Common mistakes in Diversity and Inclusion

Having a robust diversity and inclusion policy in place might seem like the obvious way to go in order to ensure you have a diverse workplace. But believe it or not there are right ways of doing it as well as lots of wrong ways, your organisation may already have a Diversity and Inclusion plan in place as in the UK there are minimum legal guidelines which need to be met. However, many businesses approach to Diversity and Inclusion stops at legal compliance. Due to the nature of Inclusion there may be things that businesses are doing by mistake which are having a negative effect on Diversity and Inclusion efforts.

Diversity

Diversity is about recognising differences and acknowledging the benefits of having a range of perspectives when it comes to representing the organisation and customer base whether that be race, gender, age, disability or religion.

But focusing on diversity before inclusion. If underrepresented minorities, women, and others of diverse backgrounds and experiences aren’t successful within your company, it’s futile to keep addressing the pipeline. No matter how much you focus on recruitment, the candidates you hire probably won’t stay for long. Instead, consider the root causes. Why is this happening and how can you address it within your culture to retain and develop your talent? Once inclusive foundations are in place, then you’re ready to focus on the pipeline.

Inclusion  

Inclusion is all about adapting the workplace to ensure everybody feels valued in the business, that their contribution matters and they are equally respected. What matters in an inclusion strategy is that everybody feels safe at work no matter their background, identity or circumstances and are also given anything they may need to be able to do their jobs effectively.

The problems are first is that they think that ‘diversity and inclusion’ is one or the same thing. In fact they are not, they are both very different and both critical. Diversity is about the difference that people bring and inclusion is about making sure a culture is created that harnesses that difference and brings the best out of each and every individual.

The second mistake is that companies assume that D&I is a process, a tick box exercise, and an end in itself. It isn’t, diversity and inclusion are enablers to deliver the business strategy and objectives.

Not One Size Fits All

Diversity and inclusion efforts are not ‘one size fits all’, each plan surrounding Diversity and Inclusion should have adjustments dependent on the people involved. As Inclusion is all about being treated fairly and equally, it is essential that the plan is adaptable. Each employee should be focused on as an individual. Many businesses make the mistake of believing their policy will be okay for everyone. However, it should be adapted to every employee.

It Needs to Start from the Top 

Are your senior leadership on board? Your strategy should start from the top otherwise it simply will not work. Employees are more likely listen to senior leadership in their team rather than someone from the HR department. A good strategy works from the top down and should be deeply engrained in your company culture.

For large legacy companies, diversity and inclusion needs to be formalized as the culture needs to adapt. The mistakes I’ve seen is that often external partner companies aren’t informed of this, which has created some employer brand PR catastrophes

Not just for HR

It shouldn’t just be an HR initiative, it should be a company-wide initiative. Focusing on Diversity and Inclusion as a one-time process does not work. Update your policy regularly whilst measuring and evaluating the outcomes. This will ensure your policy will benefit all employees long term.

Not Just for Employee Attraction

Your strategy should be for the benefit of your employees, not for vanity. Having an inclusive workplace is all about making your employees feel safe and valued at work. Therefore, developing messages for recruitment that do not match your internal message will soon lead to high turnover of employees.

Two of the biggest mistakes that organisations make are:

Being afraid to take action for fear of getting it wrong – It’s surprising how many organisations don’t address D&I in case they get something wrong which results in a bad PR or a discrimination claim. The irony is that this makes these scenarios more likely.

Not recognising the issue or need to address diversity and inclusion – Organisations can be reluctant to admit that there is an issue and will often quote phrases like “We hire the best person for the job, end of” without seeing the bigger picture or recognising the value that a diverse team brings.