Diversity, inclusion and accelerated productivity (2), By Adeoye Abodunrin

A company’s workplace culture identifies it as an entity, but the core values help it achieve and sustain the culture. Embedding the values of diversity and inclusion involves a transformation that includes everyone, from senior managers to the newest employee, and it demands real behaviour change processes, strategies, and communication; therefore, to ensure that your business stays competitive, consider diversifying your human capital.

In conclusion in the first part of this article, we observed that diversity, inclusion and belonging are pieces of a puzzle that are incomplete without each other: diversity is the characteristic that makes people unique; inclusion refers to the cultural norms that make people feel welcome and belonging is an individual’s sense of acceptance.

These three concepts are intentional and as such should form the core of an organisation’s DNA; however, there is need for organisations to assess their environment and culture to determine if these differences are respected within the workplace. When companies commit themselves to people of unique experiences, diverse backgrounds, and individual differences, they bring about an innovative workplace.

Organisational culture is a system of values, beliefs and behaviours that shape how work gets done within an organisation. An environment with a culture of belonging supports the elements of comfort, connection, and contribution, with direct impacts on the bottom lines of profitability, liquidity and sustainability.

Organisations that will survive the coming tides in business must design and deploy workplace cultures through which individuals (talents) are noticed, valued, engaged, and retained on the VALUE HEAT MAP. Enterprise care must be engineered and delivered to employees and stakeholders through the line demonstrated, with workplace support and understanding, where high deposits of aggregate trust reservoirs reduce the likelihood of employees feeling like outsiders across and within teams.

In a 2018 survey, Culture & Paradigm measured employee experience across seven factors including diversity, belonging and inclusion. They found that belonging factors were strongly and consistently correlated with employee engagement. A culture of belonging builds a bridge to greater empathy and inclusion for groups in the workplace, understanding that employees are people with hopes, dreams, families, and feelings, not numbers or mere tools of production/profitability.

To foster a sense of belonging, organisations must demonstrate to employees that their work has meaning, it solicits and drives input, rather than imposes every decision made on them. Similarly, organisations must also engineer positive energy at work, recognise results and celebrate successes together.

Although it may be challenging working with people of different beliefs, values and ideas, because these differences can lead to resistance to change due to a lack of trust and understanding; however, the benefits of a diverse workplace outweigh its challenges. Companies that hire diverse groups of people enjoy the best pools of talents, operate more effectively, inspire employees to perform their best…

Some research intelligence indicate that employee fulfillment is directly linked to organisational success. Organisations, therefore, must focus on building a culture that inspires motivation and happiness, because creating a sense of belonging is vital to attracting and keeping the best talents. Some employees have had several experiences in which they get treated differently from others e.g., some employees are allowed to be absent from work without permission, whereas others struggle to get permission, even for the most important reasons, which can sometimes create tension amongst colleagues.

It is therefore pertinent for every organisation to realise that, even though complex to achieve, a sense of belonging can drive positive results and the lack of belonging can lead to more sick days and reduced performance; therefore choose your complexity wisely. This leads us to the next piece of the puzzle in decoding the core of diversity, inclusion and belonging.

Decoding the Core of Diversity, Inclusion Belonging

The emphasis on diversity and inclusion is one of the top priorities for organisations in today’s corporate world. Companies can no longer afford to merely talk about a diverse and inclusive workspace, but they need to embed these as their core values to be lived out by everyone within the company. Although diversity and inclusion are interconnected, emphasising inclusion makes it easier to introduce practices that bring about a diverse culture. An organisation that builds an inclusive culture from within and allows employees to be transparent about who they are ultimately attracts diverse leaders and candidates with a feeling of belonging through the line.

Diversity is about celebrating differences, which only work if there is a solid foundation – your company’s core values. Diversity andd inclusion (D&I) is not a marketing or HR-led initiative, it has grown into a cultural phenomenon that must permeate throughout every level of a business in order to be sustained.

Although it may be challenging working with people of different beliefs, values and ideas, because these differences can lead to resistance to change due to a lack of trust and understanding; however, the benefits of a diverse workplace outweigh its challenges. Companies that hire diverse groups of people enjoy the best pools of talents, operate more effectively, inspire employees to perform their best, achieve a broader range of services and increase the company’s adaptability, while at the same time fighting for justice and equality.

One of the best ways to promote a diverse and inclusive environment is via employee feedback on workplace culture, through which they can fearlessly give their genuine responses on how well the company is handling diversity and inclusion e.g. a one-on-one questionnaire, a focus group discussion, an anonymous survey, etc.

According to a study by the Centre for Talent Innovation (CTI), inclusive behaviour in the workforce can unlock the innovative potential of a diverse workforce, enabling companies not only to increase their share of existing markets but to also open new ones. In addition to gaining a larger market share and competitive edge, diversity often means higher financial performance.

In the 18th annual global CEOs survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), 85 per cent of the surveyed CEOs whose companies have a formal diversity and inclusiveness strategy said it improved their bottom line. In addition, two reports from McKinsey noted that a 10 per cent increase in racial and ethnic diversity on the senior executive team resulted in a 0.8 per cent rise in earnings in the U.S., while a 10 per cent increase in gender diversity resulted in a 3.5 per cent rise in earnings in the U.K. Their research showed that companies that are more gender diverse are 21 per cent more likely to outperform others, and those which are ethnically diverse are 33 per cent more likely to outperform others.

Diversity gives room for unique thinking and improved decision-making through a deeper and more comprehensive worldview enabling businesses to have higher flexibility in adapting to dynamic markets. While homogenous groups may be susceptible to groupthink, diverse teams can leverage a greater variety of perspectives and are likely to consider information more thoroughly and accurately. Such teams are as much as 158 per cent more likely to understand target consumers when they have at least one member who represents their target’s gender, race, age, sexual orientation, or culture.

One of the best ways to promote a diverse and inclusive environment is via employee feedback on workplace culture, through which they can fearlessly give their genuine responses on how well the company is handling diversity and inclusion e.g. a one-on-one questionnaire, a focus group discussion, an anonymous survey, etc.

A company’s workplace culture identifies it as an entity, but the core values help it achieve and sustain the culture. Embedding the values of diversity and inclusion involves a transformation that includes everyone, from senior managers to the newest employee, and it demands real behaviour change processes, strategies, and communication; therefore, to ensure that your business stays competitive, consider diversifying your human capital.

Adeoye Abodunrin is an intuitive life coach, and into life design and architecture consultancy.