Seek Diversity, but Attack Inclusion….here’s how!

Addressing the root cause behind the roadblocks preventing diversity creates long term sustainable value in companies

While minorities are more common in Board Rooms and in Executive positions these days, progress has been painfully slow and certainly not representative of the workforce in general. Further, whatever progress a company makes often erodes quickly due to attrition, making Diversity largely unsustainable.

“Diversity and Inclusion (D&I)” are viewed together in most Diversity positioning. Simply put, the focus remains on the number of diverse candidates hired and promoted, meanwhile, Inclusion is, in fact, the necessary missing ingredient for more companies and the most effective way to create Diverse teams.  The CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusioncoalition (Forbes article) goes further in stating that Inclusion empowers a Culture that makes everyone feel welcomed and part of the team, which in turn accelerates long term success in Diversity. The question is, how can companies move the needle on Inclusion for all employees while gaining the organizational and financial benefits of sustainable Diversity?

“ Inclusion empowers Culture, which in turn…accelerates long term success in Diversity.”

Attacking Inclusion requires an understanding of how employees actually connect and interactas the leading indicators of successful Inclusion. The by-product of this is a more cohesive organization and higher productivity. To move the needle, it is essential to visualize interactions and measure employees with strong connections across a set of clear Inclusion success factors (mentorship, trust, leadership, knowledge, the advancement of culture, cross-group communications and other team dynamics). When understood, Executives can know which remedies and accelerants (targeted programs) can be applied in the most timely and effective manner.

Seeing the same employee connection clusters (for example) points to low inclusion as everyone is staying in their groups for all success factors. Seeing social and trust connections primarily within a Diversity grouping is fine, but seeing all other interactions crossing Diversity lines is a good sign of Inclusion in the workplace. Finding key influencers in different Diversity groups that are leading the way in integration and Inclusion also creates strong leverage to accelerate wider Inclusion in the company.

“Finding key influencers in different Diversity groups that are leading the way in integration and Inclusion also creates strong leverage to accelerate wider Inclusion in the company.”

Existing Inclusion programs can be made more successful through clear targeting for the needs and strengths within the organization.  Companies, teams, and employees vary greatly in Inclusion metrics and will benefit most from specific programs depending on their recognized strengths and weaknesses in connecting with others. Unfortunately, most D&I initiatives are strong in hiring practices but do little to address the firm’s overall inclusiveness. Their primary focus on blanket training programs that cannot be customized or targeted to meet the specific and differing needs inside the company prevent organizations from maximizing the efforts true benefit.

OrgAnalytix uses machine learning models to measure inclusion in teams and help leaders develop a workforce that is high performing, innovative, and has low attrition rates. Our cloud-based Saas platform collects and analyzes employee data to understand relationships fostered and how these relationship networks operate within the organization. This allows us to identify roadblocks and gaps that hinder Inclusion (such as silos or unconnected social clusters) as well as uncover hidden strengths in teams that can amplify existing Diversity efforts.

We are a mission-based team from a variety of backgrounds ourselves who are passionate about inclusive organizations and helping managers develop sustainable long-term employee programs that promote and attract a diverse workforce.