Five Reasons Why Organisations Must Accelerate Inclusion Initiatives

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From childhood, we have a need to fit in and be accepted — Maslow’s hierarchy of needs outlines the basic factors driving both personal and professional motivation, building self-worth and happiness. Engaged employees’ impact on business performance is well-documented – and organisations are implementing initiatives addressing health and well-being, inclusion and more. These initiatives must also address people’s needs on all aspects of working life, from recruitment to culture, so employees can bring their whole selves to work – to fit in and be accepted.

Many definitions of inclusion exist: according to Forbes, it is a call to action for workforces to actively involve every employee’s ideas, knowledge, perspectives, approaches, and styles to maximize business success.

IBM’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion recognises each individual’s unique value and skills. Consciously building inclusive teams and encouraging diversity of ideas helps us make the greatest impact for our clients, our colleagues, and the world.

However, there is still work to be done. Here are five key reasons why inclusion must be a business priority.

1. Authenticity builds trust

People often speak about separating work and home lives. A Deloitte study found that 61% of employees “cover” their identities in some way – for example, sexual orientation, mental health, or identity as a mother. Why? Do they fear a lack of acceptance from colleagues or that they won’t fit with the company culture? Leaders and peers must proactively build inclusive environments, developing trust among employees.

Jacqueline Davey, VP Enterprise Sales, IBM UK and Ireland, believes being your authentic self is critical. “Business is all about relationships, so you have to be yourself in order to build and retain trust with clients and peers. I also trust leaders in organisations to put people into challenging roles only where they are confident the candidate will succeed. For this to happen people must bring their whole self to work.”

2. An inclusive culture attracts talent

A lack of inclusion can prevent worthy candidates applying to organisations. According to a recent Stonewall study, in the last year:

• Almost one in five LGBT staff (18%) have been the target of negative comments or conduct from colleagues because they’re LGBT.
• Almost one in five LGBT jobseekers (18%) said they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity while looking for work.
• More than a third of LGBT staff (35%) have hidden or disguised their sexuality, fearing discrimination.

Ella Slade, Global LGBT+ Leader, joined IBM in 2014. She cites IBM’s industry awards for diversity and inclusion practices as key to her applying to work here. “I actually came out in my interview for IBM as I felt so safe. My recent promotion means that I’m now able to help recruit even more LGBT+ talent into our company. Through the activities we are working on, I hope to make a difference to IBMers and non IBMers alike, to enable more people to be their authentic self at work.”

3. Policies are great. Practical enablement is critical

Mairead Budge joined IBM nine months ago as a Java Developer and recently attended the Stonewall Workplace Conference 2019. Their recommendation to leaders is to recognise that one size certainly doesn’t fit all. “Inclusivity polices and training need to be as comprehensive as possible. These policies signal to potential hires that you think someone like them belongs at your company. IBM’s companywide diversity training, and the 365 Ally Scheme, are great examples of this.” Mairead continues, “Policies are necessary but when you are dealing with a real person their experience is always more important. This is all about enabling free and honest communication.”

Another key enabler is a focus on ‘Wellbeing’, IBM has included support for good Mental Health and Resilience for all employees with a comprehensive suite of on line training and the introduction of Mental Health First Aiders across all locations.

4. Removing bias – conscious or unconscious – is a must

During her speech at the World Economic Forum 2019, Ginni Rometty, Chairman, President and CEO, IBM said “The future of work is one of the most urgent questions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Some jobs will go away, new ones will be created, and all jobs will be forever changed by AI.” To address this massive shift, we must build a global workforce equipped with a new generation of skills. This is vital to ensure the benefits of AI and other advanced technologies can be experienced by the many, not just an elite few. Furthermore, these technologies must be trained by a diverse set of people, meaning businesses must be fully inclusive in their recruitment processes and training of all employees.

In November 2018, IBM announced its Talent & Transformation business, helping companies and their employees flourish in the era of AI and automation. It provides not only robust AI skills training, but also helps companies drive the transformation necessary to use AI to empower employees, transform workflows, eliminate bias and build a modern workforce.

5. Gender equality is good for business

A new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV)’s study found over 79% of organisations are not prioritising women’s advancement into leadership roles despite significant evidence that gender equality in leadership is good business. Clearly, more work is needed across all industries – now is the time for organisations to get serious about their commitments to inclusion in the widest sense of the word.

You can find more here about IBM’s history of diversity and inclusion and our latest policies.

Useful link:

https://www.ibm.com/employment/inclusion/our-culture.html#timeline