This was a tough decision because the position isn’t billable. Yet, after getting some great advice from colleagues and doing my research, we decided the only way we could grow, prevent turnover and recruit new employees was to bring in someone who not only knew employment law and best practices but could advise us in a number of other HR-related areas.

Is now the right time for you to hire an HR professional? The answer depends on a number of variables. Here are our reasons; see if any or all of these resonate for you.

1. It sets us up for growth. The biggest catalyst to hiring a full-time HR specialist was a recent team strategy meeting. With the help of an outside facilitator, our management team established some pretty big goals, with the stretch goal of growing our customer base by adding 150 employees by 2026. HR will help us grow the internal team who, in turn, can help us grow the number of customers we serve.
2. We can find excellent talent. With our growth goal, we have to hire the most qualified individuals available. Our past recruiting efforts took too much of our time, even using consultants, and had mixed results. Job boards, such as Monster, require labor intense resumé screening; frequently, more than half of the applicants are unqualified or overqualified. The recruiting firms we’ve worked with don’t know our company culture, so the applicants they put forth were hit or miss. We think our new HR specialist can help.
3. We can remove some burdens from our leadership team. Before bringing someone in-house, our HR responsibilities were split among a variety of people. Our management team divided tasks, including hiring, HR documentation, orientation, training, conflict resolution and termination, among themselves. The process was fractured and lacked consistency, often costing us in lost time or disorganization. If we needed to hire within different departments, we frequently waited too long because the process was painful.
4. We can stay legally compliant. When making a list of pros and cons of hiring an HR specialist, risk was not at the top of the list, but it was As a business approaches a critical number of employees, hiring an HR professional can increase compliance, reduce costs and defray risk. The 50-employee mark is especially important because FMLA, Affirmative Action, and other state and federal regulations apply. While not the final reason we chose to add HR skills to our team, it’s an added benefit as we grow.
5. We will develop better employees. An internal HR person will also improve internal processes and development, including tracking vacation time, improving our performance review process, helping employees set goals and managing benefits. After all, a business owner doesn’t have the time or talent to take these tasks on, let alone do a good job administering them.

For entrepreneurs deciding the right HR approach for their company, outsourcing remains a great option, especially if you are a smaller firm that just needs occasional guidance or help hiring. However, outsourcing the HR function wasn’t working for us, so we’re now fully invested not only in our new specialist, but also in growing our future.

However, what we see in many cases is “slacktivism.” Based on my observations, companies often want diversity that they can display, but they don’t make real changes to the culture or values of their company. Simply put, I believe many organizations are taking a cynical approach and using diversity to check off boxes rather than exploring the real value that it brings.

Running a translation company, I had no choice but to create an incredibly diverse staff from all over the world. It just comes with the territory. This means I have seen firsthand how these various viewpoints and styles can synergize and come together, under careful management, to create something truly greater than its individual parts.

In other terms, there are real tangible benefits to enhancing the diversity of your workforce, and I believe that if more business leaders understood this, we could all take a less cynical approach to the idea and truly make some change in our world.

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The Major Benefits Of Diversifying Your Workforce

A diverse workforce is one where a mixture of people are represented across genders, religions, ages, ethnicities, abilities and several other characteristics that might be central to someone’s daily experiences. Let’s explore some of the significant benefits you can gain by fostering a diverse workforce.

Diversity can enhance your overall revenue. Back in 2018, a Boston Consulting Group study found that diverse companies with “above-average diversity on their management teams” produce 19% more innovation revenue. The company surveyed employees at 1,700 organizations from eight different nations. These companies varied in size and the industry they operated in, but they all benefited from having diverse management teams running things. This means that companies looking for more innovation have even more incentive to diversify.

This wasn’t the only report on this matter, either. In 2019, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “The Business Case for More Diversity,” in which research analysts looked over the S&P 500 companies and found a link between diversity, inclusion and overall performance.

The “how” is a little less well-known, though. The way in which diversity accomplishes better financial reports is likely not due to a single reason. It is likely some combination of innovation, morale improvement, a greater range of skills and perhaps other hard-to-quantify perks.

You can attract and retain talent. Something I see a lot more of from running a translation company is intercompany communications among languages. This tells me that more and more businesses are seeing the value in finding the best global talent over the most easily accessible local talent. Today, it is easier than ever to communicate across language and cultural barriers, and a slight inconvenience is often worth it to work with the best in the world.

Diverse workplaces are also a good selling feature for many employees and can serve to keep them with your organization longer. According to a survey by Glassdoor, 76% of those looking for work see diversity as an essential factor. Right now, workplaces are dealing with something many are referring to as the “Great Resignation.” By enhancing your ability to attract and retain employees, you will be better positioned to handle the challenges of the year to come.

You’ll empower and motivate your employees. This ties a bit into the other points I made here, but I’ve found that a diverse workplace can help motivate your employees to work harder (increasing profits) and stay with your company longer (maintain experience levels and reduce hiring costs). On top of these benefits, a diverse workplace can often enhance the prospects and skills of your employees as well. You are giving your teams the chance to see things in a new way and find new approaches.

People take pride in and prefer to work with a company with a positive social impact. As the manager, you must ensure that a diverse workplace is also an inclusive one and that all members feel free to add their voices. By doing so, you increase the number of viewpoints contributing to and improving the day-to-day lives of your employees.

How To Create An Inclusive And Diverse Workplace

A diverse workplace is more than a collection of various people; it is the resulting culture and spirit that arises from this collection of people. However, this culture needs to be fostered and guided if it is to function correctly. Doing this is a complex task that will depend heavily on the people and industry you are involved in, but there are some steps all companies can take to make people feel more included in the work culture.

Here are examples of the actions some companies take.

• Encourage the creation of networking and support groups for employees.
•  Accommodate those with disabilities beyond what is legally required.
• Have programs that allow people time off for various cultural and religious holidays.
• Have flexible work options for new parents.
• Offer training and onboarding materials in multiple languages.
• Create partnerships with other organizations focused on supporting and empowering underrepresented groups.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to creating a culture in which everyone can thrive; it takes time and effort. However, if you succeed, you will have created a more valuable and moral business.

Employee engagement is a term that has a different meaning depending on who you ask. Some might say it means enthusiastic employees, whereas others are adamant that it means happy or satisfied employees.

In general, employee engagement describes people who are committed to their work and the goals and values of their company. To put it another way, engaged employees show up and are involved, not only because they’re paid to be, but because they’re invested, emotionally or otherwise.

An organization that supports and encourages employee engagement is going to do better overall. But that’s just one reason to nurture engaged employees. Here are five other, equally important, reasons why employee engagement is important.

5 reasons why employee engagement is important

1. Engaged employees boost productivity

Reports show that employees who are invested in their roles are more productive than those who aren’t. According to a Gallup poll, engaged employees are 21% more productive than their less engaged counterparts.

Writing in Forbes, Ann Latham explains:

“Engagement is, at best, a symptom of success. Employees who are succeeding and feeling good about their contributions to your company are naturally more likely to be proud to work for your company, be happy to come to work each day, and feel valued.”

Finding ways to engage your people, whether that means giving them a challenge or more responsibilities, means you’re also finding ways to boost your organization’s productivity. In short, it’s good for everyone involved.

2. Employee engagement increases customer satisfaction

People who are passionate about their work are often the best people to interact with your customers. Why? Because that passion is infectious and your customers will take notice.

The most engaged employees are, according to Quartz, “more inclined to put in the effort that translates into buzzing productivity levels, a happier sales force, and a more credible product pitch.” In other words, customers are treated to a better experience when dealing with engaged employees.

Those who believe in the value of helping customers, and also feel valued by their organization, are far more likely to deliver a better customer experience and increase satisfaction.

3. You’ll retain your best people

Engaged employees are involved and invested in their roles and are therefore less likely to leave their job. Sometimes your best people aren’t engaged—and you may risk losing them. Keeping them engaged is absolutely essential to keeping them at your organization doing their best work.

If your organization is dealing with low retention rates, it’s time to think about why they’re not engaged, fast. Because when the best people at your organization leave, the rest of your people will notice. And you don’t want a domino effect.

4. Employee engagement enhances company culture

People who are engaged in what they do are, in general, easier to work with. And not because they’re happier or more cheery, either. It’s because they exemplify a culture of employee engagement.

What is a culture of employee engagement? According to Forbes, it’s a workplace that’s “designed, first and foremost, around its company values.” Creating a culture of employee engagement requires “checking in with their employees to ensure that the company mission aligns with the ways that people currently work and the ways that they want to work.”

Ideally, engaged employees are living your company’s values every day at work, and being recognized across the organization for it. Celebrating your most engaged people is one step towards creating a culture of engagement.

5. Engagement is a symptom of success

As Ann Latham put it, engagement is a symptom of success. And this doesn’t necessarily mean a business success (or a successful business, for that matter). Rather, engagement is usually the result of a personal or team success.

In other words, engaged employees are engaged not because they’re productive or easy to work with, but because they feel their work matters. They feel valued. And when their successes are recognized, your people will feel like they’ve succeeded in making a meaningful impact at work.

Conclusion

As you know by now, employee engagement is essential for every workplace. So, what are your next steps to ensuring your people are feeling like their work matters?