Attracting and empaneling people of diverse experiences in positions of authority and proficiency galvanizes the workplace and promotes free exchange of ideas. Collaboration among teammates possessing complementary skillsets and distinct backgrounds expands companies’ ability to respond to and profit from supply, demand, marketing, partnership, and value chain opportunities when they arise. More importantly, a workforce that reflects the public’s varied viewpoints, historical foundations, values, and talents is prepared to answer any social or cultural challenge that may arise within the company or the community in general. As the University of Florida notes, inclusive workforces that feature people of many races, genders, ethnicities, and philosophies “adds cultural insight and intellectual richness to the institution, enhancing its vitality, effectiveness and reputation.”
Achieving an inclusive workforce and fostering a work environment that values diverse opinions and abilities requires procurement, engagement, and retention programs that bring onboard workers whose skills and values conform with the organization’s mission. This sense of corporate culture gives workers a sense of belonging that they are valued for the contributions they make to their project teams.
Many times, however, firms need assistance in ensuring their goals for diversity and inclusion are met. A diversity managed service provider (MSP) can provide guidance and execute an inclusive workforce management program that recruits and makes an organization attractive to all potential employees, regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or other demographic.
Increasing Diversity with MSPs
Diversity MSPs can increase your company’s candidate inclusivity footprint, helping you achieve deeper entrenchment within your community. MSPs bring expertise and impartiality your company may need to source, identify, select, and retain people of diverse backgrounds and abilities. They are on the leading edge of the employment profession and can ensure you comply with applicable laws and regulations while building the most dynamic, productive, and representative workforce possible. By taking advantage of an MSP’s network of labor suppliers and outreach to underserved worker populations, you can transform your workforce development into a strategic asset. Here’s how:
- Recruitment – To find and attract the best candidates, you have to cast a wide net. You must establish a presence in communities where the people you want to entice live, work, and socialize. You can only be sure you’re getting the best applicants by showing diverse audiences you value everyone’s contributions, expertise, insights, and viewpoints. MSPs can scour the candidate universe to determine what motivates diverse workers. They can advise you on your entire recruitment regimen to ensure no viable employment prospect slips through the cracks. The MSP also can help you build a brand image that truly displays your commitment to inclusion, making you an employer of choice among under recruited populations.
- Vetting – Once you have established your organization as an attractive place for variously skilled and positioned workers to apply, you will need a process for unbiasedly determining the best people for the jobs. MSPs can help formulate a system that includes a variety of assessment tools. Often, a single tool cannot accurately assess an applicant’s potential. Job interviews offer limited windows into prospects’ qualifications; references can be biased; aptitude tests can favor particular demographics. By developing and administering a variety of employment metrics, an MSP can impartially assess candidates to ensure diversity and fairness while alleviating you of recruitment headaches.
- Hiring, Training, and Retention – Much attention has been drawn to the costs associated with replacing employees who leave because they don’t fit the company culture or do not feel supported through the onboarding and career-advancement process. So it’s key to nurture employees, providing them the resources they need to succeed. An MSP will walk each employee through the difficult first months of work with a new organization, addressing concerns, and helping the company fix any perceived deficiencies in its training and onboarding process.
The Metasys Approach
Building an inclusive workforce requires a dedicated team and a comprehensive methodology. Metasys works with clients to develop a complete system of activities and policies governing diversity in the workforce. We work with an extensive number of minority-owned businesses (we are one ourselves) to identify and attract potential workers from a range of backgrounds, cultures, and philosophies. When you work with Metasys, you can expect access to the widest and deepest candidate pool in the market and the insights from our creative and experienced staff of human resources professionals.
Do you need an analysis of your workforce diversity spend for an improved return on investment? Metasys also can help you scale your company’s diversity program to accommodate growth, expansion, or the need to access specialized, skilled workers for one-time projects or long-term initiatives. Our diversity managed services form part of our full-engagement offerings that can help you optimize your spending and utilization of your entire workforce, develop roles and procedures for filling specific skills gaps, and a total range of other labor assistance.
We are convinced that diversity is the foundation for sustainability, not only within the company but within the community as a whole. By including people from different backgrounds and experiential histories, Metasys can help you build a workforce that is representative of the environment, locations, and customers you serve. Ready to get started? Contact our team of advisors and procurement experts today.
