Building an inclusive workplace: What's gone wrong, and what’s the solution?
3 steps for creating time and space for inclusion
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace have become buzzwords, albeit with good reason. Diversity has become a metric to measure equality, while inclusion is a real business issue. Everyone is talking about the increasing need for it, and there are countless studies proving its business case. According to research from McKinsey, companies in the lowest quartile for both gender and ethnic diversity were “27 percent more likely to underperform on profitability” than companies with more diverse leadership teams.
However, with companies shifting to remote and hybrid work environments, how can you actually implement DEI practices in an effective way?
Step 1: Define the real problem
I recently spoke with Davina Sirisena, founder and CEO of Difference Digital, a recruitment firm in the UK. Reflecting on her experiences helping several tech companies build more diverse teams, she believes that, aside from biases, the biggest barrier to inclusion is time and time-related pressure. That’s why she created Diversity and Inclusion in Tech (DINT) - a free online community, set up to make connections with people who care about DEI in tech.
“In business environments, everything was due yesterday. The priority is always the thing that makes companies money. It takes precedence over everything else, such as company culture and spending time with colleagues. If we’re pressured by time, we’ll make the simplest, quickest choices wherever we can. However, we need a much more holistic approach. There needs to be space in our workday to connect with people in ways that aren’t necessarily for achieving a particular end.”
Countless others in the DEI space have made similar arguments. In her latest book, Caste, African-American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson writes that when you know even a little bit about someone, it immediately starts to dismantle prejudice and bias. This helps to build empathy, so it’s easier to navigate through conflict when it arises.
Step 2: Finding solutions for online inclusion
Ultimately, the solution is simply taking the time to connect. However, if time is precisely what we’re lacking, then what’s the answer?
Simon Sinek says, “Great culture, no matter where we are and no matter how big the organization, is not about intensity. It’s about consistency.” He argues that we like intensity because it is fixed in time, with measurable and predictable results. When we want to shape our employees into leaders, we schedule an event, invite guest speakers and ask people to rate the event. Alternatively, when we want to fix a broken organization, we reorganize management teams. Sinek explains that this might save money in the short term, but it doesn’t create sustainable change in the long run.
As a solution, Sinek believes that you need consistency, in terms of the human part. Relationships aren’t built overnight. Although one conversation may not have a big impact, small conversations that happen regularly over time will foster trust among colleagues, managers and employers. This creates a psychologically safe environment, where people feel comfortable asking for help, providing feedback, voicing concerns, and so on.
So, could video calls with colleagues be the answer to building healthy relationships over time?
Not quite.
Virtira CEO Cynthia Watson argues that video call fatigue has become a source of exhaustion for remote and hybrid teams. Virtira’s research shows that “up to 80% of businesses are reporting they will move towards fully remote or a hybrid/flex model.” If this is the case, then companies need to revisit their day-to-day practices to boost employee morale, engagement, productivity and mental health, while avoiding Zoom-drain.
Step 3: Building our own solution to automate and humanize online connection
At Areto Labs, we’ve been working on a Slackbot called Coach. Think of it like a friend and digital coworker that facilitates a safe space for people to connect in online chats, but on their own time.
Here’s how it works:
Download Coach into your Slack workspace, and add it to a channel.
Choose one of its themed message packs, ranging from DEI and belonging to productivity and wellness.
Coach will then post scheduled conversation prompts in your selected channel, allowing people to connect in a fun, authentic way.
As your team interacts with the messages, Coach uses machine learning to provide anonymized, aggregated insights on engagement and sentiment.
Why is it important to create these consistent micro-moments of connection? According Josh Bersin’s year-long study on DEI in the workplace, organizations that listen to employees, really hear what they’re saying and act accordingly are:
12 times more likely to engage and retain employees
8.4 times more likely to inspire a sense of belonging
8.5 times more likely to satisfy and retain customers
If you’re curious to learn more about Coach, you can try it out now with a free 30-day trial. We have a new DEI message pack, created specifically to increase the sense of belonging and inclusion at work by celebrating everyone’s diversity. However, if you’d like a completely custom message pack for your team’s unique needs, please get in touch at coach@aretolabs.com.