The Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace

Much more than just a trend, diversity is a vital part of building a stronger, more inclusive organisation. Embracing diversity helps charities better serve their communities. In recent years, inclusive workplaces have been growing in recognition, but it’s important that aiming for a diverse workforce isn’t just a tick-box exercise – it’s a core part of how charities should operate to be successful. But what exactly are the benefits of diversity and why should you invest in EDI?

Best performance and productivity

Research has shown that a blend of individuals with different backgrounds and experiences can enhance employee engagement and improve performance. According to a 2023 McKinsey study, companies that are gender- or ethnically-diverse are 39% more likely to outperform homogenous organisations. Therefore, the benefits of diversity in the workplace can include better output, improved productivity and making employees feel valued.

Boosted brand reputation

A diverse workforce can also build greater trust among prospective employees, which can encourage them to apply to your organisation. Seeing that you’re dedicated to building and promoting diversity offers a compelling reason to work at your charity.

Work from the CIPD on the psychological contract highlights that good employment practices are attractive to potential employees. They want to feel valued at work and able to perform to their fullest potential. Inclusive workplace cultures matter, so the more welcoming an employer is perceived to be, the more likely potential employees are to apply to work there.

Improved employee retention

Another benefit of diversity is that it can improve retention, as employees who feel valued and included in your organisation and are more likely to stay for longer. They are also more likely to feel a sense of belonging and be committed to your organisation’s mission and culture.

Reduced unconscious bias

When you focus on hiring people based solely on their skills and talents, it not only makes it easier to find the right candidate for your charity, but it also helps reduce unconscious bias. By focusing on what’s truly required for the role, you can make fairer decisions that ultimately support your charity’s success. When you post a job using CharityJob Apply, you can use our free ATS, which includes an anonymous recruitment tool. This hides applicants’ names – a common source of bias in CVs and cover letters – helping you assess candidates more objectively and make fairer hiring decisions.

Culture matters

Just adding a small number of people who are ‘diverse’ or ‘different’ to your team is not enough. That is tokenism. A ‘token’ person is often seen as the representative for all people ‘like’ them, and then treated as nothing more than their demographic characteristics, rather than being valued for their knowledge or expertise.

For the benefits of diversity to be realised, it takes more than having a diverse team, the culture must be inclusive. This makes sense, as treating diversity as a tick-box exercise but not actually listening to all the different people involved, is very limiting.

How to make your recruitment more inclusive

There are lots of ways to make your recruitment process more inclusive and open your roles to a broader, more diverse pool of candidates. These steps are a good place to start and can have a real impact on how candidates experience your hiring process:

• Write inclusive job ads and descriptions that use neutral, accessible language and focus on skills, not background.
• Choose application methods that reduce barriers and assess candidates fairly.
• Make your recruitment process more accessible, with clear information and reasonable adjustments for disabled or neurodivergent candidates.
• Shortlist and interview more fairly, e.g. by using structured marking criteria and diverse panels.
• Monitor your pipeline to understand who’s applying, who’s being shortlisted, and where you can improve.
• Set diversity and inclusion goals in line with the values and mission of your organisation.
• Provide bias awareness training for hiring managers.
• Above all, foster an inclusive workplace culture .

Building a truly diverse and inclusive workforce takes more than good intentions, it requires action and willingness within your charity to build a successful diverse workplace. Implementing inclusive recruitment practises, so that everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute, means that your employees and your charity can both reap the benefits.

A toolkit for change

If you’re looking for practical ways to put this into action, our new guide, Inclusive Recruitment: a guide to diversity hiring for the charity sector, takes you through each key stage of the process – from writing inclusive job ads and descriptions and choosing fairer application methods, to making your recruitment processes more accessible, shortlisting and interviewing more objectively, and monitoring diversity data to track progress.

Designed as a practical toolkit, the step-by-step advice, real examples and easy-to-use checklists will help you embed inclusion in every decision you make. Whether you’re already focused on EDI or just beginning to review your approach, this guide will help you take meaningful, achievable steps towards fairer and more inclusive hiring.

Download Inclusive Recruitment: a guide to diversity hiring now.