In a world where the cybersecurity sector is more competitive than ever, it’s essential to stay ahead of emerging trends. Diversity in your workplace can make your company more robust and better prepared for any possible threats that come your way.
Don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at how diversity within a company can be achieved through recruitment, retention, and innovation, and how diversity can lead to enhanced cybersecurity.
Diversity Can Help Improve Cybersecurity Through Recruitment
Recruitment of diverse employees should be a top priority for all modern businesses. Building a cyber resilience strategy means understanding more than the technology behind it. Getting a wider range of people into security isn’t just equitable; diversity is the best chance we have to make a real difference in IT security.
According to a CybSafe analysis of data, human error was the cause of approximately 90 percent of data breaches. Cybercriminals aim to exploit businesses by manipulating human behavior to attack organizations. By partnering with a diverse company or hiring individuals with different backgrounds and skill sets, you can vastly improve cybersecurity. Diversity means a more well-rounded approach to solving cybersecurity problems.
Additionally, as companies recruit cybersecurity professionals more diversely, this precedent can lead to more people with diverse backgrounds entering the cybersecurity field, thus expanding the talent pool vastly.
Diversity Can Help Improve Cybersecurity Through Retention
Retention is essential for any company’s overall success and growth, especially in the cybersecurity industry, where talent always seems to be scarce.
Having a diverse workforce and diverse partnerships will ensure that those you work with feel included within your culture, so they continue doing excellent work day in and day out. If they’re not treated fairly or supported by the company culture, this could lead to high turnover rates. This means missing out on opportunities for knowledge transfer between employees and partners.
Even with well-established recruiting processes, these efforts are fruitless without diverse inclusion within the company culture and the building up of diverse partnerships.
Diversity Can Help Improve Cybersecurity Through Innovation
Innovation is vital in any industry—especially IT where cybersecurity is ever-changing.
Diversity in your workplace and among your partners allows your companies to come up with valuable cybersecurity solutions faster than competitors since you have various perspectives on the origins, natures, and intentions of cybercrime.
For instance, a hacker’s geographical location and culture could impact the resources they use to infiltrate a company’s systems. If you’re dealing with a hacker located in South America, a South American employee would likely have the most relevant insight into the methods of the hacker. This is especially important for remote companies—a diverse culture is vital when hackers can be anywhere.
How to Prioritize Diversity Within Your Company
Prioritizing diversity within your company requires intentional efforts and strategic planning. It’s not just about hiring practices but also fostering an inclusive environment where all employees feel valued and appreciated. Here are a few tips to help your company prioritize diversity effectively:
- Create Inclusive Policies: Develop and enforce policies that promote diversity and inclusion. This includes equal opportunity employment policies, anti-discrimination measures, and flexible work arrangements to accommodate various needs.
- Expand Recruitment Channels: Set clear diversity goals, and utilize diverse recruitment channels to reach a wider pool of candidates. Partner with organizations that specialize in diversity hiring or attend job fairs focused on underrepresented groups.
- Provide Diversity Training: Offer regular diversity and inclusion training for all employees, including leadership. This training should cover topics such as subconscious bias, cultural sensitivity, and inclusive leadership.
- Build an Inclusive Culture: Foster an inclusive culture by encouraging open communication, creating employee resource groups, and celebrating diverse cultural events. Ensure that employees from all backgrounds feel welcome and valued.
How Does AIS Prioritize Diversity
Here at AIS, we value diversity in our workplace and encourage everyone to respect others’ opinions and beliefs. AIS is a black-owned IT managed service provider that focuses heavily on cybersecurity to help businesses protect their information by offering a variety of cybersecurity services.
Here are some strategies we’ve implemented to promote diversity at AIS:
- Inclusive Hiring Practices: AIS employs inclusive hiring practices to ensure that our recruitment process is equitable and diverse. We actively seek out candidates from various backgrounds and experiences, utilizing diverse recruitment channels.
- Inclusive Policies and Practices: AIS has developed and enforces policies that promote inclusivity, such as flexible work arrangements, equal opportunity employment, and robust anti-discrimination measures, in addition to diversity and inclusion training.
- Regular Assessment and Adjustment: To ensure the effectiveness of our diversity initiatives, AIS regularly assesses our progress using clear metrics and feedback from employees, allowing us to make necessary adjustments to reach our goals.
By prioritizing diversity through these strategies, AIS not only creates a more inclusive work environment but also drives innovation and improves overall organizational performance.
Enhance Your Business with Diverse Partners
Diversity in the workplace isn’t just about race, gender, or sexual orientation: it’s also about opinions and experiences that bring different ways of thinking to the table.
Through recruitment, retention, and innovation, building a diverse network of employees and partners will only improve your company’s ability to address cybersecurity. Diverse backgrounds will enhance creative thinking, leading to cutting-edge solutions that put you ahead of your competitors.
At AIS, we prioritize providing the best possible IT solutions, and that means prioritizing diversity. Partnering with a business that understands diversity within a company culture can improve your cybersecurity posture, and our staff of uniquely qualified individuals will provide the breadth of background knowledge needed to address a wide range of threats.If you’re interested in learning more about how we can help your company better protect its information, feel free to contact us today.