The Covid 19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter and #MeToo
movements of 2020 are two events in history which have brought to our attention
the need to think about a better way to live and do business as a society. I
now believe that the vast majority of professionals understand the level
playing field principal as set out in equality legislation in a number of
countries. The area which still needs work, however, is to relate the
advantages of a diverse and inclusive workforce to wider business metrics and
outcomes which are tangible.
Talman HR’s Inclusion + Talent Matrix demonstrates how
broad practices and principles can be used to maximum effect from day zero of a
new approach to operations and strategy for your business. The majority of
diversity content in the business world tends to focus on two main areas:
adaptability and cultural change. These are enviable and practices which I
support as a consultant but the reality for many businesses is somewhere in the
middle. If a business is change resistant, looking into practical workplace
adjustments can be just as effective as an overarching strategy review. Our
model looks at three A’s: Accessibility, Awareness and Adaptation. We take a
traditional view listing operations first and strategy last but, in most cases,
whether or not an approach to diversity is likely to be successful or not
depends on three interrelated considerations: strategy, culture and values. For
example, If your organisation has not set out what its values are and how these
impact practice on a day-to-day basis, then how can you expect key stakeholders
to buy-in into the overall vision of the organisation?
Let’s take a few examples from the operational side of
the model. Looking at workplace adjustments, confidence in holding ‘protected
conversations’ and auditing existing practices, are likely to be directly
impacted by a wider rollout of changes across the organisation. Greater
feelings of belongingness and trust towards the organisation and a culture of
openness which values individual differences and allows the organisation to
move forward based on the experiences of people from a range of diverse backgrounds
demonstrates the link to strategy. These are all things that either you cannot
or are very difficult to train and it is only when you allow a culture of
openness and tolerance to flourish that the benefits become clear to the
organisation.
It is vitally important that diversity does not become a
siloed issue for any organisation. Alongside operational, tactical and
strategic considerations which generally sprout from culture overall, there is
a need to express the benefits of diversity and inclusion in broader business
terms. This is not just an issue for diversity but a broader concern for most
HR professionals as many departments do not seem well-equipped to demonstrate
the benefits of their initiatives in ways that apply beyond HR. In other words,
HR is traditionally very good at looking inwards. There are some key measures
that I would suggest any organisation begins to consider extremely widely:
return on investment or innovation, the number or percentage of people who feel
safe to disclose a diversity -related consideration for work, the cost per hire
of general departmental roles and productivity ratios. Did you know that the
average UK productivity deficit is 20% to Germany, 15% to France and even 8% to
Italy despite the fact that those countries have more stringent attitudes and
policies to working time where the maximum limit is 35 hours per week rather
than 48 as is the case in the UK? This clearly shows that organisations,
policymakers, and key influences are engaging in practices which do not
fundamentally address the problem despite considerable interest in the
productivity subject over the last 10 years or so. I hope that one of the main
positives which comes out of the current Covid situation is the realisation
that people do not have to be in the same location, at the same time, all of
the time, to be effective. The need to work remotely and to manage my
disability effectively was one of the main reasons why are set up Talman HR
shortly after completing my Master’s degree. Thought leaders are continually
suggesting that the business world has leapt forward by about 10 years in terms
of technological capability over the past 12 months or so. It’s such a shame
that these practices have come about as a result of a somewhat forced and reactive
situation.
One of the main advantages of taking a strategic approach
from the very start in trying to resolve any given issue, is the ability to
take a broader perspective in relation to the problem encountered and to
consider multiple approaches before zooming in on one or a few particular
courses of action. This seems simple enough so why don’t we do more of it? It
seems even more perplexing when diversity in the UK has so often been viewed as
a tick box or compliance exercise when there are so many benefits to diversity
in taking a broader perspective. Another shocking statistic here is that the UK
loses £1.8 billion annually through organisations being non-diverse, usually
because they do not accommodate consumers or workers needs sufficiently despite
legal protections being in place. It is somewhat of a mistake to think that
legislation and policies alone will solve the problem. By identifying values
and cultural practices which can be tailored specifically to an organisation
and then integrating the broader benefits of particular requirements like
workplace or reasonable adjustments has to be a better route forward for
everyone concerned. After all business often talks about talent management so
therefore what we should all be advocating is Talent Management + More.
