Month: March 2021

Every company needs to meet, attract, and maintain and grow the numerous communities they represent. This is important because it will help them have a greater relationship with customers, create a stronger reputation, and encourage them to develop innovative solutions.

In an attempt to offer benefit coverage to all employees equally, organizations globally have reconsidered the content of their health and wealth benefits programs to ensure that LGBT couples are entitled to the same corporate benefits as LGBT couples.

In many cases, this includes modifying programs to recognize same-sex couples in places where civil unions are not allowed. The majority of companies worldwide (81%) offer the same life, health and retirement insurance benefits to LGBT couples.

“Organizations have begun to understand their ability to influence markets to protect LGTB employees, providing equitable and inclusive benefits. In a climate where there is a shortage of key talent and public scrutiny of corporate behavior is increasing, organizations cannot ignore their global LGBT policy and how it is consistently articulated in practice across borders,” shares Elton ILIRJANI, the CEO of The HeadHunter Group and Founder of Dignity Global Foundation.

Companies should create these policies to improve the organizational environment, increase employee productivity, and reduce staff turnover. However, the greatest reason why must LGBTQ+ representation be essential is that it is the right thing to do because the society is not homogeneous, it is heterogeneous, and it is the social obligation of companies to be representative of society.

However, certain companies do employ a cohesive and liberal culture where it seeks to maintain the level of respect for diverse communities, but problems occur when individuals and employees of companies do not comply with these policies.

Therefore, the marginalized groups may face stigmas due to sexual orientation and gender identity that translates into a bad work environment. This harms the worker in their performance and erodes their work skills, leading to work overload and can even lead to mental health problems.

In Conversation with Elton 

What can a company do to ensure that sexual diversity is respected?

“It can generate training and awareness days for leaders, delegates and negotiating commissions that allow them to assume that not all people are heterosexual, incorporating affective-sexual and gender diversity from the natural, without prejudice. You can also incorporate the perspective of sexual diversity in collective bargaining.”

What to do to guarantee equality in the company?

“Create protocols to prevent and act against cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Have information on hand about the positive aspects generated, such as institutional prestige and better productivity, by respecting the principles of non-discrimination. Prepare from the areas of human resources guidance materials for good practices that guarantee equal treatment.”

There are several organizations where Elton has advocated equal rights for women and men, particularly in the process of hiring. He was defined as having created the first “Employment Equality Index LGBTI+” in 2016, advocating for the support of both the private and public sector to fair treatment, representation.

Besides becoming an activist, Elton has also been a role model for trans people in “Lip Movement” and “Nobody is Straight” to promote societal acceptance, respect, and respect for transgender individuals. He has been consistently and consistently a champion for oppressed and discriminated against in all categories, regardless of age, ethnicity, sex, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. He has also worked as a full-time Professional Executive Search Recruiter for high-ranking roles.

He further maintains that having these policies generates attachment and increased productivity of employees, as well as attraction and retention of talent, and externally, the company improves its marketing by making messages inclusive.

Source: La Weekly

Elton Ilirjani, the CEO of The HeadHunter Group and Founder of Dignity Global Foundation, shares insights on the importance of diversity and inclusivity in workplaces. Each one of these terms defines different but complementary realities. We reflect on this and on the importance of creating a sense of belonging in which all members of a company feel recognized.

Diversity and inclusion are two concepts that have acquired great importance in the business world in recent years. The two are so closely related that it is common to confuse them and even use them as synonyms. However, each of these terms defines different but complementary realities.

In the corporate sphere, diversity refers to the presence within an organization of professionals of different ages, sex or sexual orientation, nationality, religion, ethnicity, culture, condition, or special needs caused by illness, accident, disability, or a certain family situation.

For its part, inclusion is the set of practices taken within the company from the organizational effort so that each employee – whatever their differential fact – is culturally and socially accepted and treated with equality. The ultimate goal is to create a sense of belonging in which all members of a company feel recognized, valued, and respected as a person and feel free to be who they are in their work context.

Being complementary, diversity and inclusion must be developed jointly 

“Those organizations that do not have a diverse workforce are at a competitive disadvantage,” he acknowledges.

“And this is so because diversity and inclusion increase the overall productivity of an organization by enhancing its ability to learn and grow from one another.

The diversity of ideas and new ideas drive greater innovation and better ideas which result in better products and services.

“People from all backgrounds enter the workforce of companies today. Each person in the workplace possesses a set of knowledge, skills, attributes, and capabilities that will contribute to team success and diversity of perspective.

“Any organization that does not recognize and value diverse perspectives will make poor decisions and may experience the consequences that this may entail.”

For years, Elton has professed the basic human rights for women LGBTIQ+ in organizations, especially in the recruitment process. In 2016, he was credited with creating the first “Employment Equality Index” for LGBTIQ+, calling for support from the private and public organizations for equal rights, equal representation, and opportunities in Western Balkans Countries.

Elton has also pioneered the “Lipstick Movement” and “Nobody is Straight” to support transgender persons for their acceptance, honor, respect, and integrity in society and work. He has majorly routed his career supporting the voiceless and marginalized group discriminated in any capacity, whether race, sex, age, religion, cultural background, and sexual orientation.

For the most part, Elton has also served as a Professional Executive Search Recruiter to scout ideal candidates for top-tier positions. 

Diverse companies attract better talent

Diversity can be used as a differentiating feature of an organization as long as it is a real and effective diversity strategy, resulting in attracting higher quality talent to the company.

This is so because the best talent greatly values ​​ joining diverse companies as an important factor in changing the job landscape.

The importance of diversity is even more prevalent when considering the  millennial workforce, often defined as the most diverse workforce in history. That diversity in the workplace indicates a welcoming environment in which people can work for themselves.

Therefore, companies that understand and identify the value of the above for job seekers will further improve their recruiting strategy and make it easier for them to access the best talent they might not otherwise have been able to attract.