This article is contributed by Dorothy Khong, a Consulting Analyst with Accenture. It was first published on her LinkedIn.
I recently read Trailblazer, a book that delivers the inspiring vision of Marc Benioff, the Founder and CEO of Salesforce . In Trailblazer, the Silicon Valley leader asserts that businesses are “the greatest platform for change” — a statement that I thought was astonishing because it’s simple, yet packs a punch.
Inclusion & Diversity
Personally, one topic that I am particularly interested in is inclusion and diversity (I&D). As an ENFP and egalitarian myself, equality and equity are two values that I hold closely to heart. With Benioff’s statement in mind and this topic of interest, I thought, could businesses also be the greatest platform for I&D?
Going down the Google rabbit hole, it was not long before I realised that while many articles justify the value of I&D in the workplace, not many address how we could operationalise an I&D program. Many talked about strategy, but there were only just a few about the operation. Perhaps it is because there is no one size fits all solution — which I agree, since no organisation is the same. However, I thought there might still be value in posting an article that consolidates some of the best examples demonstrated by businesses across the globe, and introduce a framework that could potentially help to guide the process in setting up an I&D program.
Before we go on, I want to acknowledge that I am no subject matter expert in this area, but just someone who enjoys reading and sharing knowledge with the rest. The purpose of this post is to consolidate resources, assets and point out leading industry examples in a single article for anyone who is looking to implement an I&D program in the workplace.
With that cleared, let us move on to the framework.
The 3Ds – Define, Design, Deliver
1. Define your goals and priorities
Every program should answer the why, and at least have one goal that states what needs to be changed and the extent of the change. This goal would serve as the foundation of the program, serving as an anchor and tying every other aspect of the program back to the foundational goal. The goal should also be measurable, with a timeline, to determine the effectiveness of the program.
Diversity and inclusion goals could also be defined and tied with business objectives. For instance, the McKinsey Delivering through Diversity report found that top team ethnic and cultural diversity are correlated with financial performance. In this case, the I&D goal defined could be to increase diversity in leadership hiring by X%, tying it back to the business goal to improve financial performance.
Some examples of goals:
- Increase diversity in recruiting pipeline by X% in 2021
- Increase in no. of I&D articles written by company thought leaders by X% in the next 6 months
- Organise a minimum of X regional I&D events annually
Moving on, since I&D is a broad topic, a good way to narrow it down would be to define some priorities. One way that companies can define priorities is using internal data. Ask the employees! Conduct a survey or hold interviews — ask employees to rate questions such as “I feel safe and included in my company”. Surveys can also be anonymous to urge more employees to participate without fear of judgement. With these data collected, analyse and look for trends.
Some examples of priorities:
- Empower women within the company’s workforce
- Celebrate achievements of ethnic minorities
A company that has done this goal and priority setting really well is Apple. Apple has taken diversity hiring very seriously and in 2020, increased hiring of employees in underrepresented communities by 64% (over 18,000 people). The number of females has also increased by 70%, with a 85% increase in leadership positions and the list goes on. This clear messaging has effectively showcased the success of Apple’s I&D program.
2. Design the initiative
With goals and priorities in mind, we have to ask ourselves how we can best achieve them. Are there company assets that we can leverage on? Who are the leaders that we could work with? Since there is no one size fits all solution, here are some of critical items that could be considered when designing an initiative:
- What are the resources that could be leveraged on? E.g. it may perhaps make more sense for marketing agencies to come up with marketing campaigns that drive inclusion and diversity, leveraging on their expertise. The video below by Google shows how Google utilises its data from Search to create a powerful advertisement that celebrates the achievements of Black history makers.
- Are there any leaders who would also champion this cause? Who could we get onboard? Check out Julie Sweet’s email to Accenture’s employees where she rallied against racism and urged employees to not stay silent and speak up.
- Do we want to expand it to a regional program? Or should we have a focused local program? Are we able to address all nuances if we roll it out regionally?
- How much budget do we have? External events would probably cost more, so it would make sense to check the budget first before diving head first without a plan.
- Do we have a diverse team with people of different backgrounds to provide alternative perspectives?
There are also some assets that I have found (and free!) online that could be of use:
- Google’s free, inclusive marketing toolkit, All In.
- Apple’s Human Interface guidelines on Inclusion.
- Eventbrite’s guide on creating a more inclusive and diverse event.
*Tip: try to design a program that could be able to achieve quick wins at the start. This will not only act as a sign that the program is going on the right path, but also help to ensure stakeholder buy-in early into the program!
3. Deliver and measure impact
At the end of the program, measure the impact to evaluate its effectiveness. Here are some common metrics that companies are using to measure the effectiveness of I&D program, but do note that they should only be used if it ties back to the initial goals and priorities of the program:
- Employee satisfaction %
- Employee retention %
- Diversity hire %
- Brand image
I&D during COVID-19
With the global pandemic and work from home as defaults, it is no doubt that businesses would have to adapt their I&D efforts to the new ways of working. One could think of the pandemic as a blocker or an obstacle to build a successful and all-rounded I&D initiative, but the reality is that on the flipside, there are many opportunities that businesses can leverage on during this time. For instance, different tiers of support could be given to compensate for socioeconomic inequalities. This would not only provide assurance to employees that they are taken care of during the crisis, but also that the company values and understands the concept of equity.
I&D benefits may also seem more apparent during the crisis. A research by McKinsey demonstrated that an organisation’s involvement in I&D is correlated with its position to create better, more adaptive and effective teams. This is largely because teams with people of diverse backgrounds are likely to bring more perspectives to the table.
Taking action
With the growing business case for I&D in the workplace, it is no doubt that we will see more being done in the next few years. However, we must always keep in mind that I&D is not a one-off initiative, but a continuous practice of listening and communication. Ending off this article with yet another quote from Marc Benioff:
It’s time we all developed a passion for progress, and the imagination to realize it.
Read Also: 4 Job Sectors In Singapore That Will Likely Hire More People In 2021
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