Thoughtful Ways to Bring a More Inclusive Lens to Your Workplace
You’ll likely see a lot in your feed today and throughout February about Black History Month - rightfully so, as this too-short month of recognition and celebration of African-American people and events should really be part of your approach to work every month. If you’re a white American, authentically “doing” Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging may feel confusing, daunting, or just plain hard. Research from Deloitte suggests that while 71% of organizations attempt to foster a diverse and inclusive environment, only 11% actually do so.
But amongst those 11% with authentically inclusive cultures? Well, those are the organizations that get results, outperforming similar organizations who lack that lens by 80%. They’re also the organizations that retain talent over the long-term.
For all these reasons, and because we are deeply committed to supporting organizations become the most inclusive and equity-driven that they can be, we have compiled a starter list of thoughtful ways to bring a more inclusive lens to your workplace, during Black History Month and every month.
1) Never Interview Without a Rubric (And a Team to Fill it Out)
Perhaps the first place our implicit biases show up is in the interviewing process. Without our even knowing it, we succumb to “like me” and “expectation” biases, which predispose us to gravitate toward people who share identities with us or who possess identities that match what we think people in this role are “supposed” to be like. This is compounded when hiring is owned by one person only.
Make it Work for You: Create a simple rubric that captures the 3 - 5 must-have qualities of this specific position and determine what the top of the rubric (Definitely Meets the Bar for this Competency) actually looks like.
Assemble a diverse team of interviewers - ideally from different perspectives and levels on the team - and review the rubric for alignment before you begin the interview process. At each state of the process, interviewers on the panel should fill out the rubric and debrief differing results.
Continue in this manner until you’re ready to make a final decision, weighing everyone’s input against the rubric.
2) Rethink Your Goals for DEIB
Got goals? Fantastic! Some organizations don’t - or those goals exist but aren’t clear to employees. The problem with most traditional goals is that they tend to maintain the status quo: a status quo that we all know is inherently racist (and ableist, and sexist, and…) Driving results is important, but doing so in a way that produces better outcomes for people in your organization from marginalized communities is how you take your goals - and your org - from a place of token diversity to authentic inclusion and belonging.
Make it Work for You: Establish a “by” or a “with” in your goal-setting process. Instead of saying, “Increase revenue by x% over the next quarter,” consider, “Increase revenue by x% over the next quarter, with monthly check-ins with staff to ensure those with marginalized identities aren’t shouldering an unequal share of the selling work.” This small shift can make a big impact on increasing equity in your workplace.
3) Establish (Multiple) Feedback Structures
The second biggest reason that people leave their roles is because they feel that they are not being seen or heard by their organizations. (That’s Deloitte again.) And it feels simple to say, “I have an open door policy! Anyone who reports to me can come talk to me about anything at anytime!”
The problem, of course, is that lines of power and difference are very likely leading to your employees from marginalized communities not taking you up on that offer in an authentic way. In fact, only 21% of employees actually feel that their managers care about their opinions, according to Gallup’s most recent poll. To address this, you absolutely must establish regular feedback structures with your employees.
Make it Work For You: Check out our recent post on the four consistent ways you need to approach feedback from your employees. For the TL;DR version, we encourage:
Skip Levels
1:1 Feedback Structures
Anonymous Structures
Clarity Around Feedback Response
In addition, when receiving feedback from employees, always (always) repeat-back what you’re hearing. This is not a rebuttal, but a check for understanding. “I hear you saying X - is that correct?” or “We are totally aligned on X, but maybe not yet on how to get there.”
4) Talk About Real Issues of Race, Power & Inequity - Openly & Often
Your employees do not exist only at work, separately from the world. That means it’s incredibly important to acknowledge how world and country events may impact your employees - and talk about that. Another police shooting of an unarmed, Black man? Stay silent and you are - whether that’s your intention or not - saying that this doesn’t matter to you as a manager. Legislation passed that makes pay equity a requirement in your state? Miss celebrating that with your team…and sharing how your organization is changing (or already implementing) compensation benchmarking, and you miss an opportunity for inclusion.
Make it Work For You: Every environment and employee is different, but allowing regular space (at team meetings, at 1:1 check-ins), for people to bring their thoughts, concerns, and ideas about what’s happening outside your workspace is a great start. Modelling this yourself - sharing your imperfect, but authentic - thoughts with staff during times of trauma will show that these issues matter to your entire work community, not just those from marginalized communities.
Real Talk
Fostering an environment of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is a lifelong quest - for organizations and the people within them. You can’t change everything overnight, and you don’t have to change everything alone. Read, learn, and empower yourself with strategies to address issues of inequity at your organization. A great starting point? Agile Talent has multiple trainings addressing DEIB in the workplace.
