Creating the Best Place to Work: A DEI Approach
The year 2020 has provided light into the societal issues we face in the United States. It has been a period of reflection into the role we play in our community and a reminder to become involved in the pursuit of a better society.
A pressing problem that I wish to focus on is the inequality that exists in the United States. It is time to acknowledge the disparity faced by minority groups and promote change. As an Organizational Development Practitioner, I wish to inspire leaders to create the best place to work. An inclusive workplace for all groups of people, with more opportunities for those that need it the most.
Where do we begin?
Organizations should always begin by reviewing their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts (DEI). Before making my argument on why DEI is imperative, I want to review the terms.
Diversity is the representation of different people in a group based on gender, ethnicity, age, religion, disability, etc. To promote diversity, we must understand the community and the challenges they face. An important question to ask is whether our organization is open to all?
Equity acknowledges that we have unique circumstances and that different opportunities and resources are needed to help people succeed. To provide context, we can compare the access to education between a White and a Latino student. The White student has a higher chance to complete a college education because he/she is more likely to have parents who have college degrees. If we continue the comparison, we will see that belonging to a minority group comes with higher disadvantages that widen the disparity gap.
As a Latina, my pursuit for higher education was full of barriers. Not only did I have a cultural disadvantage living in one of the most segregated parts of the country, but my parents were unable to offer much support because the process of higher education was foreign to them. During my first attempt at college, I remember feeling like an outsider. The lecture-style classes with up to 300 students were hindering my learning. Three years of trying to fit in drained my motivation, and ultimately I gave up.
I decided to move out of state instead, and after securing full-time employment, I enrolled in a private college with a cost three times higher than the previous one. The new college was very diverse with an average of ten students per class. The new environment was a better fit for my learning, which allowed me to graduate from college.
Fortunately, I had the drive to look for opportunities and persevere through difficult times, but many others have unbreakable barriers.
Inclusion is when an individual experiences a feeling of belonging in a group. Inclusion is the feeling of being welcomed, respected, and heard. When people don’t experience belonging at work, they keep their best ideas to themselves.
Diversity efforts are more common than Equity and Inclusion practices yet, all the elements are necessary. Not only is this the right thing to do, it will ensure that organizations continue to thrive. When employees feel respected, valued, and included, they will feel safe enough to challenge the status quo, voice their ideas, and contribute more. Diversity and Inclusion foster a win-win situation in which employee satisfaction increases, along with creativity and innovation. Equity practices open a window of opportunities to those that need it the most, allowing our society to prosper.
I will argue that DEI is the most urgent culture strategy for organizations of the future. It will be vital to making the world a better place.
Regardless of the size and budget, all organizations should take DEI action that includes two fundamental components: Assessment and Leadership commitment.
Assessment
Begin by understanding where your organization stands when it comes to DEI. Unfortunately, many organizations focus their efforts on diversity but fail to focus on Equity and Inclusion, which is a mistake that will result in loss of productivity, retention and employee engagement, to mention a few. To understand your current state, do an inventory of your workforce and answer the following questions:
Who are my employees?
What are their perceptions of DEI?
Is there a discrepancy between the DEI vision and what is perceived?
A review needs to include data such as surveys, focus groups, interviews, and observation. It is essential to understand your current state to develop a strategy and fill the gaps between where you are and where you wish to be. Also, review your talent to understand who has access to the job opportunities and who gets hired. Is your organization hiring the same people, over and over?
Organizations repeat patterns in their attempt to hire competent employees. People with similar profiles get hired because it gives hiring managers peace of mind knowing that they will perform satisfactorily. Hiring different people is a risk that only progressive organizations are willing to take.
Effective organizations understand that change is crucial for their success, that innovation requires new perspectives, people that will challenge each other’s ideas.
The review process is not complete without assessing whether the organization is ready for change. Understanding the readiness for change will determine the approach to be taken. This step must get completed because introducing a big DEI strategy can be overwhelming for organizations that are not ready. The best advice for change management is to have a solid communication strategy. Employee resistance to change usually stems from negative past experiences. If you encounter resistance, understand the root cause, and create a more trusting environment before introducing new change.
During the review process its imperative to understand what systems and processes need to be revised to accommodate the change. To give you an example, let’s imagine that your organization lacks diversity. First, you have to understand your current recruiting and hiring strategy. How can you reach a wider pool? Recruiters could bring in more diversity in candidates, but who is interviewing these applicants? Do you have a diverse panel? Have they received the proper training? To sum it up, if the change is not holistic, it is unlikely to succeed. In this example, even with a pool of more diverse candidates, the hiring managers will continue to hire candidates with the same profile. It requires a holistic approach to make change stick.
It requires leaders who will lead the change and hold the rest of the organization accountable.
Leadership commitment
For DEI to become part of the culture, it should be demonstrated at the leadership level. The CEO and senior leaders must believe that DEI is important because the required change and effort is imperative for the success of any strategy. Leaders should be the champions and role models of DEI behaviors and actively participate in the change efforts. DEI has to start and remain at the top, embedded into the day to day operations, guiding important decisions. Leaders must commit to hold their peers and direct reports accountable to influence the rest of the organization.DEI is needed to create higher performing organizations.
In my attempt to inspire organizations to create the best place to work, I believe DEI efforts are a starting point. Organizations have to get involved in resolving the disparity we face in our country. Doing good for the communities will allow organizations to succeed. Not only is DEI good for business, but it taps into the culture of the organization, increasing employee morale and satisfaction.
To change the world, we need to create better societies. Organizations can do their part by creating a workplace that is inclusive to all.
