5 ways to make the DEI framework really work!

Today’s workplace is all about instilling a sustainable work culture, that is modeled on the tripartite fundamentals- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We are in a flux where people are coming up with new ways to facilitate diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. A lot of research is being conducted towards unearthing erroneous work culture patterns and finding ways to infuse the DEI framework into the marrow of the Organization’s core philosophy in ways that are scalable and real.

Here are five ways in which we can cross the bridge to make Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion- the core values around which talent is engaged and groomed in an enterprise.

1.?Facilitating the conversation- Meaningful conversations incubate a productive work culture. Openness, tolerance, respect, and understanding go a long way to forging an ecosystem that is both productive and qualitative and teeming with a collaborative spirit. A mindset freed from the shackles of biases and prejudices is a laboratory for innovation.

2.?Mapping communication patterns- A rigorous data collection exercise will help to plot the existing communication dynamic of your organization. A certain pecking order will get revealed. There will be clusters that will become visible, where communication is the densest and there will be outliers where communication is sparse. The objective of this exercise is to get a cogent breakup about the over-reliance on some individuals against the isolation and marginalization of others. This research will help to take affirmative action to break down these silos and facilitate the inclusion of others whose expertise hasn’t been utilized to the optimum benefit of the organization.

3.?Advocating an open learning culture- More often than not, promising individuals with the right skills and talents get stalled on the learning opportunities graph due to inequitable access to training opportunities and modalities. This mostly happens to a lot of implicit and unconscious biases creeping into interpersonal relationships. This can be countered by creating an open learning culture, where managers, mentors, coaches, leaders, and talent engagement teams can synergize to create a positive learning environment, built on the creation of learning opportunities, constructive criticism, meaningful feedback mechanisms, need-based mentoring, and facilitating equitable access of learning tools to the employees.

4.?Evaluate your existing talent rubric- Talent engagement processes have far-reaching ramifications for the workplace culture as this is where norms are created and endure to shape the organizational ecosystem. Talent engagement processes should be thoroughly evaluated with respect to important aspects such as accessibility of learning opportunities, screening processes, employee evaluation methodologies, and application of (or absence of) standard metrics for evaluation across the workforce. The rubric should be thoroughly examined for biases and corrective and mitigative steps should be taken toward moving to a more equitable and inclusive organizational mindset.

5.?Breakdown deep-rooted identity stereotypes- Our power and privilege assumptions stem from deep-rooted socio-cultural-economic stereotypes. Through cognitive training, employees can be made aware of their own social identities they behold and how it influences their interpersonal dynamics at the workplace. Such identities can be challenged with conversations centered around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Building an equally empowered diverse workforce will have its teething issues. With concrete meaningful and measurable initiatives driven with intent, we can be hopeful of a more equitable, more inclusive workplace thriving with diverse talent.

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