In the midst of the current pandemic, the social unrest after George Floyd’s death brought diversity and inclusion back to the number one spot on the agenda of many organizations who feel compelled to take immediate action. As a result, HR leaders are being relied upon heavily to guide businesses through tough conversations. Many companies have rushed to initiate unconscious bias trainings, set diversity hiring targets, and add minority-owned vendors to the supplier list. While these tactics do push organizations forward and serve to drive some measure of change, they only scratch the surface and likely overlook the most important piece in the diversity puzzle: inclusion.
Companies can hire diverse employees, but how will those employees feel when they get there? Will they be invited to share their most unique and creative ideas, or will they be asked to fit the current culture norms and leave their authentic selves outside? More than ever, top employees, no matter their age, race, or gender, are seeking inclusive workspaces where all the pieces of their whole selves are considered to be assets rather than weaknesses.
Making inclusion central to your culture and employee experience doesn’t happen overnight, but through deliberate effort and committed leaders, organizations can begin taking steps to ensure that all employees feel welcomed, celebrated, and trusted. Below are a few points for consideration when ramping up or reinforcing inclusive behaviors at your organization.
While great research has been done to highlight the business and financial returns that diversity provides, organizations will not obtain those results through representation alone. By positioning metrics at the forefront of the business case for diversity, the human factors associated with caring for your “most valuable assets” gets negated or forgotten altogether.
Organizations implementing new diversity-based initiatives with the sole intention of quelling disgruntled customers and employees may find that promises aren’t lived out day-to-day. Over time, this can erode trust and just-in-time efforts will fall on deaf ears. Leading with a focus on inclusion without tying it to return on investment or reputation will position you as a company who doesn’t just do things right, but who also does the right things.
Inclusion is not a training event. As stated, trainings are a wonderful start when developing maturity around D&I in the workplace. For example, it is important to teach employees the skills needed to have challenging conversations while displaying empathy and staying within legal boundaries. However, to reinforce behaviors, learning in training, policies and procedures should be examined to determine how well they support or discourage an inclusive environment. Consider ways to prevent biases from creeping into performance management and succession planning conversations. Evaluate hiring and onboarding strategies to ensure an inclusion-based approach. When integrated with the organizational systems that keep the business moving forward, inclusion goes from theory to practice and a method for accountability is developed.
When developing inclusivity, organizations have come to see that initial steps, though well intended, may be a bit clumsy. Outgoing messaging may be misinterpreted or even too general to have an impact. Internal conversations open the floodgates to a variety of opinions and beliefs. During this time, it is important for organizations to acknowledge the potential for mistakes up front, but to also commit to learning and improving moving forward. Like with picking up a language, understanding can only be achieved when we marry our current knowledge to something new. Moving beyond diversity and into inclusion requires taking steps past good intentions and into ongoing improvement.
Like any other culture change, changing the way that people think and engage around inclusion requires patience, compassion, and time. Even with the right messaging and procedures in place, employees will naturally embrace change at varying rates and as a result of different touchpoints with the concepts. Don’t be surprised to find that some employees are hesitant to call each other out on exclusive behaviors or are not bravely displaying their authentic qualities all at once. Continue to share the stories of committed leaders who had the vulnerability to include, thereby making it safe for others to do the same. Over time, remain vigilant about keeping inclusion on the front burner, and the environment will slowly but surely shift.
In this new world of work, creating inclusive environments doesn’t mean asking employees to change their personal beliefs, but it does mean that they are expected to uphold a new standard of workplace behaviors because diversity is great, but it only wins when we take an inclusive approach.
Adrianna Gabriel
Executive Coach & Training Consultant
CCI Consulting
Today, establishing inclusion in the workplace is a core employee value proposition. More than ever, employees want to know their opinions are welcomed, heard, and respected. Through our organizational culture assessments and diversity management services, we work with you to establish an inclusive culture that unifies and connects employees while encompassing your company’s core values and mission. Get in touch to learn more about our culture, diversity and inclusion solutions and start building a thriving workplace today.
Lorraine Webb is a human resources and organization development executive with significant experience in the energy and utility markets.
Currently, Ms. Webb is Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development for Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) and is responsible for all human resources and organizational development functions including compensation, benefits, recruiting, talent management, wellness, EEO, EAP, HRIS systems, learning and development.
Ms. Webb and her team have played a pivotal role of building a talent management program and succession planning process in the face of exiting baby boomers, while effectively managing significant challenges in terms of internal and external constraints.
Recently, Ms. Webb and her team were awarded the inaugural 2019 Employer of Choice award by the Office of Workforce Development, City of Philadelphia. This award recognizes exemplary HR practices.
Further, under her leadership PGW won the HR Department of the Year Award in
2011 and has been cited on numerous occasions as a Best Places to Work for
Minorities and Women in Engineering by Diversity Magazine.
Ms. Webb was an honoree for Philadelphia Leadership Awards for Women’s E News, 2010
Adding to her experience in the energy/utility arena, Ms. Webb has worked as an HR professional in the pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing and banking. Ms. Webb is passionate about coaching and enjoys helping professionals and executives reach their full potential.
Ms. Webb is a graduate of Binghamton University and is a member of SHRM.
Tom Sontag is the Executive Director, Human Resources at the University of Pennsylvania. In this role, he is responsible for the Learning & Education, HR Communications, Quality of Work Life, and Tuition Benefits functions. Collectively, these provide Tom with the opportunity to pursue his passion for talent development and workforce effectiveness.
Tom has worked at Penn since October 2011 and has nearly 35 years of experience in training and organizational development with large organizations. Before joining Penn’s Division of Human Resources, Tom held training and organizational effectiveness roles for organizations such as Development Dimensions International (DDI), PNC Financial Services Group, Citizens Bank, Drexel University, NRG Energy, and Covance. He earned a BA in English literature from John Carroll University, an MBA with a focus on human resources and leadership development from Duquesne University, and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Drexel University. Additionally, he has earned the SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications.
Peggy Verdi is a dynamic Human Resources executive with nearly 35 years of experience in HR strategy, change management, organizational design, executive coaching, team effectiveness, and talent assessment, development and management.
Peggy currently holds the position of Vice President, Human Resources and Administration (CHRO) at Subaru of America, Inc., overseeing all aspects of human resources and corporate facilities & services, its practices, and operations in order to meet the needs of the constantly evolving business.
Prior to joining Subaru, Peggy served as Chief Human Resources Officer at BAYADA Home Health Care and as Executive Director, Human Resources Business Partner/Change Planning at Bristol–Myers Squibb, a leading manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and biologics.
Peggy received a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies with a focus on Labor Relations and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management from Rutgers University.
Elizabeth Quarello (SPHR, SHRM-SCP) is an energetic senior HR leader with over 16 years of diverse experience in fast-paced corporate settings across a variety of industries, including management consulting, architecture, media, and biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. She is a hands-on leader and influencer with a passion for driving organizational change to create positive working cultures that enable organizations and individuals to realize their full potential.
Elizabeth is currently the Senior Director of Human Resources and Operations for Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly & Company. In this role, she is responsible for oversight of all HR functions, serves as a key senior leadership member, and oversees operational functions including HSE, compliance, contract administration, facilities management and administration.
Mike Higgins is a seasoned Human Resources leader with over 20 years’ experience in leadership development, employee/labor relations, performance consulting and executive coaching programs in the Retail, Financial Services and Healthcare industries.
In his current role as the Senior Director of Strategic Talent Management & Learning at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Mike leads enterprise-wide talent management activities, including leadership, professional skills, career and organizational development, succession planning, performance management and employee engagement for the Hospital’s 15,000 employees.
Mike holds a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from LaSalle University, and a Master’s degree in Education (Corporate Education/Instructional Systems Design) from Pennsylvania State University.