Imagine you could create your World Cup Football Fantasy Team… Would you choose all the best strikers? Or defenders? Of course not. You’d look to balance the team.
Imagine you could create your World Cup Football Fantasy Team…
You have the pick of the world’s very best players, all there for you to choose from.
Would you choose all the best strikers? Or defenders?
Of course not.
You’d look to balance the team; goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and strikers. They would come from all sorts of backgrounds and all sorts of countries because you would want to give yourself, and your team the best chance of success.
So why don’t we always do that in our teams at work? Why do we so often fall into the trap of picking the people who “play” like us? Why don’t we challenge our clients who are doing the same?
A diversity of background, experience, thought, personality, and skill makes for better performance and this is not just intuition… it is backed up by research and shown in McKinsey’s latest report.
- Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians
- Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians
- Companies in the bottom quartile both for gender and for ethnicity and race are statistically less likely to achieve above-average financial returns than the average companies in the data set (that is, bottom-quartile companies are lagging rather than merely not leading)
A mix of skill, experience and approach leads to more creative thought, better decision making and bottom line performance…just what the 32 Team managers in Russia will be wanting next month!
So how do we measure up in our own businesses when it comes to hiring new team members and what steps are we taking to broaden the pipeline for our clients?
Some practical steps to consider are to:
- Be clear what we mean by “team fit” – it is a well-worn phrase and unless we are clear what we are looking for in terms of behaviours and approach, it can lead to simply recruiting in the same mould, time and again
- Help your team to understand more about unconscious bias and how it may be playing out in your hiring processes – awareness can help us to make changes that open up our candidate pool, rather than close it down – and ensure we tap into all the talent that is out there
- Equip your team to challenge clients when appropriate – these are not always easy conversations to have; it should be part of the “consultancy” role recruiters are offering
- Look at what you can do to support change at a grass roots level in the industry you recruit for and for the recruitment industry as a whole; how can we reach wider audiences at an earlier stage?
Each of these points is happening in sport; the managers will bring their players together so they can learn how to fit together, be “aware” of each other and use their scouts to spot the talent before other’s do.
Bobby Moore was a great role model for an inclusive approach with great results; his awareness of others, his openness to learn from others, his challenge to other players to be their best and his willingness to nurture others to succeed. Players today still aspire to that and his lessons apply to our teams today.
So, who did you pick in your Fantasy Team?
This article has been written for us by Stella Chandler, Director of Development at Focal Point Training and Consultancy Ltd.
For more information on how they can help you build a truly inclusive workplace for yourselves and your clients, give them a call on 01903 732 782, email on dstanfield@focalpointtraining.com or visit www.focalpointtraining.com.
We also have a webinar coming up on 20th June 2018 at 2pm with Stella Chandler from Focal Point Training on “The Cost of the “C” word – the role an inclusive culture plays”. Head over to our Recruitment Means Diversity page to sign up now.
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