Every Kinda People

At NATO, we view Diversity & Inclusion as an opportunity. Each year we take stock on what happened and what we can learn in this domain. One might wonder, once you set your values and goals in terms of working environment, what can change from a year prior? How has the world evolved in this seemingly short time? And I would respond, without sarcasm or patronising --?are you kidding??Arguably, in the past two years the world of work, organisations, and life in general, has undergone the most disruptive transformation since the Industrial Revolution. I am exaggerating, but probably not by much. In these trying times, propelling the Diversity & Inclusion element at NATO remains both a goal and a source of inspiration.?

As a political organisation, NATO remains on a mission to ensure deterrence and defence in the Euro-Atlantic area. To accomplish it, we need to be relevant, which means we, the staff, need to continue to generate creative ideas and insights that are relevant to the changing global environment. We can only do that - to bring out the creative ideas – through a diverse workforce, which cultivates an inclusive work environment. The more diverse we are, the better we work together, the more creative ideas we will be able to originate, and the more relevant organisation NATO will become. We need every kinda people.

Hence, Diversity and Inclusion directly contribute to NATO’s relevance. Yet, while before the pandemic we mainly focused on hiring for diversity as well as cultivating a people-positive culture, now we are faced with a multi-dimensional challenge. Previously unnoticed concepts like the new ways of working, future of work, teleworking, flexworking and Zoom have now become part of daily “water-cooler” conversations at organisations large and small.?

At the same time, when you open Harvard Business Review, or Financial Times, or any HR-specific publication, it becomes clear that?other creeping challenges of the past 2 years - burnouts, zoom fatigue, and balancing work/non-work from home - need to be taken seriously by all organisations. The thin line between home and work has become virtually invisible during the pandemic. All of that has massive repercussions on how organisations cultivate diversity and inclusion.

At NATO, we must continue looking at metrics such as national representation and gender balance as part of NATO’s workforce. But, in my humble opinion, the pandemic has brought to the fore much more fundamental questions like - what is work? How do we thrive at work? As an multinational organisation - how do we empower our people? Here, diversity and inclusion emerge as critical elements of the future of work.

There are no simple answers and to quote technologist Azeem Azhar, “[t]he Covid-19 pandemic altered the nature of work and the fluidity of the labour force. Exactly how these changes are taking root remains unclear.”?But if we were to start somewhere, flexibility might be the concept to ponder. Some companies decided to never return to offices, others took an opposite turn by “forcing” people back to the office space. Many others are somewhere in the middle. Teleworking is by definition a flex concept, which requires careful curation for it to work fairly and equally for all.

At the end of the day, we at NATO are blessed with a fantastic, evergreen, and noble mission to defend freedom and preserve peace. This gives us a clear purpose, which, when combined with a much needed focus on our people, can result in a people-positive work environment. Our fantastic Human Resources team has been collaborating with other stakeholders in NATO enterprise on important initiatives. This year we focused on key building blocks of D&I such as fostering inclusive management and leadership, removing the barriers in our HR processes and procedures, and giving voice to staff from different diversity groups through Staff Resource Groups.

These NATO initiatives put us on a right path toward a diverse and inclusive culture; yet the work is never complete. As we shift to a higher activity gear reflected in NATO2030, the journey will require the all-in collaboration from us all.