Dr Kara McGann
Organisations have worked hard to embrace diversity within their workplaces. Creating an environment where everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, cultural background or disability, can flourish and succeed.
Recently, Ireland has gone from a homogenous island off the coast of Europe, to a diverse, multicultural, progressive society. The first to legalise same-sex marriage and one that considers diversity important to how we do business. Today diversity is a given. We know it is good for business, for solving complex problems for helping us win the war on talent. Similarly being more responsive to our increasingly heterogenous customers and helping us tap into 100% of potential in the workplace.
To achieve this means going back to the drawing board. We need to examine our systems and procedures.
However, being diverse is not enough. It has brought awareness and many changes but fails to bring deep systemic change: for that we need inclusion! So people feel valued for what they bring to the organisation and that everyone has the same access to opportunities. While diversity has celebrated our differences in ability, sexual orientation, gender, cultural background, religious belief and more, it has also distinguished the minority from the majority. This has celebrated their “otherness” without ensuring they experience the belonging and engagement that inclusion generates.
Choosing a diverse employer
Research tells us that we are genetically predisposed to belong. We are hardwired to want connection and belonging and it is good for our survival and our success. People want to be in a business that aligns to their values and where they feel connected to its goals. It’s vital to feel they can contribute and have a say in decision-making while bringing their whole selves to work. People will vote with their feet and decide how much discretionary effort they will use. This is in reference to recovering from the recession. Also as more employment options become available. Ultimately they will gravitate towards employers who understand the importance of inclusion. Belonging has the potential to be a competitive advantage for organisations as it fosters engagement, reduces stress, increases emotional wellbeing and ultimately impacts performance.
To achieve this means going back to the drawing board. We need to examine our systems and procedures to ensure we do not have prototypes of what success looks like that could be stifling the recruitment, promotion, development and performance management of the ‘potential’ within our labour market – making people feel like they have to “fit in”.
Ensuring everyone in in the diverse conversation
Leaders have to ask: Who are we recruiting? Why are certain teams or positions not more diverse? Who are we excluding from decisions? Are we expecting certain groups of employees to do more to prove their suitability than others? Often this can occur in organisations through unconscious biases or just through the norms of the majority swaying the culture and so needs to be called to attention. Leaders need to ask: How is it for you as a female executive? What is it like being the only LGBT manager in the office? and then listen to the answer and respond.
We also need to ensure that everyone is part of this conversation, not just the minority; just the women or the people with disabilities or from different cultures, but everyone, including those who have traditionally held the leadership roles or have had the ‘typical’ experience in the organisation. Failing to engage the whole population in the organisation can have unintended consequences whereby the need for change is not felt, people can feel excluded or the diversity effort can seem like a “nice to have” rather than a strategic imperative that no leader can fail to consider. We have embraced the business case for diversity now we need to leverage the benefits by ensuring inclusion is part of our organisational culture if we are to truly enable people to contribute to the success of their organisations, be valued as individuals, derive value from differing perspectives and inspire talent to thrive.
