You're a new manager and you need to create a diverse team. What's the first step?

1 Assess your current situation

The first step to creating a diverse team is to understand your current situation. How diverse is your existing staff, customer base, and market? What are the gaps and opportunities for improvement? You can use various tools and methods to conduct a diversity audit, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or data analysis. The goal is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your current diversity practices, as well as the needs and expectations of your stakeholders.

2 Define your diversity goals

Based on your assessment, you can define your diversity goals and objectives. What kind of diversity do you want to achieve in your team? How will it benefit your business and customers? How will you measure and monitor your progress? You can use the SMART framework to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. For example, you might want to increase the representation of women, people of color, or LGBTQ individuals in your team by a certain percentage or number within a year.

3 Revise your hiring process

To achieve your diversity goals, you need to revise your hiring process to attract and select diverse candidates. This means reviewing your job descriptions, recruitment channels, screening methods, and interview questions to ensure they are inclusive, fair, and unbiased. You can also use tools and techniques such as blind resumes, structured interviews, or diversity panels to reduce the impact of stereotypes and prejudices. Additionally, you can showcase your commitment to diversity by highlighting your policies, benefits, and culture on your website, social media, or job ads.

4 Develop your team members

Creating a diverse team is not enough. You also need to develop your team members and help them grow their skills, knowledge, and potential. You can do this by providing them with regular feedback, coaching, mentoring, training, or career development opportunities. You can also encourage them to learn from each other and share their diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas. By doing so, you can foster a culture of learning, collaboration, and innovation in your team.

5 Retain your diverse talent

Finally, you need to retain your diverse talent and prevent them from leaving your organization. You can do this by creating a supportive, respectful, and inclusive work environment where everyone feels valued, engaged, and empowered. You can also recognize and reward your team members for their contributions, achievements, and performance. Moreover, you can solicit and act on their feedback, suggestions, and concerns to improve your diversity practices and address any issues or challenges they might face.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?