diversity

Building an Inclusive Organization

By on October 28, 2010 in Learn with Humor

If you’ve been following the series on Inclusive Organizations, you probably have one remaining question. We’ve answered the what and why of inclusive organizations and even talked about their traits, but we haven’t talked about the how. How do you create an inclusive organization?

Building an inclusive organization requires a dedicated focus and effort on the organization and individuals.  It’s not necessarily easy to do, but it is possible and well worth the reward.  As talked before, there are 8 traits of an inclusive organization–four of the organization, four of the individuals.

Developing an Organization’s Traits

Developing the four traits of the organization is as “easy” as focusing on each one and creating standards or processes that exhibit them.

1. Sense of Identity

Most organizations have some sense of an identity in the form of a mission statement. The key is making sure the identity is inclusive of everyone in the organization, but still specific enough to separate your organization from all the others.  If something is missing, revisit your mission statement with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion.

2. Commitment to Diversity

Do you have a plan to attract and retain more diversity? Is it written down? Has it been proven successful? Is it reviewed at some regular interval? If your answer isn’t “yes” to all of these questions, you’ve got work to do. Remember there is a difference between appreciating diversity and committing to making sure your organization is diverse.

3. Equality

This one is simple to say but requires effort to do.  Legally, just about every company will express that they are an equal-opportunity employer. However, actions speak louder than words, and exhibiting equality means rewarding and recognizing top performers at all levels of the organization, not just upper management.

4. Collaboration

Having a collaborative work environment means that the focus is on teamwork, not individual efforts, and employees from all walks of work are working together. This can be promoted through rewarding team efforts, staffing projects with diverse people, and promoting different roles and ideas through newsletters and monthly Lunch and Learns.

Developing an Individual’s Traits

The four traits of the organization are somewhat straightforward–they simply require a manager or leader to focus on them. But how do you get the individuals to start exhibiting inclusiveness?  The starting point for all of the traits is awareness and training. Beyond that, there are a few additional steps you can take to emphasize each trait.

1. Sense of Identity

Employees who don’t express their own individual sense of identity feel restricted for one of two reason: they are uncomfortable sharing or don’t feel like they fit in. Both roadblocks are removed by creating trust within the organization and offering opportunities for employees to learn about themselves and others. There are countless team-building exercises and activities that can help you demolish these roadblocks; check out the how-to humor section to find one that works for you.

2. Focus on People

Until the day that we all work with robots, it’s time to stop thinking of our direct reports and coworkers as resources.  They do get things done and are resourceful, but they are first and foremost people.  And as people, individuals should recognize that they will make mistakes, they will have personal conflicts, and they will (hopefully) have lives outside of work that are incredibly important to their well-being.  Kick-start that understanding by giving people the opportunity to open up about themselves, and carry it through by always respecting them as people first and as a “resource” second.

3. Desire to Learn

Having an affinity for teaching and learning is the best way to take advantage of the diversity of your organization.  So while it is up to the organization to provide forums to teach and learn, it is up to the individual to attend the sessions both as a student and a teacher.  Encourage the learning mentality by rewarding those who share and learn, make certification and training a requirement for promotion, and incorporate it into your best tips for one-on-ones and group meetings.

4. 360° Communication

In an organization where there is equality and collaboration, 360° communication is easy–it just requires everyone be willing to communicate.  Individuals should value their direct reports by listening to what they have to say and personalizing the company’s message to them; they should respect their peers by sharing feedback and insights with them; and they should serve their managers by being honest with them and letting them know the true state of business/projects/morale so they know when something needs to be done.  Emphasize this with all employees and incorporate the 360° mentality into meetings, surveys and feedback sessions.

Building an Inclusive Organization

Being able to leverage the many benefits of inclusive organizations is as “easy” as applying the above steps.  While the steps themselves aren’t easy, they are necessary to creating the type of organization that can not only survive but excel in the rapidly changing world of today.

Got some other tips for building an inclusive organization?  Share them in the comments!

{ Be the first to comment }

8 Benefits of an Inclusive Organization

By on October 21, 2010 in Learn with Humor

For the past two weeks, I’ve been researching and exploring the concept of inclusive organizations (What Does Inclusive Organization Mean? and 8 Traits of Inclusive Organizations).  I was doing it because I was asked to help lead a training on the topic, but why should you care about creating an inclusive organization?

As it turns out, there are a number of benefits to doing so.  And these are benefits beyond the “nice feeling” you have from being inclusive.  These are benefits that ultimately affect the bottom-line, improve work results, and make executives happy.

8 Benefits of an Inclusive Organization

photo by duchesssa

1. Higher Job Satisfaction

When you feel valued for your work and contributions, you’re going to be more satisfied with your job.  Appreciation is an incredible motivator and doesn’t always mean giving away more money–it can be as simple as recognizing the individual for their hard work and dedication.  Many companies do this well for their star executives, but what about for their star administrative assistants or technical gurus?

2.  Lower Turnover

If you are recognized and appreciated, and you can see that the work you do is valuable, why would you want to leave?  People leave organizations that they feel are taking advantage of them (or other people), but inclusive organizations don’t do that.  Inclusive organizations find ways to visibly show how much they value all contributors, and that’s what will keep people there.

3. Higher Productivity

Inclusive organizations help increase productivity in individuals because they are motivated and know their work is appreciated.  In an environment where they feel their work will be ignored, there’s no motivation for an employee to find ways to work smarter.  But when the work is visible and valued, people are motivated to do even better, not just for themselves, but for the company.

4. Higher Employee Morale

As we learned recently, happiness is somewhat contagious.  By being inclusive and valuing everyone, employees are more likely to be happy with their work.  And if the people around you are happy and satisfied, any given individual is more likely to be happy as well.

5. Improved Creativity and Innovation

Diversity of people brings diversity of thought which brings diversity in ideas.  And when you combine these various ideas together, you may find the creative solution or next break-through innovation that would never have been discovered without different minds working together.

6. Improved Problem-Solving

There are two common ways a problem is solved: 1) Having seen a similar problem before and reapplying a modified solution, or 2) understanding the challenges of the problems and then coming up with a creative solution to fix it.  Having diverse backgrounds improves the likelihood of both–more diverse experiences means improved chance of someone having resolved a similar problem before (#1), and we know from Benefit #5 that inclusivity helps foster creative ideas that could solve the problem (#2).

7. Increased Organizational Flexibility

The world can change rather quickly, and the best organizations are those that can adapt to that change.  An inclusive organization is flexible and can adjust to the world’s changes because it is diverse, collaborative and the constant communication allows people to move from one role to another with greater speed and skill.  As conditions change, the inclusive organization can change along with them.

8. Better Employees

The long-term benefit to inclusive organizations is that they create, attract and retain the best employees.  They create them through improving problem-solving skills and encouraging constant growth and improvement.  They attract them because people want to work for a company that is high performing, values diversity, and has high employee morale.  They retain them because the company grows, people feel valued, and their happy with what they do.  All of that means better employees, which means better results for the company.

Other Benefits

There are some other benefits to being an inclusive organization (e.g. complying with the law), but the ones above are the ones that will truly lead to results.  Creating an inclusive organization isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes business sense.  And cents is what business is all about.

Got another benefit of inclusive organizations? Share it in the comments!

{ 2 comments }

Humor at Work: Inclusive Organizations for IT Workers

By on October 17, 2010 in News

Columbus, OH – How do you help a smaller organization feel like a part of a larger organization when they only represent 10% of the organization? That was the topic of discussion in a session I co-lead with some HR leaders called Building an Inclusive Organization.

After a review of recent survey results and a brief training on inclusive organizations, we lead 60 people, split up into teams, in coming up with actionable ways the organization and individuals can create a more inclusive organization.

The results were pretty incredible and the organization leaders left with a list of more than 20 actionable steps that could be taken to improve the diversity and inclusion within the group.

For more on the importance of diversity, inclusion and relationships, check out our relationship programs.

Update: We got the results back and 97% of the attendees found the event  helpful with attendees saying “Great sessions with great presenters” and “Very engaging, thank you.”

{ Be the first to comment }

8 Traits of an Inclusive Organization

By on October 15, 2010 in Learn with Humor

Last week I attempted to answer the question, “What does inclusive organization mean?”  Not just because I like solving mysteries, but also because I’ve been hearing the phrase more and more and wanted to understand what the buzz(word) was all about.  I ended up with: “An inclusive organization is a group of people with a common purpose that values all individuals and enables them to do their best work.”

But even that left me wanting more.  How would I know an inclusive organization if I saw one?  What are the characteristics or traits of such an organization?  If an inclusive organization were a Disney Princess character, which one would it be?

After further investigation and many distractions from fond memories of Disney movies, I began seeing 8 traits associated with inclusive organizations, falling into two categories: traits of the organization and traits of the individuals within that organization.

This distinction between organization and individuals makes sense.  There are things that an organization is responsible for (the processes in place, the message and direction from management, the dress code for casual Fridays), but the individuals are also responsible–their behavior drives what the culture is actually like (as opposed to what management wants it to be) and how the organization behaves within the context provided to them.

The 8 traits are listed below.  They are all important to creating an inclusive organization, and while you can’t have one without the other, the organizational traits usually come first–after all it’s up to management to even create the company and how they do so affects how the individuals behave.

Organization Traits

These are the 4 traits the organization (aka leadership, management, head honchos, etc) is responsible for.  They help all employees live-and-breathe the 4 traits of the individual and create an environment that enables them to do their best work.

1. Sense of Identity (Organization)

The organization creates a sense of identity for everyone within the group.  They define who they are, what they stand for, their purpose, and their mission.  That identity should relate to every person in the organization and connect back with its overall purpose.

2. Commitment to Diversity

The organization actively seeks out and values diversity and encourages it at every level.  Diversity includes: race, ethnicity, age, experience, focus of work, position, personality, and style (work style, not necessarily fashion style, though it probably wouldn’t hurt for an IT organization to have someone that didn’t dress in a button-up shirt, jeans and tennis shoes).

3. Equality

Not only is the organization diverse, but there is equality among that diversity.  All contributors are recognized, from the CEO down to the admins that keep the company running, and all people are treated equally.  Special privileges aren’t given to the “management” just because they think they’re special.  Managers aren’t successful without the people working for them doing the actual work; direct reports aren’t successful without direction and guidance from people they report to.

4. Collaboration

The organization is structured to encourage everyone to work together, across all departments and levels.  Functions don’t work in their own individual silos, they work together sharing knowledge.  Managers don’t operate in secret underground bunkers while the executors toil away in an office building 20 miles away.  The entire culture is one of collaboration with a focus on achieving more through teamwork, not individual effort.

Individual Traits

These are the 4 traits the individuals (the people in the organization) are responsible for.  They breathe life into the 4 traits of the organization and enable it to achieve incredible results.

5. Sense of Identity (Individual)

The individuals feel like they can be themselves while at the same time feel connected to the identity of the organization.  People are not drones and their diversity is respected not ignored.

6. Focus on People

Everyone in the organization recognizes that their coworkers are people, not “resources.”  This means there is an emphasis on relationships and there is a great deal of respect paid to life/work synergy.  It also means there is an understanding that, luckily, we’re not robots who have no feelings or lives outside of work (though we must live with the fact we don’t have rocket jets for feet).

7. Desire to Learn

The individuals in a inclusive organization have a strong desire to learn from everyone.  They know that everyone in the organization can be a great teacher and that the best groups learn from each other.  Mentees reverse-mentor mentors; admins train managers on email tips and tricks; Drew from IT trains everyone on why Reply-To-All should rarely be used.  Everyone is a teacher and a student.

8. 360° Communication

The individuals of the organization feel comfortable communicating across all levels and responsibilities.  Constructive feedback is sought and given from all who have it to give–managers, peers and direct reports.  No one is afraid to speak to the CEO and the CEO isn’t a ghost to his own employees–he manages by walking around and is happy to talk with everyone, regardless of their level or function.

8 Traits of an Inclusive Organization

Companies with these 8 traits not only have an inclusive organization, but one that will deliver better results and have happier employees.  The responsibility is on everyone to develop and exhibit these traits, and that’s what being inclusive is all about–you share the responsibility so you can all share the reward.

Think something’s missing or want to know more?  Share it in the comments!

{ Be the first to comment }

What Does Inclusive Organization Mean?

October 9, 2010

One of the buzzwords I’ve been hearing around the office lately is “inclusive organization.”  ”How do we create an inclusive organization?” ” What are the benefits of an inclusive organization? “What the heck do you guys mean when you say inclusive organization?”  (That last question was mine.) As it turned out, no one could really [...]

Read the full article →

Humor in the Workplace: A Communication Challenge

February 2, 2009

“Humor is an intrinsic part of living and working” is the conclusion of an older article I was recently given. The article, titled Humor in the Workplace: A Communication Challenge by Robert A. Vartabedian and Laurel Klinger Vartabedian, professors of speech communication, explores the value of humor at work. Some interesting notes from the paper: [...]

Read the full article →