Transparent Workplace Conversations About Inclusion Inspire Change
Racial bias and social injustice are again at the forefront of our hearts and minds. Did your company share both a public message and an internal statement to employees? Are you continuing to explore new approaches that enhance your diversity and inclusion efforts?
Ask many members of the black community and they will tell you that this time things feel different. Dialogues about inclusion, equality and bias once saved for close friends and family members are now becoming safer topics to discuss inside the workplace with colleagues, co-workers and other like-minded individuals. These are the conversations that should be happening within your organization and continuing at a frequent cadence.
This dialogue can be managed by your Diversity and Inclusion committee, comprised of volunteers passionate about a common goal. However, if a program like this is still on the horizon for your company, then HR should lead the charge. Regardless, the pressure to keep the conversations going can become a full-time responsibility.
Successful initiatives pair savvy HR executives with a skilled employee communications partner. Here are some ways to build engagement by keeping the conversation going:
1. Maintain the Momentum.
If you began with thoughts from the executive team, the next step is to capture stories across your sites and at all levels from people who have endured bias or injustice. Create a safe space on numerous platforms for storytelling that will build cohesiveness, loyalty and trust. These are not one-off conversations, so it will take planning and structure to be effective.
2. Create Focused Forums.
Use your multicultural network or vocal employees to champion conversations. They may help identify internal and external speakers who can spark discussions in smaller groups that might feel more comfortable for some people. Remember to summarize key messages from these sessions across all channels, which might encourage those that missed the event to join another session.
3. Build Bold Benefits.
Open enrollment is around the corner. After you have engaged your brokers to offer more comprehensive benefits that meet the needs of a multicultural organization, you will need to communicate what’s different and why now. These messages will need finesse to resonate with employees, but this is the perfect time to show you have heard them in a meaningful way.
Your employees are motivated by transparency, accountability and commitment. This is even more salient in an era of remote work and physical distancing. A recent Harvard Business Review article encourages companies to take consequential action by acknowledging the situation, affirming your organization’s commitment to equality and acting to impact change.
Share your progress frequently and transparently, so employees see that your actions follow your words. All of this helps employees feel safe, so they can be their best selves at work. It also creates an environment that they will talk about with friends and family because it stands out as a place where they feel seen, heard and respected.
What are you and your company doing differently this time? What are some of the challenges you’re facing?