Ever walked into a new job and realized the environment wasn’t right for you? The days where traditionally underrepresented groups accepted the status quo are long gone, and organizations are finally finding that it is infinitely better to have their roster represent world reality rather than pretending otherwise. Studies in the United States of America (USA) have found that 3 out 4 job seekers actually prefer working in an office culture that includes people from diverse backgrounds. From an organizational perspective, diverse management has been proven to increase revenue by up to 19%. Gender-diverse companies or even teams within companies are often found to out-perform their less diverse counterparts.
The diversity conversation is gaining increasing traction in the workplace as organizations and employees alike realize that there are real repercussions in working for and working with places that discriminate against certain communities. Race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical capabilities, and language are just some of the factors that are considered when evaluating an organization for its workplace diversity. But is simply checking off tick boxes enough to make your employees feel comfortable working in a multicultural environment?
Diversity Vs. Inclusion
A company may have the most diverse employees on its roster, but a diverse registry does not, unfortunately, guarantee an inclusive workplace culture. This is because organizations, that is, both employees and management, tend to confuse workplace diversity with workplace inclusivity. In fact, diversity and inclusion are two very different goals that all organizations should aspire to. Unfortunately, since its workplace diversity that is easiest to quantify and check off, it’s the one that garners the most attention, often at the expense of the other.
Imagine a high-level company meeting. The gathering has a diverse background, many skin colors, genders, languages and the like are represented, and on the surface level at least, appears to be an inclusive one. But does that mean that everyone gets a chance to make their voices heard? Does it mean much, for example, if as many women as men share seats at important meetings if their ideas are not entertained or worse, callously stolen?
An organization that prioritizes diversity without inclusion causes as much grief to its employees, if not more, than those who ignore the issue altogether. This is because doing so results in minorities or otherwise oppressed communities finding themselves in a workplace culture that isolates them and entertains microaggressions against them. The lack of inclusivity can cause as much employee turnover as lack of diversity in the workplace.
How Do You Measure Workplace Inclusivity?
Inclusivity,] is a difficult concept to define, whether inside of the workplace or without. It doesn’t help that those in management are often too privileged by reason of their position, to be exposed firsthand to discrimination in the organization. People without negative experiences in relation to the isolation and the alienation that can occur in such an instance can often overlook the need to foster an inclusive environment. So how do we measure something that could be particularly invisible to you?
The answer is simple – you can’t.
The only reliable way of measuring inclusivity is by having your employees tell you about the workplace culture they experience. Senior management can often find it confronting to be exposed to feedback in this manner, but constructive criticism is key to progressive development. There are a few key questions you should ask your employees.
- Do you believe that our company values promote inclusivity for everyone?
Questions such as these help you identify whether the organization’s values align with the inclusivity you are trying to promote or not. Any other reform that you try to enact in your organization will be rendered superficial if they are not in line with the values that the company is aligned with.
- Do you believe that you and your contributions are valued and respected as equally as others?’
- Are you provided with equal opportunities for growth in the workplace?
Questions such as these will explore how everyone experiences workplace culture within the organization. Employees can be given the opportunity to present their responses through questionnaires, polls and one-on-one meetings.
There are also important factors to consider in choosing how you want to receive your employees’ feedback. If you choose to take a questionnaire-led route, special care should be paid to ensure that they capture social nuances adequately. One-on-one meetings let employees express themselves in greater detail, but if you have already identified that your organization is not as inclusive as you would like it to be, it will be very likely that your employees would have too. Employees who don’t believe that their feedback and opinions are valued will hesitate to spill the beans before their management.
If your employees find it difficult to express themselves in person, you can take a tiered approach where you initiate the process through a simple questionnaire. Your employees will gain confidence in what you are doing when they see you implementing the changes that they suggest, making for more open and honest conversations later.
Facing the Discomfort of Reformation Head-on
The path to implementing positive change in your organization will be a difficult one. Your junior employees might not be the only ones having to go through the discomfort of confronting their experiences at work. Those in managerial positions will also have to reflect on the environment that they have fostered within the workplace.
In addressing your workplace culture, you will most likely find that people who have been used to a certain way of seeing the world will find it hard to change their thinking. Practicing inclusivity will be very difficult without engaging with the idea that each and every one of us have to change the way we think and behave to accommodate others. It is important to take an empathetic rather than punitive approach in fostering change in your organization.
As you go about implementing the necessary changes in your organization therefore, it is important to not be avoidant of this sense of discomfort. All attempts at creating and reaping the benefits of a diverse workplace will fall through if you don’t manage to achieve real inclusivity. Acceptance of differences is crucial before your pool of talent comes together in harmony for a shared goal.
(Theruni Liyanage)