Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Workplaces

By Sallynavia Kamsa

Nurturing a workplace culture that promotes diversity and inclusivity is a great way to boost employee morale and engagement and increase productivity. But whereas there is a near unanimity in the corporate circles that the two interconnected concepts are essential for businesses, many organizations find it difficult to strike the gender, ethnic, age, religious and racial balance amongst their workforces.

Matt Bush, Culture Coaching Lead at Great Place to Work, notes diversity is about representation or the make-up of an identity, while inclusion is about how well the contributions, presence, and perspectives of different groups of people are valued and integrated into an environment.

In a workplace, the principle of diversity requires that employees are drawn from different races, gender identities, career backgrounds, skills, talents and so on.

It is this virtue that makes workplaces more productive, tolerant and customer friendly. And the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workplace are more than 10-fold. Where there is diversity and inclusion, employees are generally happy and feel more comfortable to share their ideas and experiences with others. Although some organizations may find diversity and inclusion a huge investment to make due to lack of immediate tangible benefits, having a diverse workforce where everyone’s voice is heard and respected has a huge impact on the bottom line of any organization in the long run.

Studies have shown that a working environment filled with employees of different backgrounds, skills, experiences, and knowledge creates a fertile ground for increased innovative and creative ideas. Where there is diversity and inclusion, employees are generally happy and feel more comfortable to share their ideas and experiences with others. Although some organizations may find diversity and inclusion a huge investment to make due to lack of immediate resources.

There is a huge body of evidence suggesting that organizations that achieve equitable representation in their workforces outpace their competitors by respecting the unique needs, perspectives, and potential of all their team members. When you can strike the magic balance of voices and diversity of thoughts, you will be able to earn deeper trust, loyalty, and more commitment from employees.

Rodger C. Mayer in a recent study note that corporate policies that promote more pro-diversity cultures, specifically treatment of women and minorities, enhance future innovative efficiency.

According to the study, this impact is more pronounced during economic downturns and in firms that are more innovative, value intangibles and human capital more highly, have greater growth options, have higher cash flow, and have stronger governance. Pro-diversity policies also increase firm value via this stimulating effect on innovative efficiency. Employees will therefore thrive in their job roles and opportunities will arise, allowing the business to also thrive.

The concurrence that having a well-managed diverse and inclusive workforce leads to efficiency and higher revenues has seen many organizations include the two concepts in their policies, organizational culture statements, and programmes. Diversity and inclusion are, however more than policies, programmes, or headcounts. Without the concepts being inculcated in the organizational culture, the statements remain just that.

Achieving a healthy variety of people from different backgrounds and cultures that provide the desired balance of voices and uniqueness in thoughts require deliberate and forward-thinking strategies as well as goodwill and commitment at the higher echelons of the management.

In this article, I offer some strategies that have proved useful in improving diversity and inclusion at workplaces with significant impact on productivity and bottom line.

Recruitment and hiring: The easiest and fastest way for many firms to recruit new employees is always through referral systems or internal hires. In such situations the current employees play a large role in who gets hired next and, in many cases, they always recommend people they share with similar backgrounds be it schooling, ethnicity, or religion. If most of the staff make for one demographic, increasing diversity through a referral-based hiring program becomes more difficult, and culturally skewed. Diversifying in this case will need adjusting candidate screening. This however is only a first step towards experiencing organizational change, which requires companies to build a truly inclusive culture.

Go for a multilingual workforce: In a world that has shrunk into a global village because of advancements in digital technologies, populations have become more culturally diverse, allowing organizations to address the needs of a growing multilingual customer base. If you truly want everyone to feel included, make sure you consider language barriers and preferences by having some employees who can speak in several languages. One of the greatest benefits of having multilingual speakers at the workplace is that they provide opportunity to improve the bottom line especially in this age when many organizations are struggling to find enough translators to meet the needs of a growing multilingual customer base.

Mix up your teams: A key part of diversity is understanding and learning from different voices, experiences, values, and cultures. A diverse cross-section of talent allows enhanced perspective, which will spur creativity and innovation on teams. If your team is homogeneous, invite someone who is a different gender, cultural background, or age, to weigh in on an initiative or project.

Beware of unconscious biases: Helping employees to understand how they are impacted by unconscious bias and what actions continue to reinforce those biases is essential. One way to build awareness and to address unconscious bias is to encourage every employee to review, question, and analyze their own personal biases and assumptions, to help avoid stereotyping and to appreciate others for their uniqueness.

Create a tolerance culture where every voice matters: Employees will stick to jobs when they feel that their authentic self and uniqueness are appreciated or valued. This will make them feel free to express themselves based on their unique perspectives. This can only be achieved when the employer practices basic courtesy, embraces non-discriminatory practices and policies. When you do not play favorites, the staff will feel free to voice their concerns and contribute to discourses without fear of victimization.

Acknowledge holidays of all cultures: Accommodating, celebrating, and learning about each other's customs and traditions is not only a valuable part of the human experience, but it also helps foster a culture of inclusion that makes employees feel recognized and valued. You can achieve this by creating a calendar of culturally significant holidays, festivals and other events and observances based on the cultural composition of your workforce.

Promote pay equity: While companies talk about strategies to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion, workers just want a fair shake. From an employee’s point of view being treated fairly means that you have the same shot at success as the person next to you irrespective of gender, age, or other identities. When employees do not feel disadvantaged by their unique identities when it comes to accessing opportunities like promotions or pay rises, they feel safe and are able to go get their all in their roles. Therefore, it is important that large and small organizations implement salary and compensation strategies that include well defined policies and procedures.

Develop a strategic training program: When employees undergo a voluntary diversity training program, they can understand how cultural differences can impact how people work and interact at work. The training program can cover anything from concepts of time and communication styles to self-identity and dealing with conflict. Such trainings should be tailored to focus on the unique diversity and inclusion challenges faced by the Organization and employees. Bringing in an external consultant to preside over the program would also impact heavily on the desired outcomes.

At Ipsos in Kenya, we believe that an inclusive and diverse environment benefits us as individuals and as an organization. We want to be as diverse as the people and issues we research, and ultimately deliver better research and insight to our clients.

Our recruitment is a blend of technical capabilities, culture fit and passion beyond 8.00am - 5.00pm. With a workforce where more than 50% are Millennials and Gen-Z, we acknowledge that it will not be a one side fits all approach. The Pulse Diversity Index through our annual Internal Employee Survey draws feedback from our colleagues from different genders, age groups, job roles and job categories with the aim of addressing any gaps that would hinder an environment where employees feel they belong. This has enabled us to address matters that would otherwise lead to a disengaged workforce including flexible work models, internal pay alignments, job satisfaction, office workspace that promotes an open culture, wellness initiatives, and mentorship programmes. Our reward and recognition program focuses on sustainable performance and moving together as a Flock of Geese rather than as single contributors. We work hard and play harder.

By attracting the most diverse range of talent, we will deliver more innovative solutions. A culture of inclusiveness will help improve the retention and engagement of our staff.

**The author is a Senior Human Resource Business Partner at Ipsos in Kenya