Focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion as individual concepts is key to curbing the Great Resignation

In the last few years, the workforce has experienced a steady influx of challenges and changes due to both external and internal factors. As employers try to navigate the new normal, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) has come to the forefront of focus for leadership, contributing to a rise in awareness, commitment, and resources. While the key focuses around DE&I have remained consistent over the years, the current landscape differs in that it has drawn unprecedented attention to this critical area.

The corporate world is making progress – leadership teams are more diverse today than 20 years ago, inclusion is something that is measured and equity is growingly prominent in the workforce. DE&I is an ever-evolving body of work, and there are many stages as a company progresses in its DE&I maturity. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach and the journey is not a quick seminar fix. The good news is that DE&I strategies have become an established entity in the workplace, especially in the new normal.

It’s also pertinent to understand that DE&I is a journey that employees are on together and change management is critically important to drive sustainable impact. As corporations move through this journey, meeting everyone where they are and moving them forward with the elements of its strategy will play a big role. In addition, taking concepts and making them relevant and actionable brings this work to life and enables everyone across the organization to participate in driving change.

Why now?

The Great Resignation that has occurred during the pandemic further emphasizes the need for business leaders to embrace DE&I strategies.

There is a direct correlation between diverse teams and better financial performance, and to drive transformative impact companies need to design strategies that balance all 3 areas of DEI.

According to McKinsey’s most recent diversity study, corporations in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability, and ethnically diverse organizations are 36% more likely to outperform their peers. Furthermore, according to a Deloitte study, 80% reported inclusivity was important when choosing an employer and 39% of respondents said they would leave their current office for a more inclusive one.

DE&I strategies start from the top down – executives need to be genuinely committed to these efforts and hold themselves and others accountable. Additionally, DE&I cannot be a standalone function that operates independently from day-to-day; it should be identified as a strategic business and people enabler that is systemic to the workplace, simply becoming part of the way things are done. If executives want to see the benefits of DE&I increasing profitability, innovation, and engagement, it’s important to not only attract diverse talent but also keep them by creating an environment where employees can thrive.

To create this type of culture, focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion as a business imperative is a crucial to success.

Increasing diversity

Increasing diversity among teams starts with the attraction process. It’s imperative to ensure that potential candidates can know that the company they are evaluating is a place where they can see themselves feeling like the belong and succeeding. Sourcing diverse qualified talent is an effective way to increase the funnel and bring diverse talent into the organization. When having candidates meet with current employees, it’s effective to have a diverse candidate slate which means including at least one or more diverse candidates, similar to the Rooney Rule.

This approach does not require anyone to hire diverse candidates into a role, but instead increases the funnel of qualified talent so decision-makers can hire the best candidate. This same logic also applies to those interviewing prospective candidates as it’s crucial to showcase diversity within your current staff. Finally, in order to minimize bias, companies can implement a managing bias training for leaders and give tangible examples of how to apply these concepts in real life such as during interviewing, hiring, performance conversations, special project assignments, and professional development to name just a few.

Another actionable shift to drive diversity is valuing skills over degrees. There are many entry-level roles that don’t need to require a 4-year college degree to perform but many make it a requirement. If organizations can identify and hire for skills, they can increase socioeconomic and racial diversity in the workforce which opens opportunities to a much wider talent pool. To be successful, companies can put training and potentially apprenticeships in place – this can be a game-changer.

Moving to equity

A baseline to mastering equity is first understanding the difference between equity and equality. Equality means everyone gets the exact same thing, but equity means everyone gets what they need, creating a level playing field and thereby giving colleagues equitable access to resources and opportunities.

A common situation within companies is a diversity imbalance—where there is a balance at entry levels but with progressive levels of management women and people of color are often not promoted into these roles. There can be many different causes of this related to this such as how development opportunities are identified, performance rating inequities, or a lack of mentors and sponsors. Baking into existing talent practices ensures that organizations take a DE&I approach to all phases of the employee lifecycle.

Leaders can take an active role in addressing and rectifying systemic issues. For example, during performance conversations, a representative from HR or business leadership can play a pivotal role of “interrupter” during these conversations to ensure bias is not entering the decision-making process. Ensuring that people have the skills, tools, and resources to have these conversations, as well as ingraining these practices in the culture, create a safe space for these sometimes-challenging conversations.

Development has also become a big focus, especially to provide colleagues an opportunity for career progression. Again, it’s important to bake DE&I into talent practices. For example, often when businesses map out succession planning, diverse candidates are often not included or may not be considered ready to be a successor. If this is the case, businesses should expand the scope and identify up-and-coming diverse talent and actively start developing them.

Providing opportunities to grow in the workplace can also be addressed with things like internal mentorships and sponsorships. These close skill gaps and strengthen the workforce of the future, as well as help participants gain exposure to leadership. Providing ongoing feedback can also address concerns with career trajectory. Often, managers don’t feel equipped to give feedback, and organizations have the opportunity to do more to help managers develop this skill and a chance to grow the careers of their teams.

Creating an inclusive culture

An inclusive work environment is when all colleagues feel welcomed, valued, respected, and heard. It also allows for all to provide input, feel safe to be their authentic selves, have an open dialogue for feedback and see their ideas implemented. Creating an inclusive workplace also entails tackling microaggressions—subtle behaviors that affect members of underrepresented groups. Microaggressions can add up, causing those impacted to feel invalidated and lead to questioning whether they belong. When experiencing or witnessing a microaggression, it is best to call it out and educate the transgressor of the impact of their actions.

With inclusion, communication is vital, especially in a virtual and remote work environment. It’s fundamental for companies to place emphasis on internal communications between managers and employees to help bridge the virtual disconnect. Employees now more than ever want to feel valued and part of the team, to feel connected, and having more meetings individually and as a team promotes workplace productivity and creativity. There is also the opportunity to come together for less formal team meetings and create some fun.

As the old saying goes what gets measured gets done, so a crucial aspect to inclusion is understanding your company through metrics. Employee engagement surveys can be done at any time. You can have an inclusion index in the survey to understand current sentiments and measure shifts over time. This way you can ensure that you are maximizing the impacts of your strategy and creating an environment that is conducive to inclusion.

Navigating the new workforce normal

During the pandemic, the workforce saw a shift in focus as virtual meetings brought work into the home with everyone having different experiences—some colleagues juggled family life while others were alone and feeling isolated. Social and global factors also played a role in this shift as organizations wanted to take action, breaking down barriers to have conversations that most were too uncomfortable to have previously.

Now more than ever, there is pressure on leaders to provide support for their teams. Each team, business and situation are different, and corporations should design a strategy that fits its own needs and situations. It’s never too late to start addressing DE&I as these strategies can accelerate and increase positive impacts to people and business. Now is a great opportunity to take action, do great things, and make a difference together.

Heather Lawley is global head of diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental, social, governance at Sedgwick.