The Corona-virus Pandemic is here to stay, at least in the foreseeable future. We have embraced a new “normalcy” in our lives – “Work from Home”. Working from homes has its own challenges and for most of us, its adoption started with a lot of apprehension, anxiety, and fear. But slowly and steadily these changes have become a part of our lives. As we brace for future, a few more cultural shifts that are likely are social distancing, wearing a mask, and enhanced focus on sanitisation.
The sentiments with respect to the growth of the economy and its impact on the job market are quite dicey. But, there is also a ray of hope for things to become better with India poised to be an alternate destination for global economy; not to forget that nature is rejuvenating itself with pollution levels going down; importance of family time getting prominence again, and thankfully, more meaningful usage of technology is the much needed paradigm shift taking shape.
Being an HR professional, the current scenario made me ponder over an opportunity lined up for organisations– Tapping new Talent Pools during and after the COVID times with increased and more purposeful adoption of Diversity and Inclusion.
As work from home is the new norm, organisations that are looking to hire new talent now or in future, could use this opportunity and can open their doors to some of the less explored pools of talent:
– People with disabilities: They no longer need to be physically present in office now ruling out the need for office spaces to incorporate for special needs. This talent can work from the comfort of their homes and we never know, we might have some of the best brains waiting out there!
– Stay at Home parents (Mothers in particular): An opportunity like this might be a boon for a parent who has always been competent and ambitious but could not get the right blend of flexibility and opportunity.
– LGBTQ: A formidable section of the society that is largely untapped, can and should be given its due equal opportunity and what could be better time for it?
– People across Geographies: Working with like minded people has its benefits but the organizations which are for all seasons thrive on diversity! Let us break the barriers of boundaries and get people from all over the world to partner and become a part of success stories.
– Retired veterans: How about capitalising on the experience and knowledge of our seasoned professionals who are out of scene but are just waiting for that opportunity to strike back? Can work wonders!
Tapping and including these diverse talent pools not only widens the scope of organizations but also provides new job opportunities to individuals. Organizations successfully gaining greater market reach, higher top and bottom line, by effectively capitalizing and engaging such diverse talent for creative solutions and innovation, is a real possibility!
It has been rightly said that “strength lies in differences and not in similarities”. This thought has been lingering in the industry in the recent history but has not been explored to its fullest potential yet. Is it not the right and probably the best time to march forward and elevate the status of diversity and inclusion from being initiatives/ programs to being actual part of organization’s mainstream strategy?
