Cultivate a Diverse Volunteer or SME Program

Diversity and inclusion has long been a buzzword that’s prevalent in all corners of society but especially professional associations. More recently, D&I initiatives left the realm of a feel good HR policy along press statement and now is accepted as an essential approach to improve results. There is plenty of research available that shows that diverse teams statistically produce better quality outcomes. In a study from PwC, 87% of global businesses say diversity and inclusion is an organizational priority. However, nearly half of the respondents believe that diversity is a barrier to employee progression at their organization.

Diversity in your workshops and committees is critical. Building a diverse talent pool of volunteers and SMEs gives your work groups new perspectives and allows for broader idea sharing. But unfortunately, D&I initiatives often don’t extend beyond the HR department. Why is that? D&I requires transparency in data and purposeful placement when constructing the rosters of committees, workshops, and meetings. Most organizations aren’t employing tools that allow for that type of intentional granularity.

When Lineup was developed, our mission was, and still is to help organizations build more diverse teams. We based that on the fact that diverse teams statistically produce more quality outputs. We strongly believe that Lineup can help organizations transparently view how diverse their work groups and teams really are and give you the tools to be intentional about the people that you use in your teams. Thinking about how your organization can start to diversify might be a challenge, but with the correct tools and mindset, the shift is worth the effort. When assessing the diversity in your volunteer or SME program. How does it stack up? Is it truly as diverse as you think?

Below we’ll review some tips for your organization to improve D&I efforts in your volunteer and SME programs.

Evaluate Your Recruitment Strategy 

• Communication. Think about how you intent in your communication with your prospective volunteers before disseminating emails, or developing collateral. Be sure that the materials created reflect your organization’s commitment of creating a diverse and inclusive community through the use of language and imagery.

• Cast a wider net. Be more proactive in your volunteer search. On average 70% of members have never volunteered, 32% of past volunteers and 31% of those who have never volunteered before say that no one ever asked them to serve as a volunteer. Reach out to your prospective volunteers and encourage them to participate. 

• Technology. Tools such as Lineup allows organizations to review their volunteer talent pool holistically. By asking the right questions, and collecting the valuable data, you can sort, filter, and identify the right candidates with the unique skills and qualifications to service on your workgroups and committees.

Lead by Example

A lack of diversity in your leadership can also place significant barriers with decision-making, and the quality of work performance. In a study conducted by Forbes, they found that 58% of the time, an all-male team makes better decisions, while gender diverse teams make better decisions 73% of the time. The study also found that teams that are diverse in age and geographic location make even better decisions 87% of the time.

D&I is about being proactive, assessing your current practices, and developing strategies to be more inclusive within your organization and intentional about making your programs more welcoming. Lineup could a part of your organization’s pathway toward a more diverse and inclusive volunteer or SME program. Lineup gives your teams the tools to recruit and thoughtfully place volunteers/SMEs in a workgroup that will benefit from their unique perspective. Reach out today!