The business case for creating
an inclusive office culture is compelling:
Today's hyper-competitive economic environment demands that organizations evolve; diversity and inclusion leaders are looking beyond compliance goals...
using new tools to promote the sense of belonging that attracts and retains top talent. The data shows diverse, inclusive organizations aren't just better places to work. They actually work better.
"When women are empowered in the design and innovation process, the likelihood of success in the marketplace improves by 144%."
- Former PepsiCo CEO, Indra Noenrich
Consider this: an inclusive-feeling workplace is a place where your top talent feels they belong. Which begs the question: Exactly how can companies and organizations create 'feelings of belonging' ? The new generation of employees say they expect inclusion - as part and parcel of their work environment: 70% of employees say they want to work for an employer who shows they're really committed to inclusion ( Feb. 2021 Oracle report, Interviews with HR and D&I leaders)
This is interesting: U.S. corporations spend $8 billion annually on diversity training. Yet a meta-review of almost a thousand studies finds a “dearth of evidence” about their efficacy. " (- [email protected] 'takeaway' from Harvard University professor Iris Bohnet's bestseller: What Works: Gender Equality By Design)
Why doesn't diversity training seem to work? The simple answer seems to be this: apparently, training doesn't 'take'. Meaning: it doesn't actually change mindsets.
Simple 'design interventions' - however, according to behavioural scientists - can change mindsets.
What are some easy-to-implement 'design interventions'? Here's one: simply update the portraits on your walls and in your boardroom. The walls speak to your values. What do you want your ways to say?