Lawmakers created affirmative action laws to give people from all backgrounds equal employment and education opportunities. Small-to-mid-sized companies need to have solid equal opportunity policies to prevent discriminatory hiring practices from taking place. Here are the steps for implementing affirmative action in your business.
Improve Your Policy
You’ll first need to consider gaps in your current affirmative action policy and see how you can make improvements. Affirmative action plans should involve positive steps toward outreach, such as training and education programs, focused hiring practices, and addressing historical injustices. Having a support system in place for historically marginalized individuals can also help.
Setup a Review Process
Your business shouldn’t simply take a set-it-and-forget-it approach to its affirmative action plan. Once you’ve implemented your plan, it’s time to start collecting data and assessing results.
The best way to gauge how well your affirmative action plan is performing is to look at current trends associated with hiring and see if your own outperforms them. Taking reasonable actions to adjust the plan as you go will allow your business to approach the issue pragmatically.
Get a Consultant
Most businesses aren’t legal experts, making it harder for them to create a successful affirmative action plan. A professional equipped with the knowledge and expertise to get things done quickly and efficiently can benefit small and mid-sized businesses.
Affirmative action consultants help with ongoing assessments, training, and compliance, which are all key components of an affirmative action plan. With a consultant doing the heavy lifting, you can focus on your company’s bottom line.
Find the Solution That Works for You
No two businesses will take the same approach to their affirmative action plans. With so many things to consider, it’s hard to know where to start. However, with these steps for implementing affirmative action in business, your business can do its part to ensure equal opportunities for everyone.