6 Ways Your Culture Add Increases Your Value at Work– and Yes, You Should Get Paid For That!
Photo source Michole Forks for CreateHerStock
Diversity is key to any company's recruiting and talent retention plan. More people will stay on board. Plus when employees are happy, productivity increases because they are satisfied with their employer and the workplace environment. A happy workplace is amongst many attributes that increase employee motivation, innovation, and referrals.
Here are six ways that our diverse backgrounds and culture add increases our value at work– and yes, we absolutely should leverage that added value when advocating for our promotions and raises!
1. Creative Problem Solving
Individuals from underserved populations sometimes have to figure out alternatives to education and employment. The creativity born from the process fosters innovative problem-solving that often leads to out-of-the-box ideas. Additionally, it is easier for a diverse candidate to have a more precise indicator for potential risks.
Candidates that create innovative solutions to save their employer money or time should be sure to keep these accomplishments documented. Using tracking tables or worksheets is an excellent tool for Project Managers, consultants, admin support, HR, and contractors.
Keeping a simple document to track your innovative solutions and the money or time saved is a great way to document your impact at your company. Use this information to negotiate for a higher raise or a bonus during evaluations and negotiate higher salary offers.
2. Recruiting & Referrals
Many companies have paid and unpaid referral programs to meet hiring initiatives. If they hired you, why not ask you to refer other professionals in your network. Most people know people just like them, whether in work ethic, culture, race, gender, etc. When it comes to creating a diverse company, this is a great way to increase a qualified and diverse candidate pool.
Here is how you can make it work for you and put more money in your pocket. If your company has a paid employee referral program, find out if the program has a cap. Suppose it does. Be sure to understand the parameters and understand how you get paid. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the average cost to hire an employee is $4,129, with around 42 days to fill a position. By referring someone, you are cutting that process down by an average of 50%.
Keep track of the number of people that you refer and get hired. This number will be significant because you will be able to track how much money you are saving the company. By doing this, you are articulating your independent value and can use this as leverage to negotiate a higher salary at your company or show how you can impact your new employer's recruitment strategy.
3. Unique Perspective
We all have our ideas, and unique situations have helped arm us with creative solutions to create success. Some people have a straight line to win, while others have a weird decline and incline with a few swirls and twirls before reaching success.
Our backgrounds have a lot to do with our perspectives. A mom may have a better idea of creating successful time management strategies. A veteran may have a better crisis management plan or idea. It is all in how you use your unique perspective to solve a problem.
Here is an entrepreneurial solution for increasing your salary by using your gift to educate, inspire, and influence marginalized populations to take control of their diversity and thrive. Your intellectual property is continuously evolving from your unique perspective and should be another way to make extra income. You can serve as a consultant for a company, sell a planner, worksheet, or e-book, host a podcast, or even speak at engagements.
4. Brand Reputation
The more diverse a company, the more valuable they are to partners, constituents, stakeholders, and employees. As a trusted brand ambassador, you are the face that shows potential employees, clients, and partners that your company creates a truly diverse and inclusive culture.
Using social media or click-ups that lead to your company page that gathers data will allow you to develop metrics that you can leverage on your resume and employer. Many people use a website like bit.ly and Linktree to share their favorite websites or contact pages. Why not do the same to further your professional agenda and increase your salary?
5. Council Group
Better known as Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), Diversity Councils, or Affinity Groups is one the best ways to gather metrics with a 3-6-month turnaround. Council groups are for employees that identify as allies or candidates from underserved populations. The idea is to create an inclusive environment to close wage, education, and training gaps so that all employees have a fair chance to excel and grow within their company's ranks with equal pay.
Many marginalized populations face challenges from generational setbacks and systemic oppression. Reviewing these circumstances to create solutions that lead to advancement within the group and increase employee engagement will be a straightforward way to show how you have aided in closing a gap for your diversity group. If the company implements any of your ideas or procedures, it is crucial to keep track and begin growing your leadership skills to build on supervisory promotions.
6. Authentic Leadership
A good leader listens to their team's perspective, engages with everyone at any level, creates positive environments, solves problems before they become dire, and builds an inclusive culture. Someone who can do this is a valuable asset to any company and should grow to a position past middle management with inclusive pay.
When creating KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) or goals, it is crucial to understand where each employee has developed professionally and create a strategy that influences upward growth within scope.
Companies want every employee to be a cookie-cutter. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Every employee comes from different backgrounds, and they should have professional development goals that bridge gaps, not force an agenda.
By gathering an accurate snapshot of the team's professional health, leaders can create accurate SWOT analysis and training to develop a strategy to overcome weaknesses and threats. Doing this will increase employee retention and create a healthy work environment. REMEMBER: Employees don't quit companies; they quit leaders.
Owning your culture add is the first step to thriving without limitation. Many professionals are multi-diverse but often made to feel like they have to fit in a perfect bubble to be valid.
To that, I say: If a company cannot see value in your diversity even after you have articulated it in measurable impact, then they are not the company for you. Some companies and organizations believe in diversity and inclusion because they understand the workplace culture must evolve for equality, safety, and fair opportunity amongst professionals. Then others are just riding a wave. No matter! Be diverse and continue to live in your purpose!
About the Author
Carmen Drummond is an Army Veteran, the owner of Career Nerd, and a D&I Career Strategist who works with professionals and decision-makers to create custom streamlined career strategies to support diversity efforts when looking for work or creating workplace cultures. She is committed to providing innovative solutions that will generate results, increase salaries, and grow business.