20 Leaders Tell You Why Organizations Cannot Ignore the DEI Shift – Part 2

January 17, 2023

We continue our dialog on why organizations cannot afford to ignore the DEI shift. In this part, we bring to you the insights provided by 10 more leaders who reiterate their stance in support of this shift.

In case you missed it, here’s the previous part that has even more insights from leaders addressing the importance of organizations waking up to the DEI shift – 20 Leaders Tell You Why Organizations Cannot Ignore the DEI Shift – Part 1.

Workforce Demands

Customer demands and various external factors – such as the pandemic, racial and social injustice, political divisiveness, economic pressures and the like – have resulted in increased mobilization around DE&I in the last few years, and CEOs and C-Suites are starting to recognize the importance – and competitive advantage — of a diverse and inclusive workplace. They are no longer debating the business case but are now focused on how to operationalize DE&I to drive tangible outcomes.

Inclusion is a solid predictor of employee engagement, and we’ve seen an increase in employees expressing concerns about such things as a lack of inclusion and psychological safety at work.

Anuradha Hebbar,
Partner & Global Lead, DEI Practice, Kincentric

But what’s different now — and what we think is the biggest reason that the shift is here to stay — has to do with employees themselves.

Our global employee engagement research shows that inclusion is a solid predictor of employee engagement, and we’ve seen an increase in employees expressing concerns about such things as a lack of inclusion and psychological safety at work. As a result, and unlike never before, employees are placing pressure on companies to take meaningful actions around DE&I and are using their voices to demand change, making it impossible to not take this shift seriously.

Anuradha Hebbar, Partner & Global Lead, DEI Practice, Kincentric

Need for Lasting Change

We have been doing what is now called DEI consulting for approximately 40 years. This work started to ramp up around conversations of Affirmative Action – when the “diversity hiring” was being encouraged, and very often without the thought of how to retain and support the “diverse hires” to feel included and like they belong. Our world is a diverse one, and as we continue thinking about social cohesion – whether in our workplace, communities, families, and as a society, we need to think about how we can best have effective cross-cultural (all differences) dialogue.

There is still much work to be done – we are noticing a shift in the past couple of years to a realization that this is not a quick fix, 1-hour workshop that clients often think they want. The shift we notice is in the clients own realizations that it is (and needs to be) deep work – which is why the model our founders developed (based in clinical psychology – transactional analysis) has been so effective. It takes into consideration the three dimensions of change needed to make a lasting impact (affective, behavioral, and cognitive).

Elika Dadsetan, CEO & Executive Director, VISIONS Inc.

Current Realities

We know that women and people of color do not feel the workplace is fair and indeed, it has not been designed for them. And they are leaving in great numbers–making many workplaces less and less diverse. Ignoring the need to retain and recruit diverse talent, will result in companies OUT OF TOUCH with current realities–and their clients and customers which will mean losing money and market share. What’s more consumers and clients are starting to ask these questions on DEI of their brands and vendors.

Ignoring the need to retain and recruit diverse talent, will result in companies OUT OF TOUCH with current realities–and their clients and customers which will mean losing money and market share.

Amy-Willard Cross,
Founder, Gender Fair

Gender Fair has unpublished proprietary data that says the people care the most about protections from harassment and equal pay. Workplaces are falling short when it comes to the above, and many other things. Since 2016, Gender Fair measures public facing consumer companies on how they serve women across 5 categories (leadership, employee policies, advertising, diversity reporting philanthropy). About 85% of companies fall short–with little women’s leadership, lacking policies or parental leave not doing pay studies etc.

Amy-Willard Cross, Founder, Gender Fair

Work Environment Diversity

Diversifying the hiring process has become an essential piece of modern work culture, but perhaps more importantly, a diversified team shows increasingly greater positive results than their homogenous counterparts – and the numbers are there to prove it. Three in four job seekers and workers prefer diverse companies, and diverse management has been shown to increase revenue by 19%, according to statistics.

That’s why, since I joined the LinkSquares team in 2019, I have spearheaded initiatives to create a more diverse environment at LinkSquares, including improved hiring practices that better include underrepresented groups in our candidate pools and interview panels. In addition to this, we provide employees with unconscious bias training, have created an employee-run DEI committee, set up ERGs, and launched inclusive employee benefits like our universal parental leave.

Working alongside a diverse team at LinkSquares as both a woman and Asian American myself, I’ve seen firsthand from a business perspective how initiatives like these help produce better results. Our focus on DEI has helped us achieve 1582% revenue growth over the past 3 years. I’m proud that we’ve built a diverse culture at LinkSquares that welcomes and encourages employees to bring their whole selves to the company.

Juliette Kopecky, Chief Marketing Officer, LinkSquares

Competitive Hiring Advantages

A strong, consistent focus on DEI has historically been the first thing to go at many companies when the market experiences turbulence – consider the fact that the number of Black software engineers in the U.S. has stayed at 5 percent of the overall total for years – but it is more critical than ever to not step away from these efforts. These are the times when hiring inclusively matters the most to underrepresented talent. What is good for DEI is also good for overall hiring efficiency – the tradeoff here is a false one.

Right now, the organizations that are able to invest in building a more intentional AND inclusive hiring process are going to have a huge competitive advantage as we emerge – as we always do! – from the current market disruption.

Jeffrey Spector,
Co-Founder & President, Karat

When hiring slows, you can focus more on building relationships with organizations and communities that you might not have otherwise, so that you can get a more diverse pool of candidates for all your jobs. Right now, the organizations that are able to invest in building a more intentional AND inclusive hiring process are going to have a huge competitive advantage as we emerge – as we always do! – from the current market disruption.

Jeffrey Spector, Co-Founder & President, Karat

Organizational Progress

In order to keep up in today’s world, organizations must attract forward-thinking clients, employees, and other stakeholders who are focused on diversity, equality, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). While many companies today recognize and prioritize hiring diverse candidates, it is much more challenging to address and implement changes related to equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Employers may not know where to start and the concern of doing the wrong thing may prevent some companies from making impactful decisions surrounding DEIB. This makes sense given that initiatives in these areas are much more difficult to grasp and effectively implement. But, thanks to coaching organizations and their impact, companies no longer have to work alone when creating change related to DEIB.

In a recent thought piece by Activate 180, the company offers tips to help an organization kick-start its DEIB initiatives and explains how employee-focused programs can further an organization’s progress in these efforts.

Here are the ways that working with coaches can help support organizations in moving toward EIB initiatives:

Equity: By offering coaching to employees at all levels, coaching programs support organizations in providing equitable opportunities for the development, growth, and advancement of their entire employee base.
Inclusion: Through one-on-one coaching, experts teach tools that give employees confidence and empower them to share their opinions at work.
Belonging: Team or company-wide coaching sessions and team-building exercises facilitate companies in creating safe spaces where all employees can express themselves honestly.

Rod McDermott, CEO & Co-Founder, Activate 180

Need for Continual Commitment

Company leaders must take diversity and inclusivity as seriously as digital transformation. Unfortunately, many companies have failed to deliver on their DEI commitments. They must recognize it as a multi-year process that involves funding, resourcing, company metrics, change management, systems rebuild and the setting of employee-related goals.

If we use the digital transformation analogy, many companies are merely pausing at the Blackberry stage and saying, “Yep, we’re good.” That shortsighted approach can impact employee commitment, brand equity and customer loyalty.

Kim Clark, Owner, Kim Clark Communications

Employee Trust

Losing employee trust is the one thing that’s convinced me that we cannot afford to ignore the shift in prioritizing diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. 2020 was a year of awakening and reckoning resulting in a paradigm shift with employees demanding that their employers take a public stand against racism, and all forms of discrimination, and initiate change.

Simultaneously, many organizations took action by re-evaluating systems in comparison to how they impact the workforce, prioritized amplifying voices of the marginalized and racialized, and hired Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Leaders to implement and manage a path forward.

2020 was a year of awakening and reckoning resulting in a paradigm shift with employees demanding that their employers take a public stand against racism, and all forms of discrimination, and initiate change.

Shalaura Soliai,
Vice President, DEI, Discovery Behavioral Health

Unfortunately, some corporate DEI initiatives lost momentum similar to the black square movement on social media. Because of this, employees are keenly watching with discernment to determine if their employer’s diversity and inclusivity strategy is rooted in performative or genuine allyship. Our teammates have entrusted leadership with fulfilling their commitment to engineer and sustain a more equitable workplace; if we lose their trust we are at risk of losing them.

Developing timely and intentional communications about DEI initiatives, employee demographics, updates, and outcomes (including the good, the bad, and the ugly) is a great way to ensure inclusivity remains a priority and foster employee trust.

Shalaura Soliai, Vice President, DEI, Discovery Behavioral Health

Company Culture

In the past several years, HR professionals have been at the forefront of leading DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in their workplaces to create a more equal playing field for all people.

As part of the mission, creating an inclusive culture and enabling alternative accessibility methods is becoming increasingly important. For this reason, HR teams have begun to emphasize DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) to truly embrace diversity in all its forms and address any challenges concerning accessibility considerations.

This broader focus allows comprehensive solutions to be created and encourages everyone in the organization to be conscious of not only cultural differences, but also physical limitations that could diminish someone’s ability to contribute effectively on the job.

HR professionals have been at the forefront of leading DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in their workplaces to create a more equal playing field for all people.

Jennifer Morehead,
CEO, FlexHR

As HR professionals, it is our responsibility to ensure that organizations are actively striving to develop cultures and environments that are inclusive, equitable, and diverse. Flex HR’s DEI expert and HR consultant, Zarena C. Marcus, encourages companies to take a deeper look into the ways they have been operating their businesses in the past, prompting organizations to consider how they can implement DEI strategies effectively in order to facilitate the necessary changes.

One of the most important components of this process is including sensitivity training that has been tailored to the organization’s needs. A crucial part of making sure DEI efforts are successful is getting to know your employees on a more personal level, which allows you to understand their backgrounds and ensure that any environment you cultivate is one where every employee feels accepted, included, and heard.

Jennifer Morehead, CEO, FlexHR

Positive Branding

Performative attempts can have a strong negative impact on your brand. Employees are the loudest voices when it comes to company sentiment. It might be what they share with their friends, family, colleagues, and their network connections. Employees are the first to call out the company’s BS when attempting performative DEI. We saw many examples of that after George Floyd’s murder, like Anthropology, Starbucks, and many, many more. However, for those doing DEI work to meet their promises and commitments to DEI, you see improvement in employee retention and acquisition by attracting new talent. It’s not about doing DEI perfectly (as there is no such thing) but rather doing it as best to the company’s ability with an actual change in mind can shine a light on the company’s brand in a positive light.

Kim Flanery-Rye, Founder and Principal Consultant, MyKimisms

A Mix of Advantages No Organization can Ignore

While this list is indeed quite a comprehensive one, thanks to the varying reasons put forth by leaders from organizations not just understanding the shift but also committing to it, we also know that when an organization commits to DEI efforts in the long term, the list of advantages extends far beyond the elements mentioned here.

After all, it’s not just the employees and the organization that benefit; the impact of embracing diversity, equality, and inclusivity leaves an impression on social circles too.

Do you have a take on why an HR team is important, even if it’s a one-person team? Or is there another insight you’d like to share with readers across the globe?

Write to us at connect@HRSpotlight.com, and our team will help you share your insights.