Divesity, equity and inclusion is a hot topic right now. Saying nothing on the topic is judged to be making a statement in itself. And it’s unsurprising that there has been such a move – there has been a huge shift in employee mindset over the past few years, with more people prioritising wellbeing, the ability to come to work “as you are”, and feeling supported by the business they choose to work for.
What is DEI?
Diversity, equity and inclusion are often talked about as a package deal, and while they are all interlinked, these words are distinct, and shouldn’t be used interchangeably. Diversity refers to differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or disability status. Equity is the way in which societal norms can be adjusted to ensure all people can thrive, no matter what their difference is. Inclusion means making sure that all people feel welcomed and valued at work and in society as a whole.
If, as Verna Myers, a leading diversity and inclusion expert says, diversity is being invited to the party and inclusion is being asked to dance, then equity is being on the party planning committee.
So with diversity, equity and inclusion being such a priority for employees, are organizations and leadership teams responding to the challenges being set in front of them with regards to inclusion?
Why prioritise diversity?
While there are some who view DEI as a box ticking exercise, or don’t see the importance of DEI at all, research points to it being a key driver of company performance. More diverse teams are proven to be more innovative, more profitable, have higher productivity and have decision making skills.
Diversity at the lower levels of a company is a positive step, and many organizations can report good statistics in this area, but it’s not unusual to see that diversity tail off considerably further up the hierarchy.
But companies are missing out on a huge amount of positive consequences and perspectives by not building DEI into their company culture, right from the top.
What are the benefits of diversity in your leadership team?
Diversity in leadership teams is critical to long term, business success. It can help companies grow, innovate and stay in step with their customer base. There are many benefits of having a diverse leadership team. One of them is that it helps to reduce the risk of groupthink and make better decisions.
And it’s not just about the numbers, it’s about the value. Diversity can help increase your company’s bottom line.
We all know that diversity is important, but what are the benefits of incorporating it into your leadership team? Here are a few ways that diversity can help your organisation:
Increased innovation
Improved business performance
Increased customer satisfaction
Increased employee satisfaction
Reduced employee churn rate
The statistics back this up – companies with more diverse management teams have, on average, 19% higher revenue. They’re 45% more likely to expand their market share and 70% more likely to capture new markets. Studies show that companies with a diverse leadership team are more innovative. They also have more accurate judgement, making better decisions 87% of the time.
Benefits of diversity in Facilities Management
Diversity in leadership teams is essential to the success of any organisation, but this is particularly important in facilities management. FM organisations are responsible for public spaces, workspaces, leisure and retail spaces – spaces that are navigated by a diverse range of people with a diverse range of needs.
Having a diverse leadership team will give any FM organisation a cutting edge - enabling them to better understand the needs of the wider customer base of their clients. This will lead them to allocate resources more efficiently, have a better understanding of the problems that might need to be overcome. An FM leadership team built on a foundation of diversity, equity and inclusion is more likely to identify tools that will enable their clients better service their own customer base.
Having better engagement with their client will also ensure they're able to give informed advice. It'll give FM teams a deeper understanding of how different people work with each other, and the kinds of additional support they might need, ensuring they can make peoples’ experience as frictionless as possible.
How to bring diversity to leadership teams
The workplace is not a safe space for all people. Creating a diverse leadership team can be a challenge if the company has not been set up in a way that champions diversity, equity and inclusion. That’s why creating more diverse leadership teams requires a two-pronged approach: workplace culture and hiring practices.
Workplace culture
Before companies begin to consider hiring more diverse leaders, they first have to look at the organisation as a whole to work out where diversity, inclusion and equity can be improved upon, and how it can be ingrained into the company culture.
Implementing equity and inclusion into your company is a matter of providing equal access and opportunity to all employees. It starts with fostering an open dialogue about what equity and inclusion mean for your organisation, creating clear expectations, and ensuring that people feel empowered to be themselves at work.
An inclusive culture is one where all employees are able to contribute and feel valued for their input, where difference doesn't stand in the way of belonging, or thriving in the workplace. This can look different at different organisations, but examples of inclusion in the workplace might be having quiet spaces for neurodiverse staff members, offering alternative benefits to employees with a physical disability (instead of gym memberships, consider a wellbeing budget, for example).
You could look at setting up an employee affinity group for minorities within the workplace, ensuring they have the network and collective voice they need. Alternatively, you could explore getting involved in an external or cross-sector community if your workplace isn’t large enough for its own network.
Hiring diverse people is important because they bring different perspectives and experiences with them into the workplace. And the more a company listens to these perspectives, the easier it will be to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome and respected. This will ultimately lead to higher retention rates of diverse talent, as well as better levels of career development amongst minority and under-represented groups within the workplace.
Hiring practices
Bringing inclusion to the forefront of workplace culture is crucial, but often when hiring new talent, employers fall back into old habits that effectively make it harder for diverse candidates to succeed. From writing job descriptions with male-coded language, using imagery that depicts only a certain type of applicant, to having a website that isn't accessible for visual impairments or neuro-diversities, many employers narrow their applicant pool, and unwittingly exclude minority groups, right from the beginning of the hiring process.
When looking at potential new leaders for your executive team, it’s essential to make sure you’re giving people a level playing field. You can achieve this by anonymising CVs, judging applications blind, and making sure that a number of diverse business stakeholders are involved in shortlisting. Getting a recruiter with a strong diversity focus involved can also help during these early stages. They can review job descriptions to make them more inclusive, they are likely to have access to a range of diverse partners and job boards, and can help to deliver a shortlist of diverse, pre-screened candidates, that could boost your leadership team.
Who can help you embrace diversity in the workplace?
One of the reasons a diverse leadership team is so crucial to your business is that it’s your company’s leaders and managers that will pave the way to making sure DEI runs throughout the organisation, nurturing a generation of diverse FM leaders for the future.
Diverse talent rising to the top
Helping diverse talent to rise within the company requires intentional action. Managers need to nurture and protect those from minority groups. Promotion and career progression routes should be transparent and accessible. Create guidance around internal promotion processes. Address microaggressions that occur in your workplace, and foster respect between colleagues.
Tackling microaggressions
Look out for microaggressions against people of colour, ethnic minorities, women, differently-abled people, or LGBTQ+ people. Examples include:
Assuming the white person or the male is the decision-maker.
Asking “where are you really/originally from” to people who are not white.
Making jokes based on stereotypes.
Denying people’s lived experiences by discounting their race, gender or disability.
Tackle these immediately if you see them. Don’t let them become a part of accepted conversation.
Diversity thrives where diverse voices are heard. Diverse companies are more profitable and diverse teams have higher productivity. Within the facilities management industry, this is a growing concern, as a generation of facilities leaders approach retirement age, and organisations begin to look at the future of FM leadership. Companies who take this opportunity to create balance at senior and executive levels will see the benefits, in their profit margins, across their services, and through employee satisfaction.
