Partner Article

Florence Weber-Zuanigh shares her top tips for improving workplace diversity

*** Certified ICF coach and diversity & inclusion consultant Florence Weber-Zuanigh shares her top tips for making your workplace more inclusive and diverse***

Improving workplace diversity and inclusion can feel daunting. Are we going about it the right way? Are enough people from the senior leadership team on board with what we are trying to achieve? Did we focus on the right initiatives and policy to start with?

The first thing you should ALWAYS have in mind in this process is that the worst you can do is nothing at all.

So without further ado, let’s look at 10 steps your business can take to improve workplace diversity and inclusion today.

1 Get comfortable being uncomfortable

When working on diversity and inclusion, things will get uncomfortable. This is not an if. It will get uncomfortable. The sooner you accept it, the sooner you can learn to be comfortable with that as a part of it all. People in the business will have to unlearn a lot, learn a lot, they will be challenged and they will start to get a glimpse of understanding in other people’s lived experiences. If it feels easy to everyone, basically you are not doing it right.

2 Create a powerful alliance for whoever will be involved

This step is important even If it’s just you in the business to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. When working on this day in and day out, it’s easy to forget who we wanted to be throughout it all. It’s especially important if there are several people within the team or several people who will work closely on it. Who does each of you want to be when working on those forward thinking initiatives? How do you want to be with each other? What do you need to move forward? Brutal honesty? Compassion? Kindness?

And how do you want to be with each other when things get hard or there are disagreements? It doesn’t have to take a long time, it can be a few minutes to agree and have those qualities written somewhere in the meeting room or on your notes to make sure everything goes through that lens. There will be defensiveness and fragility coming up at some point, but it will be MUCH easier if you all agreed on what you needed to move past it.

3 Be honest about how much has been accomplished so far.

Maybe DEI has already been a key aspect of the HR work in your business the past couple of years, maybe it hasn’t been at all. It doesn’t change the fact that there is a lot to be done ahead so might as well be honest about it. If you’re considering having a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant come in or have trainings to fill in certain gaps, having that good understanding of where you’re starting from will come in handy.

4 Be clear on the impact and why it matters to the business and the people

This is some very important and impactful work. But if you haven’t clearly defined what it is you are trying to achieve and why it matters for your business, on the days that you are stretched, it will be easy to park it and lose momentum. It can also be designed at an individual level. Is someone in the leadership team doing this work while having their children in mind for example? Don’t hesitate to make it personal. This is important work.

5 Have a clear vision

Yes, having a diverse and inclusive workplace is the aim BUT what is the exact vision for the business in that space? Is it for everyone to feel seen and welcome when they walk through the door, employees, clients and partners alike? Is it to be a beacon of inclusion in a sector that isn’t? Define it clearly.

6 Get your people’s feedback

Unless you’ve got a lot of time to dedicate to your business’ DEI, a sizable team and unlimited budget, you will not be able to tackle all areas at once. So how do you know where to start? This is where getting people’s perspective will be really important. You don’t really know how many LGBTQIA+ employees you have or how many are neurodivergent for example. So how can you be sure what to tackle next? Sending an employee survey to get their perspective, even if it is their perspective on the plan you’ve already created rather than an open question, it will be really helpful AND feeling included is always good for employee engagement.

7 Get people involved

One step further from getting people’s feedback is getting them involved through things such as Employee Resource Groups. Certain organisations have one generic DEI committee who is pitching ideas to the board or leadership team, some have specific groups tackling very specific elements of DEI such as a group dedicated to ensure the physical office space is inclusive. Whichever way you want to go about this, keep in mind that it remains an extra job for them. As much as your employees want to get involved, it is your responsibility to make sure you accompany them through that. How can they free up some of their time? Do you need to slightly change team structures so the people who want to get involved actually have the headspace and time for it? It is often seen by organisations as a “free option” to look into their DEI but it might require more resources. Cost efficient yes, but not free.

8 Set up clear timeline and milestones

Having and communicating clear timeline and milestones will help keep the momentum going. It will also keep you accountable. Being behind on the initial timeline is not ideal but remember the worst you can do is nothing at all.

9 Report back

For diversity and inclusion, having your employees support to move the business in the same direction is essential. You want them to be accountable but so is the business. If you are behind on your milestones, the targets you had set for diversity hires or diverse leadership, say it. Be transparent about why that happened and how you intend to course correct. Whether you share all of this or not, your people will notice and talk about it. So you might as well be in control of the narrative and not leave room for interpretation. Letting people down in that area can be deeply personal and encourage some to jump ship.

10 Mind the performative trap

This is the opposite of impact and the poster example of why it won’t keep going when things get tough. Communicating and doing some PR around your diversity and inclusion is not the issue, as long as you know this is a byproduct and not the initial intention. If you have set a clear vision and alliance to begin with, this is the moment where you will be able to stay the course and remember this is not the reason you embarked on this path.

Whether your business has been on a journey to improve workplace diversity and inclusion for a while or if it is a recent commitment, this is a journey nonetheless and will be forever evolving. Be patient and compassionate.

For more information on Florence, reach out on instagram @diversityintheboardroom or visit diversityintheboardroom.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by business writer .