To honour Women’s History Month, Hire Intelligence would like to provide employers with valuable information about how to empower the women who work for them or are looking to work for their company.
1. Place women in leadership roles
Women hold only 13.7% of chair positions, a small percentage that is rising every year. With this fact, it is employers’ responsibility to keep this upward momentum. They can do so by continuing to make an effort to place more women in leadership positions throughout their companies.
Mentorship roles are an excellent opportunity to boost morale in any employee. By asking women to mentor a new hire or assist a struggling coworker, you immediately prove to your employee that you see her value and believe it can help your organisation grow. This also gives her the opportunity to gain leadership skills and develop further within her role.
Office culture makes a big difference in employee engagement. It also lends the opportunity to put women in power. Culture clubs can involve anything from fundraising for non-profit organisations to planning office team-building events. Create culture clubs in your organisation and scout out women within who have the skills needed to run them. Our event planning guide and use of an online RSVP tool will help these leaders stay organised and equipped for proper event planning.
Finally, before you look to hire more staff to fill roles, evaluate the women already within your organisation. If you’re currently unable to promote the women within your organisation, place a focus on hiring qualified women to fulfil those roles.
2. Conduct regular employee reviews
As your company evolves and busy seasons arise, it can be challenging to schedule employee reviews regularly. However, reviews are a vital tool for retaining women employees. Employee reviews lend the perfect opportunity to go over current salaries, quality of work, work ethic and provide necessary feedback. These moments with your employee also give you the chance to dig into their personal interests and stay tuned into their career goals and desired path. After your conversation, you may conclude there’s a need for a role you may not currently have. This is the perfect way to create opportunities and put those women in positions they’re qualified to fulfil.
3. Be flexible
Do you offer a flexible work schedule for your employees? If not, it may be a great idea to start implementing it into your business. Remote positions and flexible work hours are on the rise. Indeed, they are a selling point for job seekers and current employees alike. With the use of technology, women employees can virtually join conferences and meetings, which will ultimately help them balance their busy personal and work lives.
Once you’ve established what kind of flexibility works for your company, market this heavily in your job postings and your benefits/perks packages. You’ll quickly attract qualified women and retain them for long-term employment opportunities.
Furthermore, it may be a good idea to re-evaluate your maternity leave offerings as well.
Also, equip the women in your office with up-to-date technology to increase productivity and lend a hand in doing flexible scheduling work for your office.
4. Create a more women-friendly workspace
It’s vital to create an office space that complements the needs of the women who work for you. Designate a room in your office for nursing mothers and comfortable seating areas for pregnant employees. Free coffee, tea and snacks are essential to offer all employees because they provide much-needed boosts of energy throughout the day. Also, allow your employees to personalise their work stations. Customised work stations make your employees feel more creative and allow them to express their individuality.
