| Simma's Tips for
Workplace Inclusion |
July 2009 |
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Do Your Employees Know There's Been a
Culture Change?
A senior leader from a Fortune 500 company contacted me to ask for my
help. They had developed
a diversity and inclusion/culture change initiative that they
thought would increase employee engagement, and help discover and
utilize the talents and skills of individual employees.
There was one problem. While senior leadership was excited about their
initiative, the employees didn't seem to be behaving any different.
There was tension, and backbiting amongst different groups, and there
didn't appear to be any improvement in individual and organizational
performance.
After investigation, we found that the diversity and inclusion /
culture change initiative never made it past the second management
level down. Employees didn't know that anyone was working to create
a more inclusive culture where they could do their best work
together and continued to be disconnected and stay in their own silos.
The culture change was like an elevator stuck between floors, and going
nowhere.
Does this situation sound familiar? If this is prevalent in your
organization or you want to prevent this from happening, click
here to read on. |
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Seven
Steps to Promote Diversity and Inclusion / Culture Change
- Review the desired outcomes of the
culture change initiative and the strategy that was developed to
achieve those outcomes.
- Determine whether there was understanding
and buy-in from the next level of management or if managers nodded yes
as a matter of course.
- Review your original strategy to
determine whether it included a process for communicating the change in
culture to the whole organization. If not, you need to develop a
process that will drive the initiative to every level from senior
management on down. Seek out and identify key influencers who can help
champion the culture change.
- Set up a system of accountability to
ensure that each level understands the cultural change process, and
that they have imparted this information to their employees.
- Use this system to make everyone aware of
expected behaviors during the culture change process that will ensure
success in achieving desired outcomes.
- Create and implement a marketing plan
that appeals to the rational self-interest of managers and employees.
People will buy-in, participate and volunteer their skills and talents
when they know there is something in it for them. An inclusive culture
means that everyone can feel included and help your organization be
more productive and profitable.
- Actively engage managers and employees in
discussions about the initiative. Get their feedback, ask them about
positive results and listen to ideas for improvement. Communicate and
celebrate small successes. Apprise everyone of progress so they know
you are serious, not just giving them "feel good platitudes," and that
they are benefiting.
Sustaining an inclusive
and diverse workplace requires the recruitment
and retention of diverse employees and learning how
to communicate across generations within your organization.
If you want more information about how
to develop and implement an inclusion/culture change strategy you
can read Simma's article.
If you want your organization to be more inclusive and increase your
profit call Simma
today at 510-527-0700.
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 About Simma...
Simma helps organizations create more profitable cultures and improve
individual and organizational performance. She is a consultant,
speaker, and trainer. Simma is the co-author of Putting Diversity to Work
(Crisp Publications, 2003), a guide for managers on leading a diverse
workforce. Simma is often called "The Inclusionist" because of her
ability to improve communication amongst people who are different.
Contact Simma to
help your employees work better together and ensure your organization's
success...
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