THE HUMAN ISSUE
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Likewise , Sarah Loveday , managing director of Loveday Electrical , says her business of 50 staff across Queensland and New South Wales adopts an ethos rather than a formal diversity and inclusion policy .
“ We ’ re focused on creating a positive culture , and one of the by-products of that is diversity ,” she says . “ We want people in our team to have the same core values as us , which show respect to everyone , regardless of who they are .”
The result is a growing number of women like Sarah – who didn ’ t see another female sparky on site in the first two years of her apprenticeship back in the mid-2000s – working in management positions and as apprentices , as well as staff from a broad range of ages and cultural backgrounds .
TAPPING A LARGER POOL For many contractors , one of the main benefits of signing up to diversity and inclusion is expanding the potential pool of employees . “ If you enter into a preconceived perception that you ’ re going to end up with a white male , which are only 30 or 40 per cent of the population , you may have lost the opportunity for some fantastic people to join your organisation and lift the average skillset ,” says Malcom Richards , CEO of Master Electricians Australia . “ It ’ s about accessing 100 per cent of our diverse culture in Australia and giving everybody a chance .”
Indeed , Loveday , who also moonlights as the Senior Vice President of Master Electricians Australia , says the “ different life skills , opinions and perspectives ” that a diverse workforce brings , especially at the apprentice level , has helped the business mature and grow – in other words , make more money .
“ There are fiscal benefits to these changes ,” she says . “ It ’ s not just trying to tick a box of what ’ s the right thing to do or what ’ s politically correct – it ’ s actually a smart business decision .”
Griffiths agrees , explaining that his overseas-trained staff bring “ different experiences and different ways of doing things that are often broader than what apprentices learn through the TAFEs here in Australia ”.
And there ’ s more to it than individual contributions , explains Stanford .
“ The more we broaden the scope of who we ’ re looking for in a role , and we ’ re just open to the right person , it really changes the culture of the business .” n
WHERE TO NEXT ?
Despite making good progress , Malcom Richards says the trades lag behind other homogenous ( read : white male ) industries like the police and army when it comes to embracing diversity and inclusion .
He says strategies to make the on-site environment more inclusive are an important next step . “ It ' s more than educating and getting our small businesses to employ an extra female apprentice or someone from another group , it ' s about changing the worksites they will go to .”
Sarah Loveday says changing perceptions outside industry is also crucial . “ It isn ' t just about having employers wanting to make diverse hires , it ' s actually encouraging people to see it as an option . For example , there ' s a lot of people who don ' t want to see their daughters go into a trade because of how they were raised or their own opinions .”
Change is rarely easy , but Richards says the long-term payoffs will be worth the effort . “ There ' s a lot to be gained for an industry by getting to a point where everyone feels welcomed and enriched .”
BRILLIANT BUSINESS BENEFITS
Research by Diversity Council Australia shows diverse and inclusive businesses , whether they ’ re fancy-pants corporates or humble electrical contractors , perform better .
“ Workers in inclusive organisational cultures are more likely to be in effective teams , more likely to report that their team is innovative , and more likely to report that their team provides excellent customer service ,” says CEO Lisa Annese .
“ Importantly , our research also shows that working in an inclusive team is linked to a significantly lower likelihood of experiencing or witnessing harassment .”
24 GEMCELL . COM . AU DEC – JAN 2022