Common problems of diversity initiatives
Many of us will have seen the top down implementation of a diversity initiative becoming an uphill push because middle managers and frontline staff did not buy into it. Let’s modify this top down approach slightly. In my experience it is important for the CEO and their leadership team to set some parameters in the beginning that allow diversity and inclusion to happen. Then they need to hand over, sit back and watch momentum to grow from bottom up.
Capitalising on Diversity of People
Diversity and Inclusion initiatives should start for ethical reasons, but economic reasons are making them succeed. Capitalising on diversity of people is a way to achieve financial returns as well as a diverse and inclusive culture.
The average Kiwi just feels better knowing that everyone has a fair go. Many are convinced that they don’t discriminate against others and employers attest of equal employment opportunities in their organisations. Today, more and more businesses are prepared to look a bit closer and discover many cases where they are falling behind their own expectations. This does not feel good anymore. As an example, NZX listed companies report only 19% women in directorship positions in 2013 (NZX memorandum, 3 March 2014).
Unconscious bias, institutional discrimination, and command and control leadership styles are holding organisations back from moving into the 21st century. Those shortcomings are further exposed by the increasing diversity of our population. One in four were born outside of Aotearoa, the age difference between the youngest and oldest employees is increasing and the number of single parent households is trending up to now 23.5%, just to name a few examples (2013 Census data). This irreversible trend towards more diversity and complexity is changing the way people are working together in future.
Organisations of the future
Embracing and utilising the differences in people is the response to this new human resources landscape. Those who are ignoring the need for change will miss out on gaining a competitive advantage and eventually put their businesses at risk. Good employers apply a ‘people first’ philosophy knowing that the business will do well in return. Capitalising on the difference of people is part of this win-win philosophy in the same way as the well-researched relation between staff engagement and productivity. With good Diversity and Inclusion practices employees feel enabled, connected and they have a greater sense of purpose. Organisations in return are better attuned to the needs of their customers, keep their high talent longer, make better decisions, and are more resilient and adaptable to change. Are New Zealand’s businesses realising those benefits? Businesses in general comply with the Human Rights Act and its 13 grounds of discrimination. However, this is only the foundation for a diverse and inclusive workplace. Some organisations are building on this and start doing things differently to truly create equal employment opportunities for minorities and disadvantaged groups. We would expect the workforce to become more diverse from these efforts.
Current status in New Zealand
Current initiatives are mainly based on women in senior leadership positions, GenY, baby boomers, and to some extend ethnic groups. One objective when focusing on those groups is to employ the best people no matter what group they belong to. Unfortunately, focusing on one or a few groups is taking away attention from others who may feel excluded and respond with resistance. Little diversification of the workforce was achieved with this approach and governments felt the need to start regulating what organisations failed to change. Norway as an example was the first country to fully implement quota legislation for women requiring 40% women on boards in 2003. One in three New Zealanders work in small and medium sized enterprises of which many business owners and CEOs are unaware of the imminent impact and opportunities of diversity on their business. I have talked to others who know about the benefits of Diversity and Inclusion but feel uncertain about what those benefits would be for their organisation, how to make a start and what investment would be required over what time. These concerns are very common and understandable. Ideally, we want to know exactly what we get before we buy, but how does this work for Diversity and Inclusion? Differences between organisations can make it hard to learn from each other. A promising solution seems to be a Diversity and Inclusion ‘tasting’ where one team (as opposed to the whole organisation) can experience (as opposed to be told) that capitalising on diversity works for them. Focusing on one team is a way of learning what works in this organisation. The small number of people and confined purpose of the team is reducing complexity which makes the team more agile and responsive. In this low cost, low risk model the team’s journey becomes a roadmap and a vehicle to reduce uncertainty for this organisation. I am now sharing some insights that can help organisations to gain positive experiences with diversity and inclusion.
The overrated importance of the CEO
It is fantastic if a CEO is communicating the importance of Diversity and Inclusion and role modelling inclusive behaviours. However, one person cannot be visible and close enough to all staff to help them understand what Diversity and Inclusion means in their day to day work. As a result you hear comments like: “This stuff does not really apply to us because we are getting along well in our team.” The concept becomes clearer to frontline staff once they had a positive experience of utilising their diversity and inclusive behaviours to improve what matters to them. Many of us will have seen the top down implementation of an organisation wide programme becoming an uphill push because middle managers and frontline staff did not buy into it.
What can we solve this common problem of diversity initiatives?
Let’s modify this top down approach slightly. In my experience it is important for the CEO and their leadership team to set some parameters in the beginning that allow diversity and inclusion to happen. Then they can sit back and watch momentum to grow from bottom up. A few team leaders should be asked if they want to take part in a programme to capitalise on the diversity of their team. The overall objective is to improve the team’s current KPIs by embracing and utilising the diversity of their team members. An experienced diversity consultant facilitates and identifies teachable moments for the team and the team leader to help them create an inclusive team culture. In the meantime, it is enough for senior leaders to show interest by asking the team on a regular basis about their experience. This team is well set up to succeed by team leaders who want to be part of it, timely support from an external specialist, and positive reinforcement from the top. What started off as a Diversity and Inclusion ‘tasting’ can develop into a recipe for what works in this specific organisation with every further team coming on board. Alongside an increase in teams with an inclusive culture, the opportunities and improvements identified are likely to be more cross functional, more strategic, and of higher impact. All this is achieved by focusing on their core business. Senior leaders can stop being a broken record and start being enablers.
Focus on minorities or all inclusive?
A focus on minority groups may result in greater diversity but not necessarily inclusive behaviours. Inclusive behaviours are more likely to develop when we shift our thinking from groups of employees towards the uniqueness of every single person. So which way to go? Diversity and Inclusion go best hand in hand. An inclusive culture needs to be at a certain maturity level to be able to attract and retain diverse talent and more importantly to leverage from their diversity. You can get an indication of how inclusive your culture is by asking employees if their thoughts and skills are utilised by the organisation. Then look at the diversity between those employees and ask why some groups are not represented or overrepresented. If you have an inclusive culture but diversity is low you may have bias at work. Our assumptions about people can be quite wrong when they remain unquestioned, resulting in unnecessary conflict, lost productivity, and missed opportunities. Assumptions need to be tested by talking to the person concerned or talking to many more from this group of people. Why not starting this habit today and think about who you should be talking to?
Understand the person beyond their position
Appointing the best suited person to a position is good practice but unfortunately comes with an undesirable side effect. We start to see this person through the filter of their position. Who would have thought what Bill Gates was up to when he delivered pizza? A person is always more than their function. Finding out more about the potential and passion beyond their job helps building relationships and collaboration, can become a tangible asset for the organisation and is often very enriching. This is not to be confused with chatting around all day; purposeful conversations help to get to know each other well enough in order to care and look after each other. We all have a multitude of filters and unconscious biases. One strategy to uncover and reduce our biases is to be curious and open minded when we are trying to understand the person beyond their position.
How to get a grip and make it stick?
You can overcome those common problems of diversity initiatives. The Diversity and Inclusion concept is easier to get a grip of when we transfer skills from what we know, for example, lessons learned from other culture change initiatives or leadership development programmes. A look at good Health and Safety practices can also be a source of ideas, especially when they evolved from a compliance focus to a focus on building a Health and Safety culture. Health and Safety is everyone’s responsibility. What can be done to make it the same for Inclusion? Shaping and maintaining the desired culture requires ongoing attention and firm integration in what is important to an organisation. Diversity and Inclusion sticks better with the organisation if positioned as an enabler for business goals, not as another thing to do. People give their best as long as they feel accepted and appreciated as a person and can make a contribution. Individuals need to experience benefits from Diversity and Inclusion in their own work and work environment. The energy arising from those experiences helps them to endure in challenging times as well. Economic drivers are an important vehicle to succeed on the journey towards a diverse and inclusive workforce and are the other half of a win-win situation between organisations and their people.
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This article was published in 2014 in the Employment Today Magazine.
