a gender-specific certification for woman-owned businesses.
2. Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) certification is required for a specific federal purchasing program that has a set-aside quota for woman-owned businesses.
3. EDWOSB certification is required for the federal purchasing program mentioned above for disadvantaged businesses.
4. The 8(a) designation is a business development/mentoring program offered by the Small Business Administration for a company that is considered disadvantaged.
5. Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) certification is for businesses that are 51% owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged but not participating in the 8(a) programs.
6. Disabled Veteran (DV) certification is for the business owner who is an U.S. Armed Forces veteran that was disabled in action.
7. Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification is race-based for minority-owned businesses.
8. LGBT-owned Business Enterprise certification. The NGLCC is the exclusive, third-party certification body that verifies that eligible businesses are majority-owned by LGBT individuals, and subsequently grants LGBT Business Enterprise® (LGBTBE®) designation to such businesses as part of its LGBT Supplier Diversity Initiative.

Responding to Culture Shifts

Our world as we’ve known it has been disrupted by recent events of social injustice and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing cultures around the world to shift. Organizations are facing new challenges—from learning how to lead remote workforces and optimizing current talent to meeting the new demands of customers and understanding what diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) means in this new environment. The future of work has prompted leaders to pivot business models, ask more questions, and create new alliances while worrying whether they’ve done enough to continue to meet goals and objectives and ensuring the safety and emotional health of staff. It’s in these times that leaders are more receptive to change.

Courageous and difficult conversations are part of the new normal to address racial and social unrest as it impacts employee wellbeing and productivity. No response is a response and sends a clear message to staff, customers/clients and vendors who are more than willing to work for and do business with organizations that are aligned with their values. Underestimating your employees’ feelings and believing that these challenges will simply blow over is a recipe for disaster.

It’s incumbent upon leaders to create a safe space for staff to speak up without repercussion while equipping oneself and management with the skills to respond. Empathy is key. Listen with an ear to learn rather than defend and rebut.

Shifts and disruption happens—not only at an individual level, but also an organizational level. Leaders and managers are expected to “manage” change and be in control, which may lead to snap decisions and inadequate solutions that exasperate the very issues that they were hoping to avoid. Smart leaders are proactive, keep a pulse on what’s going on beyond the company’s four walls and realize the role they have in effecting positive outcomes.

The Remote Workforce

Remote teams have been on the rise for years as they offer huge benefits to organizations like access to top talent from anywhere in the world, flexible hours for workers and notably of late—increased wellness. Remote teams are here to stay, and it’s important to foster an inclusive culture so employees feel a sense of belonging in a virtual work environment. Thoughtful action can help teams build new habits, strengthen connections, and encourage personal and professional growth.

An inclusive work environment doesn’t just happen—it requires intention and sustained effort. Stresses from the pandemic and extended isolation are building a range of harmful emotions in workers. In addition, recent prominent examples of racial injustice have affected many employees in ways that cannot be left behind when work begins. This is especially true for Black employees. While the systemic nature of racism requires systemic action, the actions of individuals are an important part of supporting staff and ensuring they can continue to make meaningful contributions.

Team leaders have an important role to play in setting the tone to ensure engagement, not only with leadership but amongst peers. With so much online interaction, there is an unprecedented window into the lived experiences of colleagues. Many are now balancing an increased number of personal and professional priorities—and it is all on display with each video conference. Those who aren’t comfortable sharing their full selves may feel even more exposed at a time when they may be experiencing greater stress and challenges than ever before. These unintentional disclosures may include aspects of a person’s life they had previously covered and did not feel prepared to share.

Leaders must be compassionate, endeavor to understand the challenges of their teams, respond in ways that promote inclusion so that everyone is empowered to contribute their best thinking and work toward organizational success.

10 Tips for Setting Remote Workers Up for Success

• Reflect on what it means to adopt inclusive behaviors throughout the organization.
• Create alignment between onsite and offsite cultures so everyone is included. Be attentive to how remote workers vary from onsite staff.
• Check in with employees regarding current needs and concerns such as professional development, work-related stressors, etc. Offer support and be willing to make accommodations.
• Build trust and rapport. Make sure you’re seeking opportunities to connect with your team beyond just the “work stuff.” Have regular calls where your team can chat about non-work-related topics.
• Reframe how you assess employee experience and engagement.
• Focus on the outcome, not the process.
• Foster the wellbeing of your employees with robust employee wellness programs.
• Nurture trust by not micromanaging. Stay connected by being accessible but avoid “helicopter” supervising.
• Initiate conversations about what an individualized management style might look like for each team member.
• Lead by objective. Rather than expecting workers to be at their desk from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., allow the space for folks to get their work done at whatever time is conducive to their lifestyle.

Building a Talent Advantage

Company culture is formed by the beliefs and values of its leaders that guide the actions and behaviors of all team members. While the culture isn’t something that staff can see, they know what it feels like. Do they feel that their contributions are valued? Do they think they can be their authentic selves? Do they believe that they are treated fairly? What are they getting besides a paycheck?

A good company environment brings employees through the door, keeps them there, and drives business results. Understanding how culture plays a significant role in optimizing talent can be the difference between a thriving organization and one just getting by. Leaders that create a climate that inspires curiosity and provides intellectually stimulating challenges and opportunities for growth have a competitive advantage.

Best Practices For Building Talent

• Hire people who fit the culture you want, then manage it to be the culture you’re creating.
• Allow employees to pursue entrepreneurial projects within the organization and cultivate interests outside of their current role.
• Make mentorship a part of the ecosystem.
• Invest in ongoing training.
• Let employees know they are valued.

Ask the Right Questions

• Is leadership fully invested in diversity and inclusion strategies?
• Is your organization having honest conversations about race in the workplace?
• Does a recruitment philosophy exist?
• What is your employee value proposition?
• Is there an existing infrastructure for supporting, training and promoting new hires?

Prioritizing Employee Wellness

Companies do well when employees are feeling their best. Focusing on employee wellness has become a staple in many organizations as a way to attract top talent, keep staff happy and productive, and decrease turnover.

Workplace wellness means something very different now than in previous years. Financial issues, sleep deprivation, self-confidence, mental and physical health concerns prior to the pandemic have amplified.

Companies are under greater pressure relating to corporate social responsibility, culture, and their role in society—and many are discovering the potential of leveraging benefits as a tool to help address social inequality within the workforce.

As businesses work their way through the pandemic and plan reopening strategies, employee wellness should be considered a business imperative. Leaders are thinking deeply about the profound connection between employees’ health and work—and, ultimately, performance. Designing well-being into work at the individual, team and organizational levels is the path to build a sustainable future where employees feel and perform their best.

Workplace Wellness Strategies

Rachel McGinnis, chief vitality officer at Wake Up with Zest, recommends these strategies when prioritizing workplace wellness:

• Establish a culture committee where employees can freely discuss stress related to the job or workload without fear of reprimand.
• Set realistic expectations as to when remote workers are meant to be checking and responding to emails—and when they’re not. Clarify what time zone(s) are included in a typical workday.
• Provide tools for submitting anonymous employee feedback.
• Train leaders to spot when employees are struggling before tense situations escalate and dissatisfaction among your team proliferates.
• Encourage staff to advocate for their own wellbeing by being honest about personal conditions and circumstances which may be affecting when and in what capacity they are able to work from home.

Ensuring Equitable Practices

As we look forward to the future of work, culture change is probably the most challenging part of this transformation as new behaviors from leaders and employees tend to oppose previous norms. As a business grows in response to technological advances and client demands, the environment must continuously adapt to meet employee needs and societal expectations.

Significant shifts tend to come through social movement and dissatisfaction with the status quo. While company culture lives in the collective hearts and everyday behaviors of its workforce, the change occurs only when people take action.

To effectively address racism in the workplace, it’s important to gain consensus on whether there is a problem. More than likely, there is, as systems and processes were designed for and by the individuals who most benefit from them. Many white people reject the reality of racism against people of color assuming that racism is defined by deliberate actions motivated by malice and hatred. Yet, racism can occur without conscious awareness or intent. When defined simply as differential evaluation or treatment based solely on race, regardless of intent, racism occurs far more frequently than most white people suspect.

The root causes of racism in an organization can be based on many factors such as cognitive biases, temperament, worldview ideals, psychological insecurity, perceived intimidation, or a need for power or ego boost. However, most racism derives from structural factors that include institutional practices and cultural norms. While these causes do not involve malicious intent, organizations can misattribute workplace discrimination to the character and actions of an individual, the “bad apple” rather than to broader structural factors.

Creating an equitable workplace for all means that leaders are willing to do significant (and likely uncomfortable) introspection on organizational culture, practices and processes. While most believe that their company does a pretty good job, it’s always a good idea to do a little digging by asking employees their thoughts on polices i.e., promotion criteria and whether they’ve ever felt passed over due to race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc. Review the senior leadership team. Is it homogenous? If so, why? Once there’s an understanding of the underlying conditions, you can focus on correction.

Paige Reh, HR director, at Strategic Communications, suggests the following:

• Inquire and track whether marginalized employees feel they have voice within the company.
• Start by listening. Authentic, candid conversations are needed. That’s something that can always be done, no matter what size an organization is.
• Train managers and C-level executives on mitigating biases and microaggressions, and how behaviors manifest with people of color in the workplace.
• Establish trust as an ally or advocate.
• Realize employees may be skeptical at first. (Example: Are professed changes or revised brand priorities simply a marketing ploy?)
• Assess if advancement opportunities for marginalized staff are actually being provided.
• Commit to conscious communication and intentional evolution based on new perspectives and ideas.
• Look beyond management by surveying staff to gain a more comprehensive view of employees’ thoughts and feelings. (The resulting data may indicate areas that need immediate attention, new initiatives and/or other positive action.)
• To measure progress, Susanne Tedrick, senior specialist, Infrastructure at Microsoft recommends:
• Implementing intentional mentorship and sponsorship programs specifically to help advance people of color into management or executive-level positions.
• Real change should be observable via demographical shifts in how companies are organized within a few years. A distinct change would be reflected in a higher number of people of color and other marginalized identities in management (by accounting for an increased percentage of high-level roles within a company rather than entry-level positions in the past).
• Diverse staff turnover will also be lower due to higher employee retention.

Productive Conversations about Race

Conversations about race and racism can be uncomfortable, but they’re necessary for an equitable and inclusive workplace. The onus is not on employees of color to make people feel comfortable or provide the context to have a conversation about race. Effective discussions require empathy, openness, and a safe psychological space for all. Despite best efforts and good intentions, this may lead to discomfort as many employees are afraid to say the wrong thing or are fearful of being misunderstood or triggering a heated debate. The message you send by having the conversation outweighs the consequence of ignoring the feelings of traumatized employees. This is uncharted territory for most organizations, leaving them ill-equipped and unprepared to facilitate such conversations. It’s important to know when to hire an expert.

Download the full PDF document to get additional tips from tech industry experts to pinpoint the deep-rooted barriers keeping your organization from achieving true equity. Preparing now will better position you for success, rather than waiting for the next traumatic event.

Workplace discrimination can exist with well-educated, well-intentioned, open-minded, and thoughtful people who are oblivious to cultural norms and who severely underestimate the pull of the prevailing current on their actions, positions, and outcomes. Anti-racism means going against that prevailing current. It requires much more effort, courage, and determination than simply going with the flow. Progress comes with consistent and sustained effort over time.

Download the full Diversity & Inclusion Plan for Technology SMBs for additional tips, Q&As with diversity and inclusion experts, resources and more.

Resources

The technology industry is continuously evolving, affecting virtually every aspect of our lives while the faces of the workforce remain unchanged. Forward thinking leaders are translating diversity into competitive advantage, reaping the benefits thus changing lives and improving business outcomes. We applaud the champions of diversity, equity and inclusion as they continue to raise awareness and drive subsequent change creating inclusive and culturally competent workplaces that drive innovation. Use these resources to further support your company's D&I efforts:

The State of Diversity in Tech

State of Diversity in the High-Tech Industry
There’s an Economic Case for Diversity in Tech. Do You Know What It Is?
McKinsey and Company – Delivering through Diversity
14 Reasons Why Diversity in Tech Still Matters in 2018
What Everyone Needs To Know About Diversity In Tech

Planning for Diversity

LinkedIn Talent Solutions: The Diversity Hiring Playbook
Guide to Hiring in Information Technology
5 Tips for Recruiting Tech Pros to Your Business—and Keeping Them
10 Eye-opening Best Practice Strategies to Diversity Recruiting
A 12-Step Program For Retaining Your Diverse Workforce
How to Retain Diverse Talent
Attracting Gen Z Employees: What Businesses Need to Know

The Importance of Inclusive Cultures

How Diversity and Inclusion Drive Business Value
Here are the Benefits of Inclusion and How to Create an Inclusive Culture
List of Supplier Diversity Programs
Hackett Research Proves Supplier Diversity is More Than Just About “Getting the Warm Fuzzies”
The Profit of Supplier Diversity
The Benefits of Supplier Diversity
Why Working with Minority Suppliers Still Matters

For additional tips, Q&As with experts, resources and more, download the full Diversity and Inclusion Plan for Technology SMBs now.

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