Part Two: Engaging a Diverse workforce

This is Part Two of a three part guide for increasing (and keeping) a diverse workforce. All of the articles are focused around the behaviors, systems, and mindsets that need to change to obtain the outcome of a diverse team. Part One focuses on attracting and hiring a more diverse workforce with more inclusive and equitable systems and thinking . So once you have them in the door, how do you get them and keep them engaged. Everyone starts a new role excited to make an impact. No one wants the existence where they wake up and think "man, I hope I suck at my job today." Unfortunately, year after year, decade after decade, engagement hovers around 30% (+/- 5%) So somewhere after they start, employees encounter behaviors or systems that make it hard to (or to want to) do their best and it starts to erode their excitement. This is especially true for new people who are different than your existing team. So how do we help people feel as though they belong there...and above that, how do we encourage them to bring all they can to the role.

But before we dive in, I want to make a clear distinction between Fitting in vs Belonging . Fitting in requires the individual to change to be more like the group. Belonging requires the group to change to be more accepting and welcoming of the individual. The business value of diversity is completely lost when you ask people to be more like the group. You lose everything that their unique perspective could bring when you ask people to fit in. Imagine putting together a recipe and trying to get all the ingredients to taste the same. Each ingredient brings a unique and NECESSARY flavor that works in harmony, they belong together!

Clarifying Engagement

Engagement, motivation, and loyalty are three separate but intersecting concepts. I was very loyal to my first girlfriend...we aren't together anymore but I was very loyal until we separated. I was motivated to make her happy, make her laugh, and support her...until I wasn't...then I was motivated to leave the relationship.

Loyalty is about being faithful and supportive even when they are not around. In a work context this is speaking enthusiastically about your company, product, and people, avoiding serious inquiries to get you to leave or consider another place of employment.

Motivation is simply a reason to do something...even quit.

Engagement is where you are motivated to support, encourage, and contribute to the success of the organization or team. It's not about going above and beyond, it's about contributing what you are capable of. For some, that keeps the wheels on the bus, for others it is improving the engine and suspension so you bus can jump canyons. If you want amazing performance, you need both. The custodian helps put people in space just as much as the engineers. It's not about WHAT they contribute, the goal is to get everyone doing what they are capable of...not just what they are told to do.

Increasing Belonging

Belonging is an emotional result that requires psychological safety. Psychological safety refers to an individual’s perception of the consequences of taking an interpersonal risk or a belief that a team is safe for risk taking in the face of being seen as ignorant, incompetent, negative, or disruptive. During Google's Project Aristotle , psychological safety was the determining factor that distinguished exemplary performing teams from average ones.

For people to feel as though they belong, they need to feel safe. For people to feel safe, they need to know you care about them as a person. Notice I did not say they need to "think" you care. They need to know you care. This is where YOU are loyal to them FIRST. You advocate, support, and encourage them to be their best selves...even if/when it makes you uncomfortable. You didn't hire them to make you feel comfortable, you hired them to make your team better. Growth and improvement always comes from a place of discomfort. Want be stronger? Run farther/faster? Smarter? All of those will take effort and discomfort. The same is true for your business. If you prioritize your comfort over someone's unique perspective, you will never grow as much as you are capable of.

Perspective comes from our point of origin. Where we stand. Where we stand depends a lot on where we came from. In other words, people's history and how they become who they are is what creates perspective.

Process, not Policy

To foster an environment where safety to be oneself is the norm, you first need to look at draconian or archaic policies. In fact, look at ALL policies. Policies by their nature tell people what NOT to do. They are limiting. And yes, there are a few legal policies you need to have but outside of that, start from a place of trust and guide via process and good judgement rather than parental policy making. Things like dress codes are dramatically gender biased with 80-90% of the policy focusing on what women can and can't wear. Some time ago, General Motors, revised their long dress code to be two words long, "dress appropriately." If GM can do it, so can you. Other appearance based policy are almost always going to be perspectively biased and usually are not business related. Focus on the results and outcomes, not what someone looks like. Unless you hired someone to be a model....your hired them for their ability to achieve an outcome.

The same goes for attendance or work hour policies. Focus on the desired outcome and necessary results for the role. Where someone is on a Tuesday afternoon is not important...if they missed an important meeting, deadline, deliverable, or were not accessible for a customer need - that is the problem...not where they were. Obviously for service or manufacturing roles, the interdependencies to PERFORM require presence...but again, it's about the performance of the job...not the attendance, presence is an ancillary outcome. Unless the performance of their job requires them to be in a common location, presence is an exclusionary preference that often has little to do with performance.

Solutions not blame

Problems exists in business, that is the sole reason for employees to exist...to solve a problem. As the company grows, more problems need to be solved. Trying to find who made the mistake doesn't solve the problem. Yes, do a retrospective to find out HOW the problem occurred so you can learn from it but WHO caused the problem is irrelevant.

Always Ask Their Input

No matter how new someone might be, ask their thoughts on a situation. The fact they they "don't know how things work around here" is actually a GOOD thing. They have not been corrupted into "the way we've always done it" mentality. You hired them for fresh perspective, yes? Ask. Get them involved early and celebrate their input.

Recognize Cultural Events/Norms

No, you don't have to close the office for Juneteenth, or Passover, or Ramadan, or Diwali. But recognize their importance. Provide either enough time off for everyone to take the holidays that are most important to them, or floating holidays, whatever works. If you know someone is a member of the LGBTQIA+ and prefers gender neutral pronouns, try your best. Support your people as you would appreciate support yourself. For most Christians, NOT having Christmas off would be crazy...why do we assume Jewish individuals don't feel the same for Passover, or Muslims for Ramadan, or Hindus for Diwali..or any of the other religious or cultural observances. You don't need to create company-wide holidays for them, but be sure to at least recognize them and educate others as a company.

Transparency over obscurity

Transparency doesn't mean opening your finances and comp for all to see, it means explaining the process of HOW decisions are made. How do you make comp decisions and WHY do you do it that way? How are promotion decisions made and WHY are they made that way? People are naturally suspicious of maintained obscurity...especially if the outcome effects them. If you are hiking along a trail and see a hole in the ground, do you stick your hand in it to see what is there? Of course not. We naturally fill voids of information with negative stories. The best way to foster trust is to remove obscurity wherever possible. If you can't be transparent about something, tell people WHY? Yeah, you probably can't tell people that your company is about to be acquired or is about to acquire another company...there are insider trading laws that prevent such communication. But you CAN tell people how pay decisions are made. If you can't, the question then becomes why not? If you are stuck here...you need to revisit your comp practices to be more equitable. (we will talk more about that in Part 3 regarding retaining your diverse talent.)

Comp Philosophy

Using a similar comp philosophy for annual or promotional adjustments as you do for hiring also helps increase transparency. Using something I call a MARKET-PLUS philosophy helps you maintain a consistently fair and equitable comp as people move through out the organization. Helping people know how you make comp decisions and even sharing the market data you are using can help people feel like you are being mindful and fair. Market Plus is essentially establishing what a person's talent is worth in the market (ie, what is their role generally worth on average and how is that person performing compared to average) PLUS what their internal knowledge is worth to you = their comp. And yes, you need to be doing this every year as well as when you are hiring for a new role.

Equality, Safety, and Belonging

People want to know they are respected and treated as equals. Yes, they know some people have different roles with different decisions to make. Some of those decisions are more impactful and there is more risk, as such, they get that people in higher level roles will be compensated for the complexity, impact considerations, and risk that is commensurate to those roles...BUT, that does not make them more important as a person. Everyone deserves the same dignity and respect.

Before I can feel like I belong, I need to feel safe to be me. To speak up, to make mistakes, to be different, to challenge status quo, to ask questions...without judgement or fear. Safety and trust are synonymous. If I don't trust you, I won't feel safe. If you don't trust me, it means you don't feel safe. Fear and distrust are also synonymous. If there is no trust, there will be fear. Fear causes people to self-protect. Trust causes people to contribute. To increase safety, you have to increase trust. And yes, it is scary to trust someone you just met...now multiply that by however many employees your new hire works with.

Belonging is a core fundamental of group identity. I might not look like you, have the same spiritual beliefs as you, or even think about problems like you...but I DO believe in what we are doing. I DO believe in helping people be successful. And I DO want to solve meaningful problems. If you make what is different about me the issue, I'll never be able to focus on how we are the same...and how we are the same is much more business focused than any of the ways we are different.

Check out Part 3 (coming soon) which will explore compensation, development, and career growth as a function of retaining that awesome diverse group you hired.