Listening, learning and experimenting: Keys to embrace inclusivity in an organisation

“Why be a star when you can make a constellation?”- Mariame Kaba

A successful business in this competitive environment is borne out of high-performing teams and a culture of innovation. This is only possible when a diverse group of people come together to present their individual ideas and feel heard. A global survey by PwC suggests that 75 per cent employees, customers and investors believe that organisations must prioritise D&I (diversity and inclusion) programmes to enable innovation, agility, growth mindset and financial performance. 

Industry trends also indicate that firms that are more diverse are more profitable, more productive, more competitive and give better results to shareholders. During the pandemic these trends came to a halt.  Organisations around the world were forced to rethink deeply entrenched approaches, learn to serve clients digitally, rework trusted financial models, and shift to virtual workplaces. As the world slowly recovers from the impact of the pandemic, organizations must pledge to not only bring back but enhance their inclusivity agendas.

A modern working environment

One way to achieve that goal is to establish a modern working environment that sustains inclusivity and celebrates diversity. Hiring diverse talent is not the goal, real achievement lies in retaining them and helping them thrive. For that, leaders must embrace working styles to enable everyone to better cater to their own lifestyles and needs, while employing digital tools and working environments that lower the barriers to communicate, collaborate, and learn from one another. They must also cultivate the right atmosphere to support a good work-life balance, enabling employees to maintain a high level of performance through different professional stages. The pandemic also taught employers the importance of increased flexibility in workplaces. Overnight company policies changed to adapt to a new normal- one prime example of that is remote working.

Even as the world heals, remote working has become a popular choice for employees. A survey by Owl Lab suggests on an average, people are saving approximately $500 per month staying at home. The report also suggests that employees save an average of 40 minutes daily from commuting. Moreover, remote working helps enhance productivity and engagement and enables employees to better manage their own work and personal life commitments. This in turn helps us to attract a wider range of talented individuals at all stages of their professional lives and helps them benefit from equal opportunities in a meritocratic environment. A working environment can be truly modern when the workforce feels comfortable, empowered, and satisfied at their jobs, motivating them to plan a long-term career at the organisation.

Creating leadership roles for women

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, “Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.” The first principle of the United Nations Women Empowerment Principles states that high-level corporate leadership is a key and integral part of making gender equality and women’s empowerment a top strategic priority. Issues such as gender inequality, pay parity, open discrimination, trust deficit for funding can no longer be ignored. UN’s WEP aims at embedding gender equality into business plans, business values and the overall organizational culture.

A 2020 McKinsey report claims that organisations with over 30 per cent women in leadership roles are more likely to outperform those between 10 per cent-30 per cent women. Therefore, business heads must strategise to make offices a comfortable and evolving environment for women from the beginning of their careers. Employers need to ensure a fair compensation and promotion process that recognises the milestones of their female employees. Furthermore, holding leaders accountable for diversity in their teams will improve the well-being of women in the workplace. Moreover, from an economic perspective, improvements in female pay not only affects one segment of the population but is central to the economic growth of the country.

Employee well-being programmes

According to a Deloitte report titled 2022 Women @work, only 33 per cent of women in India say their employers offer flexible-working policies. The same report suggests that 94 per cent women believe taking advantage of flex-work policies will affect their likelihood of promotion. Normalising the usage of work perks must be the responsibility of HR to bridge the gap between employers and employees.

Another 2022 Deloitte article claims that  if employees trust their employer’s commitments, their engagement level can increase up to 20%, and the likelihood they will leave their organization decreases by 87 per cent. The ‘Great Resignation’ has highlighted that employee today are looking at suitable working conditions before choosing an employer. Therefore, companies must commit to be more resilient and agile and encourage every employee to chart their own career. Regularly investing in manager classes for them to become stronger coaches and enablers of their teams’ success is one way to push up engagement ratings.

Adopting a Value Creation Process model that charts out areas for employers to support their workforce that enables their success is another method to ensure employee well-being. Such an operating structure adapts to this new world by allowing employees the flexibility and empowerment to do their best. As a result of the ‘Great Resignation’ companies have also begun encouraging listening programs centered around ‘moments that matter’ charting their experience from the very beginning.

As the world evolves, companies must look into their code of conduct, rethink acceptable behaviors and align accordingly with the core principle of doing the right thing, working with respect, and experimenting and learning. Another vital practice must be to review existing workplace programs for the betterment of employees. From hiring to promotion, to benefits and wellness support, companies must introduce relevant new employee-centric offerings. HR practices to ensure performance management programmes recognise and address potential issues and challenges faced by diverse groups, especially to support LGBTQ+ employees. Programmss to sensitise every employee to LGBTQ+ community must become a mandated. Business leads must curate a series of online lectures on gender and sexuality encouraging employees to watch them, understand and support their colleagues.

Pride and no prejudice

It is important to build an allyship with the LGBTQ+ community at work to make them feel included as opposed to the general feeling of alienation. Bain’s recent study of inclusion in the workplace, The Fabric of Belonging: How to Weave an Inclusive Culture, found that more than 70% of LGBTQ employees do not feel fully included at work. A McKinsey and Company report mentions that 45 percent LGBTQ+ employees are conscious to talk about their personal lives at work.

To create a sensitive working environment, simple gestures like mandating gender neutral terms should become a practice. For instance, asking about a ‘spouse’ or a ‘partner’ instead of assuming their sexual orientation helps employees feel welcome. Moreover, as per the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 93 per cent of CEI-rated employers have an employee resource group or diversity council that includes LGBTQ+ and allied employees. Sensitising employers and colleagues on gender and sexuality must become a part of any employee’s initiation process.

Inclusivity is no longer an option, it must become a corporate lifestyle for employees to feel safe, welcomed and recognized. In truth, inclusivity fosters a healthy environment for workers to innovate, become productive, engage, enjoy total job satisfaction, and climb the ladder of success. For that purpose, the responsibility lies on business leaders to harbor an environment that goes beyond simply welcoming its employees. It is only by opening the platform to diverse cultures, opinions, and ideas that a business will truly flourish.

The author is Country Leader, LIXIL Water Technology(LWT), India and Subcontinent. Views are personal.

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