Startup Studio Insider’s Guide To Diversity And Inclusion For Startups

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for building a diverse and inclusive workplace, there are certain fundamental steps that startup founders can take to level up their operations. The startup studio model, founded on flexibility and innovation, is in fact fueled by a variety of these perspectives and skillsets. The nature of the businesses they launch requires agility and the ability to identify pain points across various markets and audiences.

Many startup studio founders have made more and more progress in hiring a diverse team, as they are aware this makes the studio and its startups smarter and more dynamic. This shift in focus is not exclusive to founders but is also widely held by prospective employees. In fact, 80% of employees in a recent poll said that they considered the diversity of the company when choosing their job. To give a competitive edge, diverse teams are the key to thinking sharp and moving swiftly.

So, what does it mean to integrate diversity into your business culture? Here are five key ways to integrate these core values into your organization:

1. Offer a flexible work environment

Provide flexibility in the way the organization operates such as openness to working remotely, offering certain benefits, and allowing workers to create an environment of trust, making employees feel trusted and valued.

2. Invest in internal diversity efforts

Cultural inclusion starts from the top down. Ask employees for feedback on how to improve your company's diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

3. Expand the recruitment pipeline

Create partnerships with diversity groups that work with jobseekers with your desired skills and experience.

4. Standardize the interview process

Set up an inclusive hiring process that actively encourages diversity, by embracing a wide range of qualities and perspectives that candidates bring to the organization.

5. Champion disability inclusion

Take an active role in communicating the organization’s commitment to promoting diversity, so it can have a positive top-down effect on the way these topics are addressed and handled internally.

Many of these qualities are intrinsic to the nature of the startup studio model and lend themselves to value and promote diversity and inclusion. This is proving to be valuable not just from an idealistic standpoint, but from a profitability standpoint as well. A recent study found that 43% of companies that placed an emphasis on diversity in their boardroom saw higher profits than those that did not. While diversity is important to all startup studios and the startups they build, there are a few standout ventures and startup studios that place diversity at the forefront of their values and strive to create opportunities for minority business visionaries.

To learn more about the benefits that startup studios provide to founders, check out Startup Studio Insider.

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