The Power of Inclusion Part 2 : Enhancing the Workplace with Diversity

Introduction

The first blog explored the importance of fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We discussed that inclusion is not only the right thing to do but a strategic advantage inspiring innovation, engagement, and other kinds of organizational successes. Here in the second part, we delve into the practical strategies of inclusion with real-world case studies that show successful inclusion initiatives in action at various organizations.

Strategies for Promoting Inclusion

• Set Clear Diversity Goals

 Develop measurable diversity goals. Such organizations can develop a specific, measurable action plan toward achieving their objectives since setting clear goals for employees regarding diversity and inclusion can assure them the greatest success.

• Inclusive Recruitment Practices

Adherence to recruitment practices that are inclusive in nature will naturally result in a pool of applicants that is diverse. This can be achieved by gender-neutral job advertisements and hiring panels, as the organization continues to strive for identifying talents from underrepresented groups.

• Leadership Commitment

Top management commitment is considered to be the primary requirement for the success of diversity initiatives. Leaders need to treat inclusion as one of the strategic objectives of the organization and commit themselves personally to developing an inclusive culture.

• Reducing Unconscious Bias

Training programs on the elimination of unconscious bias make employees aware of their biases and work towards correcting them to achieve fair decisions.

• Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

ERGs create social support networks for underrepresented employees and help establish an inclusion identity. Such groups can be key drivers in pushing important initiatives and providing critical perspectives on what will work to help the organization achieve its diversity goals.

Case Studies

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Air Liquide

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Goals: To increase the representation of women and non-French nationals in leadership by 2025

Actions Taken:

• Created leadership programs focused on diverse themes.
• Conducted workshops on how to mitigate unconscious bias.
• Developed models of inclusive leadership showing diversity to be a powerful business asset.

Outcomes:

• Improved engagement scores.
• Some progress made towards diversity targets.
• Long-term performance improved through increased inclusivity of leadership.

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BASF

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Target: 30% of leadership to be women by 2030

Actions Taken:

• Provided Inclusive Leadership courses.
• Delivered unconscious bias training.
• Developed support for the career potential of dual careers.
• Gained organizational support for diversity targets, both top down and bottom up.

Measurable Outcomes Attained:

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• Have met the original target in relation to the first data available for women under representation.
• Set new and more ambitious targets for 2030.
• Developed a more inclusive culture, with substantially more commitment to supporting women at all levels of management.

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 Deutsche Telekom

Aim: At least 30% of the middle and senior management as well as top management cadre to be comprised of women.

Actions Taken:

• Introduced various schemes in recruitment, mentoring, and work/life balance to promote female staff.
• Specifically, set up mixed-gender selection panels and advertised posts on a gender-neutral basis.
• Recommended flexible time solutions for balancing work and life.

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Results Achieved:

•  Increased the number of women in management by far.
•  Exceeded established legal quotas for women to demonstrate high-impact results.
•  Made apparent the necessity of sustainability in gender equality measures.

Microsoft

Objective: Increasing the enrolment and employment of people living with a disability.

Actions Taken:

• Developed the Autism Hiring Program, in which we recruit and support people on the autism spectrum.
• Applied inclusiveness in design principles for all products and services, hence assuring access for everyone.
• Provided extensive disability awareness and inclusion training for both managers and employees.
• Introduced an Employee Resource Group, Disabilities, to support all employees with disabilities and strive for their inclusion.

Results Achieved:

• Able to successfully recruit and onboard several employees with autism, fostering overall team innovation and problem-solving ability.
• Increased product availability and accessibility to more users.
• Raised awareness and understanding of inclusion of disabled people throughout the company, creating a more inclusive, supportive culture.

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SAP

Objective: To increase the employability of people with autism and have them included.

Activities Performed:

• The Autism at Work program implementation, which allows hiring and guiding the actual entry of autistic individuals into the workforce.
• Developed specialized training for managers and teams in order to empower neurodiverse employees.
• Collaborated with non-profits and educational institutions to create a talent pipeline.

Achieved Outcome:

• Had substantial numbers of workers with autism.
• Teams that perform better and have an increase in innovation since they would draw on different ways of thinking and reasoning.
• Bred a culture of acceptance and support of neurodiversity within the organization.

Travel Hands

Objective: To increase the engagement of employees with VIPs and create awareness on accessibility. 

Activities Performed:

• Travel Hands connects the employees of the corporations with VIPs in the city through skills based volunteering activity online or in person. 
• Travel Hands provides training to the employees on interacting with VIPs. The employees get to experience accessibility challenges and solutions to manage them first hand. 
• Employees of the corporates can voluntarily join VIPs on trips in the local area based on their availability and interest. 

Achieved Outcome:

• Increase awareness around accessibility challenges faced by VIPs
• Corporates can involve their employees through corporate volunteering program and provide them with paid volunteering time. 
• Employees get to volunteer flexibly around their local areas. 

Conclusion

The best-practice cases of Air Liquide, BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Microsoft, and SAP all display good strategies: the alignment of goals and means of measurement, monitoring and implementing committed leadership for the uptake of inclusive practices throughout the workplace, showing actual results in improved diversity and inclusion, which includes diversity pertaining to persons with disabilities. Building an inclusive organization is an ongoing process that involves effort, flexibility, and commitment to building a culture in which every employee feels valued and empowered. By considering these illustrations, different organizations would shape their approaches to implement this important dimension that yields much more all-inclusiveness and diversity in workplaces for innovation, engagement, and success. Moreover, we have a creative, flexible and innovative mechanism to enable corporates to improve diversity and inclusion in their organisation.  

Travel Hands is on a mission to bridge the gap between people who can see and those who can't. There are 360,000 VIP (Visually Impaired People) in the UK struggling to live a quality life due to the daily challenges they face in travelling outdoors. We help VIPs by easing their outdoor commute by pairing them with Travel Hands (sighted & verified volunteers) to travel together outdoors ensuring a safe, convenient, and inexpensive travel experience. We are contributing towards inclusion by inviting corporates to join us through corporate volunteering programs.

For further details on this topic, contact: ishan@vipworldservices.com 

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