Diversity + Inclusion = Innovation, a message from Sally Kirkright, CEO AccessEAP
Recent data from Diversity Council of Australia reveals that if you work in an inclusive team, you are 19 times more likely to be very satisfied with your job than workers in non-inclusive teams, 4 times more likely to stay with your employer and 2 times more likely to receive regular career development opportunities.1
The advantages of diversity can be seen in organisations that effectively bring employees of different backgrounds together. These organisations cultivate robust solutions by considering diverse perspectives and ideas. Employees work collaboratively and efficiently due to a mutual respect for their individual differences. Workers are more productive and innovation more likely to be an outcome, as they feel valued when their individual strengths are acknowledged.
I believe one of the biggest challenges of a diverse workplace however is that you cannot apply a one-size-fits-all approach to managing your employees. Psychologists suggest that people tend to be ‘cognitive misers’, that is, we use short-cuts to thinking by applying rules and assumptions about people to try and gain a quick understanding of them. We think that if someone is of a particular age, country, religion, culture, gender, sexual orientation, relationship status, or generation, for example, that we can instantly know a range of things about that person.
Organisations need to have an understanding of why racial, cultural, gender, and age-based stereotypes are harmful. We have seen attempts to combat stereotyping in the workplace through anti-discrimination and equal employment laws however this alone is not enough. Organisations also need to ensure their day-to-day practices allow all employees to feel that they belong.
Inclusive practice does not mean that all employees are treated the same way, regardless of their individual backgrounds. This would be to ignore the main principle of inclusion, which is that each employee is unique and has their own particular set of needs and strengths. It takes time and effort to understand the background of each person in your team, and to know how to make them feel valued and bring the best out of them.
What I have learned is that there is no short-cut to effectively knowing each of your employees and therefore managing a diverse workplace effectively. Diversity is about acknowledging and accepting the differences amongst my team here at AccessEAP, and making sure that our individuality is harnessed to bring about the best outcomes. We work towards a common goal whilst respecting each others’ unique backgrounds.
Our team also have inclusive practices when it comes to our clients and customers. Just recently our entire team have participated in cross cultural awareness training for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and organisations. I was inspired to see how our team embraced the opportunity to understand how we can strengthen our cultural sensitivity to best work with the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees. The concept of Dadirri really resonated with our team, “..an inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness..”, 2. What we do here at AccessEAP is all about respectful listening, asking questions with sensitivity, listening some more and then engaging in a real conversation. We are exploring how we can learn from and better understand Dadirri and enjoy the many benefits of diversity and inclusion.
- https://www.dca.org.au/research/project/inclusion-index
- Miriam-Rose Ungunmeer-Baumann.
