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Why Diversity & Inclusion are Key for NZ Businesses in 2024

June 17, 2024

New Zealand’s workforce is made up of various cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. From Māori and Pasifika communities to recent immigrants and a growing Asian population (almost 38% according to Stats NZ), our diversity is a national strength. Despite this, many workplaces haven’t fully embraced it. This can lead to a number of challenges for cultures, businesses, and the nation as a whole:

Missed Talent Pool: Having a lack of diversity results in less access to a wide range of skilled individuals. From a business point of view, this hinders a company's ability to find the best talent for a role as they are essentially cutting off a large portion of available talent.

Unconscious Biases: Whilst some talent acquisition managers aren’t aware of it, they may have unconscious biases regarding recruiting and promotional processes, which also excludes a large number of candidates.

Hindered Innovation: Having diverse teams with people of many viewpoints and insights can be great for creativity and problem-solving. It allows for thoughts and innovation made up from the combination of ideas from many backgrounds. By not having a diverse team, a company is missing these benefits.

Employee Disengagement: Disengaged employees are often an unforeseen risk to a company. They’re one of the largest reasons for a lack of productivity in existing employees, and one of the biggest reasons for staff turnover. If an employee feels undervalued or excluded it will impact their morale, and influence their decisions in searching for other opportunities.

The Business Case for D&I

Investing in D&I is not only a great way to incorporate people from all backgrounds into the world of work and culture of New Zealand, but it is also great for driving business growth. Here some of the reasons we recommend prioritising D&I in your workplace: 

Enhanced Innovation: A diverse team brings a huge range of perspectives to the table, this leads to a greater number of insights and problem-solving abilities. A study by McKinsey found that companies with the most diverse leadership teams had 19% higher revenues.

Stronger Employer Brand: By demonstrating a commitment to D&I, you will attract top talent who value companies that operate in a fair and inclusive environment. This not only gives a competitive edge in the recruitment market, but also a peace of mind that all candidates are receiving an equal opportunity to work at your organisation.

Broader Decision-Making: By having a team that have diverse viewpoints, companies can avoid blind spots and make more informed decisions that resonate with a wider customer base.

Increased Customer Satisfaction: A diverse workforce allows you to better understand and cater to the needs of a wide range of customers. This leads to a greater customer satisfaction as they feel more understood, and have their needs catered to.

Boosted Employee Morale: Employees that feel valued and respected for their unique contributions are more engaged and productive. Research by Deloitte suggests that companies with inclusive cultures see 28% higher team commitment.

The New Zealand Context

D&I initiatives don’t just refer to cultural and ethnic differences. New Zealand has a gender pay gap that persists, and whilst it has decreased from 16.3% in 1998 to 8.62% currently, it is still an issue facing the country. D&I initiatives are crucial to closing this gap and ensuring everyone has equal opportunities by making sure that opportunities and salaries are equal for men and women.

There are also underrepresented groups in New Zealand that D&I initiatives seek to balance. For example, according to recent government findings, Māori workers account for less than 4% of workers in STEM careers, whereas they represent around 17.4% of the population. 

Building a Culture of Inclusion

Creating a workplace that is culturally inclusive is more than just hiring a diverse workforce. Whilst HR managers can’t change everyone and everything, there are things we can do to help make the workplace more inclusive:

Leadership Commitment: By having senior leadership lead by example and champion D&I initiatives and set the tone for an organisation, it can result in a change of attitude in a workplace.

Unconscious Bias Training: Educate staff on unconscious biases they may have, and how it can impact decision-making. A lot of people are unaware of their biases until consciously brought to their attention.

Employee Resource Group (ERGs): You can support the creation of ERGs for underrepresented groups, providing a space for connection and professional development.

Celebrate Diversity: By celebrating cultural events in the workplace it can help teach employees of other cultures, and is a great way for your team to bond!

How ParadigmHR Can Help

We understand the challenges and opportunities D&I presents for New Zealand businesses. This can be a complex and sensitive area for managers to navigate. Through our external HR partnership we offer training in diversity and inclusion practices, as well as strategies for managing biases. We design bespoke training programmes to enable you to grow and develop a positive culture within your business.

Why Diversity & Inclusion are Key for NZ Businesses in 2024

June 17, 2024

New Zealand’s workforce is made up of various cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. From Māori and Pasifika communities to recent immigrants and a growing Asian population (almost 38% according to Stats NZ), our diversity is a national strength. Despite this, many workplaces haven’t fully embraced it. This can lead to a number of challenges for cultures, businesses, and the nation as a whole:

Missed Talent Pool: Having a lack of diversity results in less access to a wide range of skilled individuals. From a business point of view, this hinders a company's ability to find the best talent for a role as they are essentially cutting off a large portion of available talent.

Unconscious Biases: Whilst some talent acquisition managers aren’t aware of it, they may have unconscious biases regarding recruiting and promotional processes, which also excludes a large number of candidates.

Hindered Innovation: Having diverse teams with people of many viewpoints and insights can be great for creativity and problem-solving. It allows for thoughts and innovation made up from the combination of ideas from many backgrounds. By not having a diverse team, a company is missing these benefits.

Employee Disengagement: Disengaged employees are often an unforeseen risk to a company. They’re one of the largest reasons for a lack of productivity in existing employees, and one of the biggest reasons for staff turnover. If an employee feels undervalued or excluded it will impact their morale, and influence their decisions in searching for other opportunities.

The Business Case for D&I

Investing in D&I is not only a great way to incorporate people from all backgrounds into the world of work and culture of New Zealand, but it is also great for driving business growth. Here some of the reasons we recommend prioritising D&I in your workplace: 

Enhanced Innovation: A diverse team brings a huge range of perspectives to the table, this leads to a greater number of insights and problem-solving abilities. A study by McKinsey found that companies with the most diverse leadership teams had 19% higher revenues.

Stronger Employer Brand: By demonstrating a commitment to D&I, you will attract top talent who value companies that operate in a fair and inclusive environment. This not only gives a competitive edge in the recruitment market, but also a peace of mind that all candidates are receiving an equal opportunity to work at your organisation.

Broader Decision-Making: By having a team that have diverse viewpoints, companies can avoid blind spots and make more informed decisions that resonate with a wider customer base.

Increased Customer Satisfaction: A diverse workforce allows you to better understand and cater to the needs of a wide range of customers. This leads to a greater customer satisfaction as they feel more understood, and have their needs catered to.

Boosted Employee Morale: Employees that feel valued and respected for their unique contributions are more engaged and productive. Research by Deloitte suggests that companies with inclusive cultures see 28% higher team commitment.

The New Zealand Context

D&I initiatives don’t just refer to cultural and ethnic differences. New Zealand has a gender pay gap that persists, and whilst it has decreased from 16.3% in 1998 to 8.62% currently, it is still an issue facing the country. D&I initiatives are crucial to closing this gap and ensuring everyone has equal opportunities by making sure that opportunities and salaries are equal for men and women.

There are also underrepresented groups in New Zealand that D&I initiatives seek to balance. For example, according to recent government findings, Māori workers account for less than 4% of workers in STEM careers, whereas they represent around 17.4% of the population. 

Building a Culture of Inclusion

Creating a workplace that is culturally inclusive is more than just hiring a diverse workforce. Whilst HR managers can’t change everyone and everything, there are things we can do to help make the workplace more inclusive:

Leadership Commitment: By having senior leadership lead by example and champion D&I initiatives and set the tone for an organisation, it can result in a change of attitude in a workplace.

Unconscious Bias Training: Educate staff on unconscious biases they may have, and how it can impact decision-making. A lot of people are unaware of their biases until consciously brought to their attention.

Employee Resource Group (ERGs): You can support the creation of ERGs for underrepresented groups, providing a space for connection and professional development.

Celebrate Diversity: By celebrating cultural events in the workplace it can help teach employees of other cultures, and is a great way for your team to bond!

How ParadigmHR Can Help

We understand the challenges and opportunities D&I presents for New Zealand businesses. This can be a complex and sensitive area for managers to navigate. Through our external HR partnership we offer training in diversity and inclusion practices, as well as strategies for managing biases. We design bespoke training programmes to enable you to grow and develop a positive culture within your business.

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