Inclusion Insights by Inclusive Group

Welcome to Inclusion Insights, a monthly bulletin, bringing you the latest thinking on DEI through concise, digestible tips and takeaways.

This month, the Inclusive Group team has developed a new suite of immersive workshops. Tackling everyday exclusion has never felt more important - but we know people find it difficult to know whether, when and how to intervene.

Using sensitively crafted video content, we get fully immersed in the realities of everyday exclusion, bringing perspectives to life and allowing participants to work through solutions together. Watch here.

#MultiPurpose

Our immersive series incorporates all-staff workshops, leadership workshops and 1:1 coaching. Our immersive content can also be incorporated into stand-alone sessions, from leadership conferences to keynotes.

If you would like to find out more, please get in touch!

In our recent horizon scanning article, we highlighted the importance of taking an outcomes-focused approach to DEI.

But what does this mean in practice? We are sharing four steps to position outcomes at the heart of your approach to DEI.

1. Understand the issues

McKinsey’s 2023 DEI Lighthouses report highlighted the importance of root cause analysis. Or in other words, tackle the cause, rather than treat the symptom. While careful analysis of DEI data can highlight trends or disparities, we recommend combining this with surveys, interviews or focus groups, to understand employee sentiment or lived experience.

2. Don’t be afraid to pivot

Whether we are talking people or budget, DEI resources are limited. Once you have reviewed the available data, you may discover that longstanding initiatives and programmes, albeit well intentioned, aren’t tackling the issue at hand. Be prepared to repurpose resources to ensure that time and budget are invested where they will have most impact.

3. Examine your people processes: are they fit for purpose?

Some traditional DEI interventions have focused on fixing people – whether that’s mentoring or imposter syndrome training to ‘fix the women’ or Unconscious Bias training to ‘fix the wider workforce’. But it’s crucial to examine processes too. Do you offer fair access to opportunities? Are decisions made based on objective criteria? Is your process being followed consistently? What steps have you taken to limit the risk of bias in the decision-making process?

4. And finally...

Measure progress, course correct and repeat as required.

If you would like to develop an outcomes-focused approach to DEI and need a helping hand, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch today!