Inclusive Environment at Work

An inclusive workplace is a business imperative and a competitive advantage for companies. In such a backdrop, we wanted to share how people leaders at Franklin Templeton put inclusive behaviors into practice and nurture diversity at our company.

We asked them a few questions based on the key elements of Diversity & Inclusion: having a sense of belonging, being recognized for one’s uniqueness, feeling valued, having the opportunity to learn and develop and collaborate across functional teams, and access to resources. In order to provide a global perspective, we reached out to employees from India, the United States, Luxembourg and Poland.??

Nancy Rowe, D&I Director - EMEA: “Inclusion starts with ‘I’ and it’s great to hear how many of our people leaders recognise that we all have to take personal responsibility for creating a culture of inclusion at Franklin Templeton. We should never underestimate the impact our actions can have on those we work with every day – paying attention to how we lead makes all the difference!”

How do you make sure employees know your door is always open and there are no taboo topics?

Kevin Newton, HR Compliance Program Manager, Rancho Cordova: I first make them feel comfortable with me by establishing a personal connection. This approach to openness and support is critical to foster a relationship of honesty and trust. It is essential I build a safe platform for employees to freely express ideas or give feedback without fear of consequence or judgement.?Having scheduled weekly proactive discussions with my team enables me to engage in meaningful dialogue, helps build strong connections and ensures them that I always have time for them and their concerns.?

What do you do to assure your employees of their right to have a say in decision making?

Moni Mukherjee, Manager-Global Internal Communication, Hyderabad: Listening with attention and making them feel included in the decision-making process. One of the ways to do it is by letting them speak up in meetings, not second-guessing, patronizing or overwriting their thoughts. Give credit where it is due. Help them discover their power to take decisions and own them.?

In what way do you support building an employee’s sense of belonging to the company?

Kevin: During my career, it has always been important to me that employees feel valued and empowered to bring their own unique thoughts and ideas to our work. Encouraging the team to get involved with business resource groups or supporting a particular charity they are passionate about strengthens the sense of belonging. I am a part of the Franklin Templeton ABLE Network that unites and supports people whose lives are impacted by disabilities. This business resource group has a special place in my heart for personal reasons as my wife and I have a young daughter who is on the autism spectrum.

Creating connections with employees is another important part of developing a sense of belonging.?During one-on-one meetings, I ask open ended questions geared toward building a connection or asking what I can do to make sure they are feeling supported in their job.?I find that being open is an important step in building trust. This could be as simple as sharing my own mistakes during my career or admitting when I was wrong on my approach to a project.?

How do you nurture your employees’ uniqueness, their individual strengths and experiences?

Moni: It is important to fully understand what drives your team member, what their strengths are, what they are passionate about and then gently push them in that direction. Making them feel good and confident about their unique strengths and personality can happen through everyday interactions.

How do you enable your employees to grow/develop? How do you create learning opportunities and support further education?

?ukasz ?opata, Director-Global Trade Services, Poznań: In terms of creating opportunities, I focus on three dimensions - exposure, experience & education.

I try to balance the team composition and ensure that we are as diverse as possible. My teams are co-located in the US, UK, India and Poland - hence I have an amazing diversity within the team. I view my role as someone who makes the most of this gift and a leader who facilitates employee’s inclusion in discussion and decision making both of which require incorporating diverse views. This alongside well–defined standards, expectations and transparency in communication makes a big difference.

Franklin Templeton has vast resources dedicated to D&I. There are many learning opportunities and forums to participate in. I also encourage my team to participate in industry working groups to make sure that our view is not skewed by internal views only.

What does collaborative and inclusive environment mean to you?

Katarzyna Majchrzak, FTIS Business and Operations Director, Luxembourg: People are different. We are shaped by different childhood experiences, cultures and traditions, we have different life stories. There are diverse hobbies, life expectations, character traits. Someone is an introvert, another person is extrovert, one is go-getting and ready for action, and others need time to think before making a decision. It is important for the leader to observe it and give everyone the floor. If you understand it, it does not really matter whether you are in the office or working from home. You can drink coffee together online or in the office lounge.

Kevin: Having an inclusive workplace brings teams across the globe closer together from many diverse backgrounds and different countries.??This collaborative and inclusive culture allows every employee to bring their authentic self, curiosity, and a collaborative mindset to work. ?

How do you secure it as we move into remote/hybrid working conditions?

Kevin: As a father of two amazing kids in elementary school, it was not uncommon for one of my children to show up at my home office for a timely hug or a cameo appearance during a live virtual conference call.?The sound of a baby or a child running across our screens brought smiles and laughter to all of us on the team. My daughter t is on the autism spectrum.?At times she can be heard in the background making vocal stemming noises or simply knocking on my office door to get my attention while I am on video calls. By explaining to my team about my daughter’s disabilities, I modeled the acceptance of diversity and the joy and challenges of working from home. Not every employee handles the virtual environment the same way, so it is important as leaders to listen and provide the necessary tools and communication channels to ensure everyone’s experience is collaborative and inclusive.

How important, in your opinion, is access to resources? How do you make sure everyone is provided with resources?

Moni: Access to resource empowers.?In today’s hyper-connected world, hoarding information serves no purpose. Sharing meeting notes, agenda and context is always helpful. We can use various collaborative tools such as Teams, Viva, Yammer to help everyone stay connected and have equal access to information and resources to enable them to do their best work.??

From employee's perspective:?

Kavindee Edirrisinghe, Strategy and Implementation Director, Baltimore: Having lived and worked in Sri Lanka, Australia, and the US, I’ve noticed an evolution in behaviors that makes me feel included in the workplace. However, the top four inclusive behaviors that have remained consistent are:??

1. Having a fearless leader who provides constructive feedback. I view this as their commitment to our growth and development.??
2. The opportunity to help others succeed - There is no better feeling than seeing those who you support/mentor succeed and be recognized.
3. Being excluded from meetings where I am not needed - This shows that my time is valued, and my expertise will be tapped into when/where it is most needed.
4. Small things that make the biggest impact - A hand-written thank you note, being asked to grab lunch with a colleague, discussing interests outside of the workplace (we’re all dynamic creatures, let’s explore and celebrate that!).

While we reached out to leaders from around the world to get diverse perspectives, a couple of emphasized themes were common and proved how vital they are to build a diverse and inclusive work culture. The most crucial elements seem to be consistency in giving open feedback, really listening to employees and letting them know their opinion matters, having open discussions – even around difficult topics and providing support and recognition to everyone on the team.?