Inclusion + Diversity = Better performance. How sports organizations can create greater value through I&D
The world is a highly diverse place and in the wake of major social changes, leading sports organizations are taking steps to increase and incorporate Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) within their corporate strategy and daily activities. The role of I&D is shifting.
Many sports organizations have recognized that, by leveraging from different perspectives (fans, supporters, athletes, and employees), they would be able to boost better decision-making processes, stimulate innovation, increase organizational agility, and strengthen resilience to disruption.
Hands down, I&D has become a key business imperative to sustain long-term success in today’s complex environment and sports organizations need to learn how to create and maintain a culture of diversity and inclusiveness. On top of this, the sports industry clearly needs to take an approach that includes the different perspectives from their fans, supporters, athletes, and employees.
Why I&D means growth?
According to the World Economic Forum, there are three key reasons why I&D is a greater necessity than ever before for any industry, including sports:
- Providing equal access and opportunities to all people to work under fair and equitable conditions is simply the right thing to do.
- Organizations need to consider the rights and entitlements given to employees across different locations by law when they operate in different legal environments.
- Organizations leading their geography and industry for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging perform better than their market average across a wide range of key performance metrics:
- Profitability: 25%-36% more likely to outperform on profitability.
- Innovation: Up to 20% higher rate of innovation and 19% higher innovation revenues.
- Decision-making: Up to 30% greater ability of spotting and reducing business risks.
- Employee engagement: Statistically significant causal relationship with engagement and retention, for all employees.
When we consider all these factors it is quite clear that the business case for I&D is strong (and growing stronger) and that there is a solid link between these initiatives and better corporate performance. Nevertheless, achieving I&D requires an organization-wide effort and the execution of a suitable strategy.
So, what can you do to make I&D a reality?
Sports organizations need to approach I&D strategy in the same way they address any other business problem or opportunity (by analyzing data, identifying the root causes, applying corporate values, test and measure, and hold everyone accountable).
Thus, here are some key insights that may serve as tools for those looking to make their organization more diverse and inclusive:
- Link diversity to the underlying corporate purpose of the organization.
- Gather data to identify key issues. To enable transformation, organizations need a clear understanding of their starting point.
- Understand how employees and athletes feel about the organization and their role in it. Their views and opinions are key to an effective I&D strategy.
- Transformation must start at the top so push senior leadership to visibly highlight diversity and inclusion as a priority for the organization.
- Emphasize the business case for I&D and clearly articulate the ways that diversity and inclusion is related to the organization’s business / sportive success.
- Issue an explicit statemen as an organization that I&D matters and be clear and specific about what are the expectations and how would everyone be hold accountable.
- Ensuring that the organization’s recruitment process aims to identify strong candidates irrespective of factors such as age, gender or ethnicity and provides the necessary foundation for a diverse talent pipeline.
- Make sure that there are systems and policies for handling infractions and designate specific people as being responsible for listening to employees’ concerns and problems.
- Like any other strategic initiative, I&D results must be tracked and evaluated against the agreed-upon goals.
These ideas offer a proven starting point for sports organizations to build the environment required in which both the organization and its employees/athletes would be able to thrive.
Certainty, the benefits of I&D are well documented and widely accepted. Perhaps that is the reason why the attention with respect to this issue in the sports industry is growing, with more organizations stepping up and emphasizing that they will try to do better to address this challenge.
As younger fan generations mandate, it is more important than ever for sports organizations to create an environment where employees, athletes, fans, and supporters feel like they belong and where relationships and innovation thrive.
I&D is about working together, engaging in a deep dialogue with our fans, supporters, athletes, and employees and offering them strongest solutions. Only high-performance organizations that capitalize on the influence of different perspectives and backgrounds will succeed in this ecosystem.
The need for sports organizations to show that they are good members of society and are adding value to all their stakeholders has never been greater. Let us not lose sight of the fact that COVID-19 crisis is just a symptom of the shortcomings of the current system, showing that organizations and people will not thrive on a wounded planet.