How to Implement D&I in Organizations
Diversity and Inclusion (i.e. D&I) is the new unavoidable paradigm. It is
expected by stakeholders
the smart move to do in order to unleash the potential of a diverse workforce
necessary for future-proofing
necessary for innovation
and necessary for business. We, and others have talked about this, showing the business case, research, etc. for a long time, and we see that D&I in Denmark is gaining momentum. Leaders are beginning to make D&I a strategic choice and starting to roll it out in their organizations.
Being that it is a new paradigm, no wonder many are asking: Where do we start? How do we do it? How have others done it? What are the pitfalls? What are the barriers to watch out for? What are the possibilities, tips, and tricks to succeed?
Tips and tricks on how to start your D&I journey
We get asked the above questions all the time. So we thought - let’s make a four step guide and finish off with an offer that you can’t refuse 😉
Step One: Patience: Fostering a more inclusive work culture is an important, fulfilling, and resource demanding process that takes time. It is not a quick fix or a check-list exercise, but more a lifelong learning process. There tends to be a myth around culture - that it isn’t changeable. However, culture is always changing and you can nudge the direction, you just need to know how, and plan for a long journey. So first tip; be patient.
Step Two: Top Leadership Buy-In
The second thing you need to make sure of, is that you have buy-in from top-management. Without that, you will not succeed.
Step Three: Data
And then it is a good thing to know where you stand, so you know where you are heading. Take all the knowledge you have from exit-interviews, engagement-surveys, and conversations that happen by the coffee machine and use them as a hypothesis for further analysis.
Analyze your policies, look at potential pay gaps, promotion process - is it inclusive? Is the organization using inclusive language and pictures, are the facilities excluding someone? Leave no stone unturned and have the analysis observed or even better conducted by a third party.
When we conduct these analyses for clients, we call it structural analysis. Because if there are structural barriers hidden in the organization, it will work against all your good work and efforts, when you start doing inclusive leadership training or behavioral nudging.
And then you have to work with the culture, create space for a learning-journey, and create psychological safety for your employees. So they can thrive and develop into a more high-performing and inclusive team. You need someone to steer through the storm, to show the way:
“Get the leaders on board and prepare them for the cultural change so they can support and be allies. ”
Step Four: Scale the Awareness
Lastly, you need to create organizational learning and change among all the employees. You do that by stakeholder-management and communication. Create awareness. Maybe roll out an e-learning journey that promotes D&I in bite-size learnings - as the one we have helped develop with our partner Learningbank.
Want to learn more?
Implementing D&I into your organization does not have to be a tricky process. When you understand how culture works, how the brain creates shortcuts to make decisions, and how you can nudge behavior, implementing D&I into your organization becomes less of a mystery and more of an adventure.
If you would like to learn more about this and how to implement Diversity and Inclusion, then check out our new two-day course here.
