When It Comes to Diversity & Inclusion - It’s Inclusion Businesses Struggle With
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) continue to rank as top priorities for companies, no matter their industry. In fact, in recent research published in the Harvard Business Review, 96-98% of companies surveyed cited having diversity programs in place. That’s an overwhelming majority. And it’s not just because diversity is a barometer consumers, investors and partners use to gauge their involvement with a company, but it provides significant gains to the company itself. However, companies seldom have the right tools to determine just how effective these programs are.
There are numerous benefits to cultivating a more diverse workforce. Namely, it opens companies up to a larger talent pool, which then has a cascading effect of greater skills and experience within the workplace. As a result of making the office a mosaic of unique backgrounds, companies often witness greater innovation, faster problem solving, more learning experiences that drive growth and overall improved employee performance as they feel happier and more comfortable in their environment. This extends further still, casting a wider client base as prospects see themselves represented within the brand, subsequently increasing profits. It’s more than a win-win, it’s a win-win-win, as employees, customers and the company itself see a positive impact from increased diversity.
However, diversity can’t be reduced to just checking a box at hire, and needs to be nurtured within the life cycle of the employee. Diversity is only half of the equation - and arguably, the less important. Looking back at the research we cited at the top of this blog, a staggering three quarters of employees surveyed in underrepresented groups felt that they don’t benefit from their employers’ D&I programs, and that colleagues from majority groups underestimate the bias and obstacles they face day-to-day. That’s because, while companies are putting a premium on diversity, they’re failing at inclusion. But why is that?
How employees interact, and how comfortable or valued they feel can be hard to measure. HR departments try to tackle the problem with surveys and gut checks, but those rely on employee participation - if they acknowledge those attempts at all. Employees often sideline voluntary asks to prioritize their actual work, or may not feel totally at ease sharing their feelings. It’s a problem in and of itself, how companies can accurately diagnose this issue. In fact, according to a recent survey, companies generally struggle to identify their own internal problems. A staggering 85% of executives strongly agreed or agreed that their organization was bad at recognizing problems and 87% were in agreement that this had significant cost implications. Simply put, it’s hard to address a problem, if you can’t identify the problem.
At Proxfinity, we understand this challenge all too well. In review of the event data we’ve captured for our clients via our CUE smart badge, there’s been an upward trend that employees are struggling to navigate and find their place among a diverse audience. Minority employees may find camaraderie in working along more people with similar backgrounds, but there are challenges to groups isolating themselves and getting people to interact and work with those they aren’t as innately like.
With CUE, companies can take the voluntary - such as filling out surveys about workplace sentiment - and make it totally involuntary, and automatic. Our smart badge incurs data that can paint the inclusion, or lack thereof, picture for companies by indirectly measuring who is connecting with who at events, for how long, on what basis and so forth. We aggregate behavioral patterns, which will help companies identify the gaps in their D&I efforts so they can put programs in place to not only help get a range of employees in the door, but support them once they do.
At Proxfinity, we take D&I seriously and understand our clients do too - so we’re doing our small part to shine a brighter light on where we all can make improvements and create happier and healthier workplaces for everyone.
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