Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion– It’s Not Just HR’s Job

Who manages the diversity efforts at your company? Most responses include HR, but the answer should be more robust than that. The initiative to be a more inclusive company has become more than just trendy, it has become a necessity.

Michelle Hyde, Learning and Development Instructor at MRA, recently spoke at the Iowa State SHRM Conference about how companies can build diversity, equity, and inclusion into their culture. In order to make it a holistic endeavor, companies should reach across the company to gain involvement on all levels.

How to address diversity, equity, and inclusion as an initiative

To fully encompass a diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative, all aspects should be included. Understanding the four layers of difference (Gardenswartz and Rowe, 2003) can help address what makes each person unique.

1. Personality is at the core of what makes people who they are. It is formed at a very young age and typically does not change with time.
2. Internal dimensions, such as age, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and physical ability come next. They are things that are apparent, but that a person cannot control.
3. External dimensions are the next layer, and include areas of influence such as educational background, geographic location, religion, parental or marital status, income, and habits.
4. Organizational dimensions such as an individual’s line of work, management status, union affiliation, or which department a person aligns with influence a person’s sense of belonging or where he or she fits in.

Building DE&I into your culture

In order for DE&I efforts to work, companies should provide access to resources all year long and not just be focused on certain events or times of the year. Start with new hires by including the opportunity for 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day feedback during the introductory period and review process. First impressions are important and new hires can be the best resource for understanding the level of engagement you foster. Assign mentors or buddies to employees who want to become more involved or learn more about what it means to cultivate a diverse culture.

Communicating your message

It is common for companies to be concerned about saying the wrong thing. People tend to offer a lot of grace to companies that make the effort, as long as it is sincere and authentic. Studies show that only 33 percent of employees are aware of any diversity initiatives where they work and 57 percent of employees think their companies aren’t as diverse as they claim to be. Employees know when the effort is not genuine, so be consistent and intentional with your efforts.

Conscious actions for inclusion (Katz and Miller, 2016)

• Lean into discomfort. Trust is built when you encourage feedback and model accepting the discomfort for others.
• Listen as an ally. Build collaboration by moving toward a “we” mindset and focusing on supporting people, not winning. Establish a shared vocabulary.
• Build understanding with the intention of informing, advising, and questioning. Be sure everyone understands the company’s position of DE&I and shares a uniform message.
• Share your street corner. Sharing your perspective and making your message relatable will help others share their perspectives. Be open and encourage curiosity.

Key reasons diversity efforts don’t work for companies

A key first step toward making DE&I efforts successful is determining what your key strategies will be and what will move the dial. Many companies get frustrated with a lack of immediate results and give up before they really get started. Missteps should not cause you to stop completely. Be resilient to the inherent difficulties and refocus when things get hard.

One way to prevent frustration is to avoid a top-down approach. Encourage participation from top management, but also involve employees from diverse backgrounds and utilize those with a passion for diversity. This also helps creates a more authentic message.

Play on the strengths of your company

Communication will look different for each area of your company. Use your organizational chart as a guide for who can be involved from each area of the company. Can the marketing team ensure diverse representation in your printed materials or on your website? Can the sales team develop a campaign to increase engagement? Can procurement develop ways to bring diversity into vendor relationships? How can the executive team become involved to demonstrate support? Developing a steering committee can help pull it all together so efforts are continuous.

This is a topic that is very close to many because it touches on personal experience. Employees are able to use that recollection for growth and development opportunities, leaning on cross-collaboration opportunities to deepen their skill sets. This, in turn, makes them feel like they are part of what is happening and they become invested in the process as well as the company.

MRA's DEI Services