The National Leadership Summit was offered to Cape and Islands businesses in Hyannis on Oct. 6. One of the highlights was a panel that focused on small businesses. Tara Vargas Wallace, founder and CEO of Amplify POC Cape Cod, offered insights into how workplace DEI&B —  diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging — has become one of the main challenges for the recruitment of talent in businesses of all sizes.

Just like all other elements of leading businesses, owners and managers need to look “outside the traditional box” for recruiting, acquiring, onboarding and retaining talent practices.

So what are we really talking about?

Diversity in the workplace means having a mixture of human beings working together, co-existing in a space to accomplish an objective, goal or mission.

We are seeking equity, which means fairness regardless of visible or invisible identities — fairness in practices, access, and opportunity. It means every employee will have an equal chance to succeed.

Inclusion is the driver to having a positive organizational culture. And, it is the role of leadership to create that culture. It means that the employees feel valued, welcomed, respected and heard. When there is a culture of inclusion, employees are encouraged to share their voices in a participative environment.

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Belonging is centered on gaining acceptance, attention and support from other members of a work team. It is fitting in.

Why should leaders of small businesses that are struggling to reach their economic goals and objectives care about DEI&B as part of their organizational culture? It’s simple because it makes sense.

It accelerates business growth. McKinsey’s research shows that organizations that have more diverse gender, cultures and ethnicity outperform those that are not. Organizations in the top quartile of gender diversity outperform those that are not by 21%. And those with ethnic and cultural diversity are 33% more likely to outperform those without.

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Boosts innovation and creativity. Having employees with various backgrounds and perspectives are more innovative and creative because they bring different points of view and experience to the table.

Improves brand reputation. Organizations that promote diversity are viewed as more humane and socially responsible. This value of the brand becomes a shared value enhancing the positive impact of the business as a whole. It also enhances employee morale since it supports fairness and empathy.

Organizations that are inclusive and practice DEI&B principles also find their organizations making better decisions because employees helping to make those decisions have different experiences and knowledge that they bring to the process. These companies attract high-quality candidates since job seekers today look for organizations that have adopted DEI&B principles, have improved employee engagement because they feel empowered, and have decreased turnover reducing the cycle of recruiting, hiring and training.

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DEI&B is about creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued. It's about creating an environment where everyone can succeed, regardless of background or identity. And, it all begins with the leadership of an organization creating a culture of inclusion by committing to treat everyone with fairness and respect, having the courage to make change, being aware of their own biases and learning to make fair and merit-based decisions, being a lifelong learner by seeking perspectives from others to gain diverse options, becoming interested in other cultures other than your own, and becoming more collaborative by assembling teams of varying backgrounds and making it safe to engage in discussions.

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Leaders make a difference by promoting diversity and sharing ideas by managing teams to encourage member participation, risk-taking and open debate. When the “talk is walked” by organizational leadership no matter how small the enterprise, members will follow and change will take place.

Contributed by Marc L. Goldberg, Source: “Winning the War on Talent with DEI&B", Tara Vargas Wallace, Founder & CEO, Amplify POC. info@amplifypoccapecod.com, Creating a Culture of Inclusion, SCORE, March 11, 2022.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging in are key to healthy business