Pushing The Doors Wide Open: D&I Strategies That Work
The offset of the pandemic was a litmus test for the ethos and work culture of several businesses. Now, more than ever before, companies need a diverse workforce that can help steer through the ongoing crisis, under the guidance of inclusive leadership.
While many leaders understand that Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) brings value to their organizations, they are less certain about how to weave this aspect into their company’s fabric and tangibly gauge business-relevant impacts. A fundamental challenge is a dependence on one-off, token initiatives. Businesses measure inclusion primarily through superficial surveys on how employees ‘feel’. These assessments are ineffective without measuring how employee engagements and company policies impact inclusion. Secondly, hiring from diverse groups is only half-a-step, if they do not have a sense of belonging or an environment where they can thrive and have meaningful interactions with their colleagues and leadership.
Comprehensive inclusion policies
Having a concrete handbook of policies that highlights acceptable and unacceptable behaviours is essential for any organization to function seamlessly. Most D&I-centred policies use vague and neutral language that do not offer specific guidelines. Leaders must ensure that the policies are easy to comprehend, prevent experiences of discrimination or exclusion, and specify consequences of undesirable behaviour. These policies must align with the larger organizational goals and include tangible metrics to measure compliance.
Fact-driven communications
Employees often turn to their leaders to receive an overview of progress and credible information about the organization. As discussed earlier, ambiguous and diplomatic verbiage cannot mirror the true picture. Therefore, leaders must enhance their communication by projecting facts and figures about diversity across teams. Objective statistics can be used to elucidate that a change is necessary. These are also likely to incite a constructive response from the employees (as opposed to subjective statements).
Diverse recruitment is the first step, not the only one
The aspect that makes or breaks a company’s inclusive work environment is the step that follows recruitment. Onboarding is the first point of contact with the new employee and sets the tone for what they can expect in terms of work culture. It is an opportunity to share relevant information about the organization’s inclusivity goals and where it stands at the moment. Transparency and honesty can help the employee to feel more optimistic and prepared for what lies ahead. In terms of training tools and imagery, it is essential to feature characters that represent a diverse group and not just one fragment of the spectrum.
The pandemic has had a differential impact on different groups of people. Hence, it is imperative to understand the challenges that the new employee is likely to face while performing their tasks. It is also advisable to discuss the provisions introduced by the company to enable flexibility within work.
Network groups that listen and empower
One of the most vital indicators of an inclusive workforce is the existence of well-resourced affinity or network groups. These can act as safe spaces where employees can openly discuss their unique experiences. Network groups can be a catalyst of real and sustainable organizational change, only if it is accessible to all levels of employees and have an open line of communication with the leadership.
Training programs that enable, not impose
Due to our learned behaviours, we often build an unconscious bias against a certain group or groups of people. When this bias is arbitrarily highlighted and criticized, we tend to become defensive and justify our actions. Unfortunately, many well-intentioned D&I training programs end up being counter-productive because employees feel like they are being blamed and that their deep-rooted beliefs are being scrutinized.
A more fruitful approach towards training can be to establish that it is in human nature to categorize people based on similarities. Categorizing was key for us to make sense of the complex world around us in the early days. An undesirable consequence of this process was ‘bias’. The training module should be structured to encourage employees to reflect on their own biases and how these biases have held them back at work as well as in the personal life. When they are allowed to realize that their biases have been limiting their potential in some way or the other, they are more likely to be open to change.
Furthermore, making D&I training voluntary as opposed to mandatory can facilitate better employee engagement. When employees participate by their own will, it helps them to develop a positive attitude towards these sessions as opposed to feeling that they are being forced to step out of their comfort zone.
A Grievance Addressal System that works
The course of action that an organization takes following an employee’s feedback or complaint, impacts their entire workforce. Although it might not necessarily affect their day-to-day tasks, it will influence their decision to speak up about their concerns in the future.
A diversified workforce can only thrive in an environment that acknowledges and validates employee experiences. However, if there is no organized structure in place to listen and resolve grievances, employees will feel discouraged, and even undervalued.
It is important to establish a grievance addressal system that provides multiple pathways to resolution, depending on the severity of the offence. For instance, while one way is to lodge a complaint that results in a legal action or a corporate action (demotion or firing the accused), another way could be offering a space for an informal discussion in the presence of a mediator.
Final thoughts
To quote Frederick Douglass, “You are not judged by the height you have risen, but from the depth, you have climbed.” This must be the lens through which we measure the effectiveness of D&I strategies. A truly inclusive workforce would appreciate an individual’s achievements irrespective of their colour, sexual orientation, gender identity or physical capability. Everyone must be provided with an equal and fair opportunity to learn, advance and prosper within the organization.
Every day is an opportunity to challenge the irrational assumptions and hidden biases within the organizational structures. To make real progress, businesses must acknowledge the existence of these and be willing to unlearn what they thought was right. They can regularly track their progress by asking themselves – “Is this a company that truly welcomes and celebrates everyone?”
(The given article is attributed to Amanda Puravankara, Director, Provident Housing and solely created for BW People Publication)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house
