THE VALUE OF DIVERSITY – WHY

INCLUSION MATTERS

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AUSTRALIA FIRST began writing and enacting anti-discrimination laws in the 1970s. Since that time, there has been considerable progress made toward anti- discrimination, and a new word – ‘diversity’ – has emerged as the measure against which modern organisations rate themselves.

But according to Kim Boyd, national sales and marketing manager at Frontier Software, leading organisations have now realised that recruiting for diversity isn’t enough. The success of any program lies in how an

Diversity and inclusion are increasingly crucial considerations in the modern workplace. HRD spoke to Kim Boyd of Frontier Software to discover more about the importance of D&I and how it can benefit your business

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“Many employers actively recruit for diversity, but they’re failing to create inclusive environments”Kim Boyd, Frontier Software

organisation uses its diverse employees once it has recruited them. Organisations that fail to focus on inclusion might as well stop recruiting for diversity because they can’t

derive the benefits without putting in the effort, Boyd says.

“Frequently, the phrase ‘diversity and inclusion’ is used as a singular noun, but they

are actually very different things,” she says. “Diversity refers to the range of variables that make humans different – ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, polit-ical affiliations and religion.”

But inclusion, Boyd explains, refers to the effort made and practices undertaken by an organisation to accept, value and welcome the diversity of its people and their collective experiences.

“Put simply, diversity is about difference, and inclusion is about embracing differ-ences,” Boyd says. “Many employers actively recruit for diversity, but they’re failing to create inclusive environments.”

The advantages of diversityIn recent years, diversity has become a hot topic in the workplace for a variety of reasons. The first, Boyd explains, is that it’s simply the right thing to do. Businesses should be reflective of the communities they serve, and Australia is becoming an increas-ingly diverse nation.

The second is that diversity has a variety of tangible business benefits. As a basic example, increased diversity creates

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increased capability depth – employees bring their different talents, skills and abil-ities to expand the scope and strengths of their team. Team members with specific language skills or cultural understandings can open new markets, and organisations that embrace D&I attract a more diverse applicant pool and tend to have higher levels of staff engagement and retention.

“Employee resource groups within banking organisations helped create services designed explicitly for indigenous Australians and Sharia-compliant loans for Muslim clients,” Boyd points out.

Additionally, diverse experiences and backgrounds can generate innovative solu-tions to organisational challenges.

“Design thinking is an example of diver-sity at work,” Boyd says. “Decisions made by diverse teams are known to produce better results because you have more voices contributing from different viewpoints.”

ABOUT FRONTIER SOFTWARE

Frontier Software was formed in Melbourne in 1983, and our products are the result of more than 30 years investment in technologies and people, focused on the provision of integrated HR and payroll software solutions.

Frontier Software can provide a local, national or global HCM solution designed to match your business needs and budgets, both today and into the future. Our solutions provide opportunities to maximize business performance and deliver value for money.

points to the inclusion of employees on the autism spectrum to improve software testing.

Not taking advantage of the resource D&I presents. Having a diverse mix

of people is one thing – however, organisa-tions need to know how to take the individual skills and combine them into a synergistic and effective unit.

“D&I is akin to the difference between individual pieces of the talent puzzle and a fully integrated, complementary solution,” Boyd says.

Preparing for better D&IWith that said, it’s not an overnight task, and it involves considerable work. Forbes research has identified a number of factors that can contribute to the failure of D&I programs:

Viewing diversity as an HR task only. Many diversity discussions focus

solely on recruitment as the means by which diversity is achieved. That places diversity squarely within the ambit of HR, not at the core of the enterprise itself. Initiatives such as employee resource groups (the same groups that developed innovative banking products in Australia) are perceived as a cost instead of profit centres.

“Until the programs form part of the core business, they will not be as successful,” Boyd says.

Not understanding what D&I seeks to achieve. If the reason for devel-

oping D&I programs is to create an attractive brand image, then the initiative has no focus. If the reason for developing such programs is to identify new markets for the business, then it has a clear objective. For example, Boyd

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Not training leaders in how to embed D&I culture. If leaders aren’t able

or prepared to change the way their teams operate, diversity initiatives might be a one-off success. True D&I, Boyd explains, comes from a leadership group that consistently harnesses the potential of diverse populations and applies it to business objectives. Without granular cultural change, D&I cannot embed across organisations.

“As leaders, the task is to facilitate the culture, not necessarily lead the process,” Boyd says.

“D&I is akin to the difference between individual pieces of the talent puzzle and a fully integrated, complementary solution”Kim Boyd, Frontier Software

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ABOUT KIM BOYD

Part of the Frontier Software team since 2011, Kim Boyd has more than 15 years of experience working in the human resources industry. She is fully conversant with the process of selling complex software solutions across all industries.

Based in Melbourne, Boyd oversees the Australian sales and marketing operations and is responsible for brand recognition, client acquisition and retention, and maintaining Frontier Software’s market position. Boyd is experienced in communication, presentation and negotiation at the board and executive management levels and maintains strong long-term client and vendor relationships.

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Audit your business. Determine whether your culture supports diver-

sity and actively includes all team members. Create formal and informal ways to attract, engage and retain your talent.

Consider your communities. Analyse the sources of your talent to determine

which events, social media and professional activities attract diverse new hires.

Develop a blueprint. Create and promote a formal diversity program.

Devise ways to measure, evaluate and redi-rect efforts. Embed diversity champions throughout the business, not just in HR.

Provide mentorships. Match emerging talent with established

employees to assist them in career develop-ment, coaching and networking.

Establish employee resource groups. Employee resource groups (also

known as affinity groups or business network groups) enable employees with shared char-acteristics or life experiences to meet as a group. Giving groups objectives aligned with business strategy often results in increased employee engagement, deeper market pene-tration and identification of future leaders.

Measure progress. To ensure D&I initiatives align with broader goals,

Getting the right steps in place Even with all of these considerations in mind, the challenges are far from insurmountable. Boyd refers to Ingram Micro, an employer in the IT space with more than 33,000 employees in 64 countries, which has devel-oped 10 steps to creating a diverse workforce.

Drive from the top. Leadership must champion diversity’s importance to

ensure the desired outcome – not always as drivers, but as committed advocates.

Examine your cultural relevance. Review your partners to determine

whether your team mirrors the diversity of your value chain. Develop strategies to become more culturally and socially relevant in the marketplace.

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A recent study by Boston Consulting Group found that companies reporting

above-average workforce diversity earned 45% of revenue from innovation, compared to 26% from companies reporting lower diversity scores. Given the well-accepted benefits, organisations have sought to diversify their workforces.

“However, barriers to achieving this objective exist,” Kim Boyd says. “Through research, Forbes identified several obstacles that can scuttle D&I programs before they even begin.”

The top four issues are:

Middle management failing to execute diversity programs adequately

Budgetary issues that prevent further implementation

A focus on surviving the current economic conditions

A failure to appreciate the connection between diversity and business drivers

BARRIERS TO DRIVING BETTER FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE WITH D&I

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identify metrics that will measure their success. This is more art than science, but analysis of turnover, performance ratings, exit interviews and pulse surveys will provide basic data on employee experience as it relates to diversity measures.

Celebrate accomplishments. From changes in your workforce demo-

graphics to community activities and innova-tive products or solutions, honouring achieve-ments helps to stimulate further activity and initiatives.

Evolve continuously. D&I isn’t a single task to be completed. It’s more like a

personal relationship that requires attention, nurturing and commitment. Constant evalua-tion and review is required.

“There is no single approach to creating successful D&I programs within an organisa-tion,” Boyd says. “Every company is different, with different workforce structures and busi-ness objectives. However, the focus must be on ensuring your diverse workforce is openly valued, developed and directed toward the achievement of company objectives.”

By fostering inclusion and measuring the impact of initiatives on employee percep-tions, the benefits inherent in the develop-ment of a diverse workforce will be realised, and the pool of available talent will be virtu-ally knocking on your door.

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