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How to Attract and Hire Diverse Employees (And Why You Should)

Posted: 27 Sep 2019 12:00 PM PDT

When you imagine your ideal workforce, what does it look like? More companies are prioritizing hiring a diverse team and building the same kind of diverse company culture so they can reach their goals through new perspectives.

LinkedIn found that 78% of companies prioritize diversity to improve culture while 62% do so to boost financial performance. The culture you form for your company determines the type of people who work there, what day-to-day office life is like, and the business's overall performance. 

Glassdoor found that 67% of job seekers consider diversity an important factor when considering companies and job offers. Candidates are no longer seeking the highest salary or the most convenient job opportunity; instead, they're looking to work for companies that embrace cultural diversity.

In this article, I'll explore the following to help your company attract and hire a diverse team:

  • How to create a diverse company culture
  • How to craft a job posting that seeks diverse candidates
  • How to showcase existing talent within your team

Let's get started.

The benefits of diversity for your company

Imagine if everyone in your company looked, thought and spoke the same, and viewed things the same way. It would get boring pretty quickly. What makes life interesting is learning new things and meeting new people.

If you fail to have a diverse group, it will be reflected in every aspect of your business. Nearly 80% of consumers say customer experience is just as important as the products and services a company provides; therefore, it's essential to have an exceptional team who can offer that to your customers.

Encouraging diversity makes room for different points of view, and it can lead to breakthroughs for your company. Harvard Business Review reports that diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture a new market.

Recent studies show that diversity boosts creativity and innovation. A team comprising members with diverse individual expertise will outperform a homogenous group at solving complex problems. This is because interacting with different individuals sparks new ways of approaching issues and problem-solving the best solutions for those challenges. Companies that prioritize diversity bring in 19% more revenue and report improved financial performance, according to the Boston Consulting Group. 

Hiring a diverse team also fosters a welcoming community of people who share the same workspace. It's one thing to hire different employees, it's another to practice inclusivity and encourage diversity. When everyone on the team feels validated and included in the conversation, it creates a positive environment for everyone. It reduces employee turnover and gives your company a wider pool of qualified candidates to choose from.

If you want to hire diverse employees to your team, here are a few ways to get started.

Create a diverse company culture

You may want to hire a diverse team, but if your company culture doesn't accommodate it, you won't retain those employees. Diversity and inclusion should be infused into every part of your business model, and it starts with where you are at this moment.

Take a hard look at your existing team. Do you encourage them to be who they are without judgment? Do their co-workers respect their opinions and thoughts? Does the company's mission statement highlight that it embraces diversity?

If you answered no to any of those questions, it's time to take a step back and analyze the cracks. You can't hire diverse candidates only to bring them into an environment where they don't feel like they belong. That's the fastest way to increase turnover among your employees.

It's essential to welcome differing schools of thoughts in the workplace. According to research by LinkedIn, 67% of employees say that companies can support inclusion by fostering an environment that respects different opinions. It makes all the difference for your employees to know they can share their thoughts without being criticized. It's also crucial to encourage your team to be themselves instead of pretending to be people they're not.

Highlight diversity in your job postings

Your job posting is the first thing potential candidates see when considering if they want to become part of your team. If it's written in a way that's noninclusive, and doesn't highlight that you prioritize a diverse and accepting work culture, you won't attract the right candidates.

The language used in your job posting has a significant impact on who applies for the position. Words like "fast-paced" and "competitive" typically speak well to men but discourage women from applying. Likewise, words like "passionate" and "loyal" speak more to women rather than men. 

These are known as gender-coded words, and using them in your job posting can be enough to turn candidates away. Avoid using this language in your job postings and during the hiring process for the highest chances of attracting diverse applicants. Use straightforward language that doesn't paint a picture of what the applicant should look like or how they should be. Take advantage of a Gender Decoder tool if you need help choosing adjectives.

It's crucial to make the application process easy for candidates, especially your application form. Nearly 60% of job seekers will abandon an application form if it's too long or too complex. Many companies add a survey to the application to get a better idea of who's applying and whether it's worth the time to schedule an interview. Use a conversational tone in your survey so it feels more like a face-to-face discussion rather than an assessment.

Be mindful of how you write your job listing so that it attracts diverse candidates and encourages them to apply. Don't make people guess if your company prioritizes diversity or not; say it from the beginning. Most companies say they're an "equal opportunity employer," but you can take it a step further by emphasizing why this is important to you.

Showcase existing diversity in your team

People will inevitably do their research before applying for a position at your company. If so, what will they see? Are there photos of your diverse team on your social media accounts? Does your website showcase your employees and include a section about why inclusion is vital to your company's mission?

If it doesn't outright say that you're a business welcoming and celebrating cultural diversity, people will assume it's the opposite. Don't make your visitors and potential applicants guess whether your company would accommodate them or not. Create a company website and social media accounts that highlight how your company embraces diversity and people from different walks of life.

Photos are a great way to show those researching your business what day-to-day work life is like. It allows your company to express its authentic search for diverse employees and a company culture to match. You can hire a photographer to come in for a day to capture work life. If you're on a budget, snap photos from your smartphone that will look just as professional.

Your company must promote diversity from the ground up and practice what it preaches. It's not enough to hire diverse employees. You should already have these practices and mindsets adopted yourself and throughout your existing team if you want to see tangible, positive change. As a leader, it starts with you.

How will you attract diverse employees to your workforce?

5 Feminine Traits That Make Leaders Great

Posted: 27 Sep 2019 08:00 AM PDT

It's a relatively common perception that leadership traits fall in line with gender differences. A  large body of research demonstrates this to be mostly true. Men tend to be thought of as decisive, direct, strong and logical leaders. Women, on the other hand, tend to be seen as community-driven, compassionate, patient and trustworthy leaders.

While more women are slowly rising up the ranks in corporate America, there are still massive gaps in the number of women who hold top-level positions. In fact, this Pew Study showed that just 4.8% of women hold corner-office jobs at Fortune 500 companies. When it comes to politics, the numbers are slightly better but still skewed toward men. The U.S. Senate has just 25 female senators (25% of the Senate is female), while the House of Representatives has 102 women serving their states (23.4% of the House is female). While this still seems very low (since women make up more than 49% of the world's population, according to World Bank estimates), the good news is that the balance is shifting, and more women are taking positions of power and leadership on both the world and corporate stages. 

Despite these still rather abysmal numbers, there are, however, a handful of traditionally female traits that both men and women can leverage and use to become great leaders. 

1. Empathy

Empathy is traditionally seen as a feminine characteristic, yet according to a study by Development Dimensions International, a global leadership consulting firm, it is the single most important leadership trait that helps guarantee overall success.

While it's considered a "soft" skill, or an interpersonal/people skill, empathy in a leader promotes both cooperation and commitment in the workplace. In fact, empathy has become such a crucial trait for leaders and companies alike that many corporations offer empathy training, according to a 2016 story in The Wall Street Journal.

You've probably heard the adage that a rising tide lifts all boats, right? Empathy makes a great leadership quality because it offers employees and customers alike the opportunity to feel heard. When being heard by a leader, people are more open to options and more willing to meet others halfway. That creates a collaborative and open environment where even better work can be done.  

In fact, empathy can be so compelling that it improves overall job performance. A white paper by the Center for Creative Leadership, published in 2015, shows a direct correlation between empathy and improved job performance. Leaders who show empathy for their direct reports are perceived by their bosses as better performers.

And, empathy isn't only good for the happiness of your employees. It's also good for your bottom line. Leaders with empathy can accelerate company growth and innovation. In fact, a 2017 study by Google, called Project Aristotle, discovered that great ideas came from teams that exhibited characteristics generally considered to be feminine, including generosity, curiosity, empathy and emotional intelligence.

2. Humility

Women generally don't like to toot their own horns, and thus humility is often considered to be a characteristically female leadership trait. Unfortunately, corporate America often conflates confidence with competence because, as the Harvard Business Review notes, people generally confuse displays of confidence as shows of competence. Humility, on the other hand, allows a leader's humanity to peek through, and that inspires people to follow.

Not only does humility inspire "followship," but it also tends to help organizations focus more pointedly on their overarching goals. Take this 2015 study of 105 computer hardware and software firms published in the Journal of Management. It shows that humility in CEOs leads to better performance and increased flexibility, cooperation and collaboration in developing strategies.

Even Jim Collins, the well-known author of the famed business book "Good to Great" notes two common traits among successful CEOs: humility and sheer determination. When things go off the rails, humble leaders can openly admit their mistakes and take responsibility, which shows others that being human and imperfect is acceptable. 

While humility is a great leadership trait, it can also go too far. Sliding into subservience, introversion or weakness is never a good way to lead an organization. Not speaking up when you have something to be proud of or not speaking up when you have a great idea does not help anyone progress. A recent study by the Harvard Business Review shows that women tend to be harder on themselves than men, and that's something that can be detrimental in leadership. Humility is all about balance.

3. Persuasiveness

Another female leadership trait is persuasiveness. A 2005 year-long study from Caliper of more than 300 women leaders at major firms around the world showed that women tend to be more persuasive than men – thanks, in large part, to their humility and empathy.

According to the study, women tend to be more attuned to situations, which means they are able to accurately take in information on all sides, synthesize it and incorporate the information into a larger solution. This skill makes them measurably more persuasive than their male counterparts. 

Part of the skill of persuasion means genuinely believing in the idea you are presenting. As Charlotte Beers, the former CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, points out in her 2012 story for Fast Company, pathos and passion are incredibly compelling – and they can help move the needle when working toward success, both personally and professionally. 

4. Entrepreneurial spirit

According to that same Caliper study, females tend to be more willing to take small risks than male leaders. This is largely a result of women's willingness to reinvent the rules and turn challenges into opportunities.

Women are often willing to flex the rules to get things done. Part of this impetus is a result of the willingness to pursue a more fulfilling workplace and life. In fact, the Harvard Business Review study we cited earlier shows that women excel in taking initiative and driving for results.  

That could be because women tend to push creative limits and innovate to get better both personally and professionally. A 2006 study cited by the American Psychological Association shows that women are more likely to be "transformational leaders" and tend to motivate employees to be more dedicated and creative. 

Female leaders also tend to be rated better than men at taking the initiative. Again, the Harvard Business Review study shows that women outscore men on the skill of initiative-taking. 

5. Resilience

Women, in general, tend to bounce back slightly quicker than men in the face of adversity. A study from the payment management company Paymentsense shows that women, in general, handle (and bounce back) from stress more effectively than men. That means when the chips are down, women tend to move past the initial stress more quickly and effectively than men.

The study also shows that 64% of female leaders surveyed said they encounter a stressful event that stops them from thinking clearly at least one time per day. More than 70% of men reported that they experience stressful events that prevent them from thinking clearly in the same period. 

Because women tend to be the family caretakers, in general, they tend to be able to juggle stresses a bit better – because they're constantly negotiating the home-work balance. 

Leveraging female leadership traits for success

Just because these leadership traits tend to be more prevalent in female leaders doesn't mean that they can't be cultivated by leaders of any gender. By honing your skills as a leader and generally good human, you can easily attain leadership success. Focusing on soft skills like humility, empathy, resilience, entrepreneurial spirit and persuasiveness can help increase both the financial success of a company and the happiness quotient of employees and their family members.

7 Ways to Retain Your Star Employees

Posted: 27 Sep 2019 07:00 AM PDT

If you're like many business owners, you have spent years or even decades assembling an all-star staff. Speaking from experience, it takes a lot of time and patience to search for the cream of the crop.

But now that you've got your dream employees and team, how can you prevent them from jumping ship? As an employer, one of your worst nightmares is probably losing your star employees. 

If you want to prevent your star team from dwindling, you need to know how to retain your employees and keep them shining in your business. You're probably wondering, "How the heck do I do that?" Follow the six strategies below to get started.

1. Be open, honest and transparent.

Are you a fan of liars? Nope. What about people who act fake? Absolutely not. If you want to keep your star employees, you need to be open, honest and transparent. And, you most definitely need to be yourself. 

If you want your employees to stick around, be real with them. Employees want to work for an employer they trust. They won't want to work for someone who isn't transparent with them. 

So, how do you keep it real in your business without coming off like a kook? Baby steps, my friends. 

Start by being candid with your employees. If there are any changes occurring within your company, tell them first. Share the good, the bad and the ugly with your employees. Chances are good that they will appreciate your honesty. 

You can also be open with employees about your past experiences. Tell them about the lessons you've learned over the years. Discussing your setbacks shows your employees you can overcome any challenge you set your mind to. Not to mention, storytelling can be fun. 

As your business grows, you can also do other things to remain transparent in the workplace, such as creating core values. It took me 25 years before I solidified the core values for my business and employees to follow. But, better late than never, right?

Take transparency day by day. The more open you are with your employees, the more likely it is that your star employees will be in it for the long haul.

2. Create a welcoming workplace.

If you want your star employees to thrive at your business, you need to welcome them with open arms. Who wants to work in an uninviting work culture? I know I wouldn't.

From day one, your employees should feel welcomed and accepted at your business. Whether it's a full-blown welcoming committee or a few friendly smiles, trust me when I say that your employees will appreciate it. 

Come up with strategies to keep employees feeling continually welcomed. That way, they're excited to come to work every day.

You can divide your employees into teams so that they see familiar faces and work with the same group each day. Teams also give employees an opportunity to improve their teamwork and communication skills. Not to mention, great teamwork can boost productivity. 

Also, consider promoting team bonding exercises and activities. This could be anything from educational workshops to team lunches. Don't be afraid to suggest some out-of-the-box bonding strategies. The opportunities are endless when it comes to team activities.

3. Take employees' feedback seriously.

Some employers can get robotic when it comes to feedback. They're programmed to smile, nod and say "thank you" when given suggestions. Instead of brushing off employees' feedback, take it seriously.

If employees feel like they aren't being heard, they may be prone to leave your business for a company that listens. And who wants to lose their star employees to another business? Hopefully, you don't.

When employees come to you with feedback (both good and bad), make sure your ears are open. Listen to what your employees have to say about your business. 

You might receive feedback from employees on a day-to-day basis or in a more formal setting, like during performance reviews. Either way, make sure you're prepared to hear employees out.

If you truly want to take feedback seriously, you need to make some changes in the workplace based on the feedback you hear. If multiple employees are giving you the same constructive criticism, it's time to make a change. Plus, implementing changes shows employees you care about their ideas and opinions. 

4. Expose them to new roles and responsibilities.

The future of your company is in your employees' hands. If you want to continue to see your business succeed, you have to give employees a voice and expand their responsibilities. 

Giving employees new roles and additional tasks builds character. It can expand their knowledge in different areas and departments. Not to mention, adding responsibilities can evolve employees' strengths and improve their weaknesses. 

A good way to give employees more of a voice in your company and to enhance their leadership skills is by creating committees. At Patriot Software, we have various committees to discuss ideas and improvements. The committees give our employees a chance to be innovative as well as lead others. 

If you're not quite ready to dive into committees just yet, I get it. Instead, try doling out different projects or tasks to employees to see how they handle it. 

5. Treat employees the way you want to be treated.

You likely know the Golden Rule, "Treat others how you want to be treated." What you might forget to do is apply this rule to the way you treat your employees. If you want to keep stellar employees around, you need to be respectful.

Put yourself in your employees' shoes for a second. Was that comment you made during the meeting rude? Do you make others scared to speak with you? If you answered "yes" to both of these questions, you need to take a step back and rethink the way you treat employees.

Mistreating employees is a surefire way to scare away your top talent. Instead of scaring off employees, get to know them on a personal level and talk to them like they're human beings. 

Take a few minutes out of your day or week to chat with your workers. A quick "How are you doing?" at the water cooler can make a world of difference. Plus, it shows your workers that you don't just view them as your worker bees. 

6. Show your staff your appreciation and praise.

According to one Gallup study, half of employees say they would switch jobs for more recognition. Yes, you read that right ... half!

No one likes feeling underappreciated, including your employees. And if you want to retain your star employees, you need to show them you appreciate what they do for your business. 

So, how can you express your appreciation? Don't worry, I'm full of ideas. Employee work anniversary? Grab a card and some balloons. Did your employee go above and beyond their sales goal? Take them out to a nice lunch. Showing appreciation doesn't have to break your bank.  

Don't wait to show your appreciation for when your employees accomplish something. Be sure you're showing it all year round. You can throw work events, like a company picnic, to give your employees a bit of a break and encourage camaraderie. 

At my company, we love to spoil our employees regularly. In the past, we've brought in smoothies, rented an ice cream truck and had a roller rink party to celebrate our employees. 

7. Offer clear communication.

You've heard it before, communication is key. And boy, I know this all too well. If you want to steer your top-notch employees clear of leaving, you need to communicate with them.

Fostering a positive workplace with open communication goes a long way to help keep employees satisfied. If your employees are happy, they are less likely to look elsewhere. 

Strive to always communicate with your workers in every aspect of your business. Let employees know what's expected of them. 

Be open to answering employees' questions and provide guidance when needed.

When employees come to you with things, be careful not to hover. Nobody likes a dreaded micromanager. If you want to avoid losing star employees, micromanaging is not the way to go. Let employees work independently as much as possible. But, communicate with them that you're always there if they need you.

Top 6 Customer Support Tips For Making Your Startup Prosper

Posted: 27 Sep 2019 07:00 AM PDT

As a startup, during your initial days, you may not focus on customer support. At this stage, it is important to concentrate on the quality of your service or product. However, once you have onboarded a few customers, you need to have dedicated personnel who can respond to their support queries and collect feedbacks. These feedbacks would help you in refining the product/service on offer for aligning it with the market's needs.

Proven customer service tips for any startup

The customer service tips for startups discussed below would offer you actionable insights on how to make the most of your customers' reviews and feedbacks.

1. Have a streamlined system in place for managing customer queries

You need to have a dedicated email to which customers can forward their queries. Also, each customer should be given qualitative time for resolving their specific issues. For this, adopt a smart yet simple process through which your team can cater to customers' needs and also learn from their feedbacks.

2. Conduct regular meetings for resolving common customer problems

Customer feedback, if analyzed properly, would offer accurate insights into the needs of customers from your product. The product development will not have to rely on vague assumptions drawn from studying market trends. Have regular meetings for resolving common issues faced by customers and integrate the fixes in the next product release.  

3. Keep your complete team involved

One of the important customer support tips is to involve everyone in your startup in customer care. As your business and data silos would scale, your team need to constantly monitor the pulse of customers. When customer support would be an inclusive process, everyone would be aware of company metrics and can contribute accordingly.

4. Learn from customers' demands

Listen to customers' demands carefully and try to incorporate the same in your product development process. Devise customer feedback tools to learn about customer satisfaction index. Once your team closes a support case, learn if the customer was satisfied with your help. The immediate feedback can bring about significant improvements in the support process.  

5. Focus on success parameters first

As a start-up, you need to achieve success and gain a foothold in a competitive market. Focus on that first. You need not spend time on smoothing out the support process with ticket SLAs and other systemic integrations. Instead of focusing on how to close tickets faster, concentrate on how you can improve service and customer experience.

6. Focus on tangible solutions

If your startup is delivering software, ask your engineering team to steer clear of quick fixes. Instead of hacking existing workarounds, it will be good if an innovative solution is worked out. Sustaining the software, in the long run, should be the motto. Quick bug fixes that offer temporary respite but create a major problem down the line should be avoided. Often, quick fixes prove expensive in the long run. Set aside an executive who can be in constant touch with the customer support team. You can also consider customer support outsourcing to survive in stiff competition.

Customer support outsourcing for startups

If your startup outsources customer support to an efficient agency, you can focus more on creating value with disruptive technological tools. Quality of customer service would also improve. Only if customers are satisfied, your start-up can hope to sustain in a competitive niche.

Even if a single customer leaves, your start-up's bottom line would be adversely impacted. Roping in a new customer is not easy for a startup. Hence, you need to invest in customer care and must have a reliable call center.

Advantages of a contact center solution

Your startup will reap many benefits from a dedicated contact center. These include

  • A focus on developing cutting-edge product/service
  • A significant increase in efficiency and productivity
  • Commendable saving of time and cost
  • Increase in customer retention and loyalty
  • Comprehensive and conclusive support for customers' needs

Selecting the best call center service provider

When you think of outsourcing the customer support requirements, your tendency is to go for reputed names in call center outsourcing. Such call centers can cater to hundreds of customers and have sophisticated technologies. You need to analyze if the scale of operations and infrastructural set-up of your start-up are large enough for hiring such call centers.

You need to appreciate the fact that call center executives would not merely answer calls. They would serve as vital links between your brand and customers. While choosing a call center for your needs, you must consider the following points.

1. Availability of service

Customers' loyalty and relationship towards your brand would be dented if service outages will be there. If customer service is down for less than five minutes, you stand to lose 50% of your customers. 

The call center you choose must be reliable and should have a robust contingency plan in place. You need to inquire from the prospective call center the following things before outsourcing:

  • How are emergency cases efficiently handled?
  • What proactive steps are taken for informing customers about outages?
  • How are calls rerouted? Is it smooth or are there delays? 
  • Does the call center have a disaster recovery plan in place? 
  • What is the center's capacity for handling multilanguage customers?

2. Cost optimization

You need to discuss with a shortlisted call center on how fixed costs would be transformed into variable ones. The cost savings would allow you to invest in other areas of product development.

3. Relevant knowledge of industry

You must learn if the call center agents and managers have an adequate understanding of the type of business your startup is doing. This involves understanding the types of tools and strategies the call center executives would deploy for offering better customer services.  

4. Scalability index

Customer call volumes would not be the same every time. If there is a reduction in volume, you need to understand if the call center would pass on the monetary benefits to you in the form of rebates. This is because call centers usually handle multiple clients and can adjust to the rise and drop in call volumes flexibly. One of the important customer service tips for small businesses from the perspective of outsourcing is to understand the scalability index of the call center. When the volume of calls related to your start-up would grow, the contact center must be able to delegate additional manpower.

5. Quality consciousness

The call center staff must be able to professionally handle customers' messages and calls. The center should have access to advanced call monitoring tools as well as must assess its infrastructural capabilities periodically to ensure that customer complaint are resolved in the first attempt. If not, the revert time must be very low.

Bottom line

The summary of all customer service tips is that you must be able to establish a professional rapport with your customers for making your start-up grow. If you fail to cater to customers as per their preferences and behavioral patterns, even your stellar product may fail to bring your startup the deserved success level. Outsourcing your customer service wing to a proficient strategic partner is vital for enjoying success in the long run.

 
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