3 telltale signs your downsizing has created a diversity desert

Before rushing to help leaders reopen for business, communicators should first check for clues that a talent drought may imperil recovery.

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Ragan Insider Content

During weeks of lockdown, people have reconsidered the ways they live, work and blend the two in the cozy crucible they call “home.” Instead of nurturing a sense of belonging, however, there are troubling signs that employers might be using the pandemic as an excuse to push out certain employees.

It is a painful truth that corporate interventions in an economic crisis often involve downsizing. Staging a recovery in this harsh environment will already be difficult.

Add the invisible force of unconscious bias in decisions to shrink businesses, and what emerges? Diversity deserts.

Before rushing to help leaders reopen for business, communicators should first check for signs that their organization’s talent drought might endanger its recovery.

Pandemic panacea: CSR

Fair treatment of the workforce demonstrates a company’s respect for social values that matter to loyal customers and other stakeholders. Consider how the public praised manufacturers that avoided closure and shifted operations to make products badly needed in the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

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