We Need to Live & Breathe Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
People First organizations are often the companies that are innovative and high-growth. So why aren't all organizations like this?
While many companies have their business strategies, purpose and values statements, and #DEI initiatives, they are many times separate components of the business. (And yes, Diversity Equity & Inclusion is used as a hashtag here because many companies are using it purely as a hashtag moment and not committing to the movement).
When we look at successful companies and leaders, we find that they are successful because of the collective they bring and the sense of belonging they provide for their employees. They've grown because they've found alignment with their purpose, values, people, and strategies. Here, I want to share how you can do the same for your organizations.
It Starts at the TOP
Yes, grass roots employee movements are great and amazing. When employees want to mobilize and fight for a cause, it's wonderful to see. It shows employee engagement which is part of Leading People First. Unfortunately, it is not enough because engagement is only part of the employee experience. Executive leadership MUST (bold and underline x1000) develop, implement, and commit long-term to the process. If I wasn't clear before, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is not a moment, it is a movement and must be re-communicated throughout the organization over and over to be at the forefront of the company conscious.
Over-communicating is also different than following-through. Start taking action. And you can start taking action by...
Aligning Everything
People Ops/Human Resources/(Whatever new fancy HR title is trending)
Do your people strategies include diversity, equity, and inclusion? Do they include learning and development? If not, your people (human resources) strategies are inadequate. If your metrics are about compliance, keeping employee conflict/issues down, and meeting baseline benchmarks, you're not doing enough.
Talk with your BIPOC employees to see what their experiences have been and what can be improved
Identify areas where BIPOC employees are not being given the same resources, tools, or opportunities to grow and showcase their achievements
Create metrics that show how implementation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is being tracked and improving. (And circle back with your BIPOC employees to see if they are actionable, equitable, inclusive, and representative of actual change).
Build employee resource groups, community outreach groups, diversity lunch and learns, internal marketing programs highlighting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Design long-term learning programs dedicated to the continuous commitment and improvement of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. (Not just unconscious bias training because we all know one-and-done training events don't work).
Develop coaching throughout the organization to strengthen learning and provide various perspectives from employees who are different from themselves.
Mission, Purpose, and Values (The "important fluffy stuff")
Our purpose and mission statements are generally either really vague and esoteric or incredibly specific, so they kinda suck. Rarely are there mission and purpose statements that hit the nail on the head. Now's a great time to review them to see if they allow space for diversity, equity, and inclusion. (And don't just add in the words "diversity", "equity/equitable", and "inclusion").
Moving on to your values. Again, do a self-check because this is a great time to do a revamp, refresh, and reset. Do your values (formal and informal) allow for diversity, equity, and inclusion? If not, it's time to add them in. By the way, if your values are still generic terms like "teamwork", "integrity", "driven", etc. it's time to revisit them to not only make them more specific, but to give them life and make them unique to your company.
When communicating and promoting your values and purpose to your teams, you must be clear and definitive on how they contribute to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It would also be a good time to "re-train" your teams on your values and weaving DE&I into the conversation (rather than going through a separate unconscious bias training). Merging the two will ingrain them into your teams' minds and allow them to be one and the same moving forward.
Business Strategy
After you've ideated on plans around the people side and the values/purpose statements, now it's time to figure out how to align the efforts and integrate them into the business strategies of the organization.
As usual, the executive leaders will develop goals and strategies in the organization, and it's at this point they need to do a couple things:
Ask ERGs, support groups, BIPOC employees, and the HR/People Ops team what they need to be successful and what impact needs to be made.
With that input, identify where those needs and impacts can be implemented within the goals of the organization. For example, people of color and women often don't have the same opportunities for mentorship as their white male colleagues. Create a program specifically focused on creating equitable learning and development opportunities for those individuals. This program can then be placed under the responsibility for the Chief Learning Officer.
COMMIT.
For the love that is all and good, COMMIT.
Remember what I shared earlier, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is not a moment to hashtag or a quick "initiative" that will go away. Put your money where your mouth is and throw your leadership and budget behind the initiative to get it done.
Here are some more ideas on how to cultivate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. These are some simple and quick ways to get started to show you are committed.
One of the biggest ways to make an impact is around your People Processes (we are talking about PEOPLE after all). Review and redesign internal people processes around hiring, on-boarding, learning, growth, promotions, performance management, and off-boarding to ensure they are equitable and inclusive to all.
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Like all commitments (dating, mortgages, social dinners), you need to communicate and hold each other accountable. (Well, banks will hold you accountable for mortgages). It's very easy for managers to hold their teams accountable, but it is very difficult for employees to hold their leaders accountable. So here's what to do:
Be transparent and honest. Your baseline metrics are NOT going to be pretty. Like when we first start dating someone new, there's skeletons in the closet. It's time to let them out and share them.
Consistently and constantly communicate your values and how you're working (and progressing) towards your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. If you falter, it's okay. I didn't go to the gym either when I said I would. Your sales team didn't get that one sale. It's okay, we stumble. Re-commit and keep going.
Ask for feedback and be sure to know that you'll get it. By sharing your baseline metrics and consistently communicating your efforts, people will tell you how you're doing. Take in the feedback, thank them, and ask them to sit in on a meeting to pitch their ideas or thoughts. This also creates a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment. (By the way, we all know there are some who don't like to speak up. Go to them privately and ask for feedback).
Hold yourself accountable, or else your employees (and investors) will. Be sure to assign the work to an executive leader (other than HR because they do EVERYTHING people related) to drive the integration. Then, share your updates. Share your wins. Share your shortcomings and learnings. It will build trust and help grow the organization more.
Grow, share, and expand. Continue growing your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts by incorporating new programs that are suited for your organization. Share your learnings and programs with other companies and communities. And then expand your reach into the very communities you serve.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is not this year's fad. It's not a #trending topic. This is a movement you can commit to and join. You can truly Lead People First by dedicating yourselves to your people and humanity as a whole, and let's grow together.
Note: This article was originally published August 26th, 2020 on LinkedIn.
