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How Leaders Can Create More Inclusive Organisations
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace has always mattered, but these days it’s become a critical boardroom issue.
A WorldatWork survey found that 97% of global respondent organisations have either established a DEI strategy or are actively developing one; 83% have already implemented DEI programmes in their workplaces. In Singapore, on the other hand, seven out of 10 employers have yet to introduce such policies, according to a Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF)/Kincentric report.
Singapore employers would do well to catch up with the rest of the world. Studies have shown that DEI programmes have tangible benefits to businesses, including better talent retention and competitive performance. DEI also enhances companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, especially with regard to achieving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.
Beyond all these advantages, DEI is simply the right thing to do: a moral imperative to companies for fair and respectful treatment of everyone in the organisation.
According to Dr. Joo Seng Tan, Associate Professor of Management at Nanyang Business School (NBS) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for DEI. Organisations must find the approach that works best for them. Dr. Tan recommends that companies take four concrete steps to create a more inclusive working environment:
1.Create psychological safety net for the entire organisation, beginning with the leadership
When employees don’t feel safe showing their authentic selves at work, they can resort to “covering,” a phenomenon when people hide their identity to fit in better. “Someone from the LGBTQ community may tend to ‘cover’ their sexual orientation in the workplace and focus more on the other aspects, so they don’t attract unwanted attention from colleagues,” explains Dr. Tan.
In a workplace environment with too much covering, “we create less spaces for mutual dialogue because the other party is unaware,” says Dr. Tan. The act of covering can also be mentally and physically exhausting, affecting employees’ performance.
2.LEARN to address your own unconscious bias
Many workplace leaders engage in unintentional yet deeply-ingrained snap judgements, a phenomenon called unconscious bias. “We make assumptions based on surface-level diversity, such as age or gender,” says Dr. Tan. For example, younger workers might be unconsciously judged as lazy or female colleagues as overly emotional: “It’s very common whether it’s for promotion or for hiring or for other contexts.”
To address unconscious bias in the office, “the first step is raising self-awareness,” says Dr. Tan. He recommends using the LEARN framework as a basis for self-examination:
- Leverage diversity – As Dr. Tan puts it, “How can I get this employee to bring their true self to work?” This challenges leaders to see diverse traits as strengths, not weaknesses.
- Engage the whole person – “What are this employee’s passions, values, and motivations?” Leaders should understand that employees live full lives outside of work.
- Avoid assumptions – Acknowledge and appreciate each employee’s uniqueness, and be mindful of how your biases shape your perception of them.
- Respect boundaries – Understand that different topic may be uncomfortable for other people and know where to draw the line.
- Need to flex – Remain flexible to manage conflict or issues that may arise in more diverse workplaces.
3.Measure your DEI progress every step of the way
Like any CSR effort, “DEI is a journey,” explains Dr. Tan. “Progress cannot be achieved by one department or by one person, but by the entire organisation.”
Organisations starting their DEI journey first need to do a baseline assessment and set KPIs. “The DEI process needs to be measured and monitored regularly,” Dr. Tan says. “In management, what gets measured gets managed.” Soft metrics look at employee morale, satisfaction, and engagement, while hard metrics look at how DEI is linked to strategic business priorities or organisational outcomes.
There is no lack of DEI-related tools, resources, and positive examples; Dr. Tan recommends that leaders look at annual surveys of companies leading the way forward in DEI in the region or across the world. “They can be role models for other companies who have started the DEI journey or want to see how they can make better progress.”
4.Connect to diversity ecosystems beyond your organisation
Even if DEI is inextricably tied to an individual company’s culture and values, that doesn’t mean DEI outcomes can only be achieved in isolation. Connecting with different cause-oriented organisations can help you develop and improve your company’s DEI approach.
When companies with diverse approaches come together to share resources and ideas, they often create a “diversity ecosystem,” within which leaders can promote their own DEI initiatives and work with other leaders to expand DEI in their spheres of influence further. “The business supports the ecosystem, and the ecosystem can also enrich and strengthen the businesses,” says Dr. Tan.
Some examples of active diversity ecosystems in Singapore include:
- Lean In Singapore: Lean In Circles, popularised by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, are women’s networking groups that inspire, support, and empower women as they climb the corporate ladder.
- Startup Grind Singaporehosts monthly startup events to teach, inspire, and connect entrepreneurs that work in and with startups.
- The Young Professionals Networkis a group that supports and empowers young workers aged 25-35 as they start their careers.
Learn how DEI dovetails into effective leadership
As CSR has become a key business priority, NBS has ensured that CSR and DEI are vital to the MBA experience.
Modules such as “Cultural Intelligence” demonstrate how concepts like DEI can be put in practice by NBS’s future CEOs. “We want to train more inclusive leaders and show that cultural diversity can be harnessed for corporate outcomes and social good,” Dr. Tan says.
NBS’s class profiles are consistent with DEI: the admissions team recruits diverse participants from various cultures and industries. This ensures that in-class discussions cover a more comprehensive range of views, and graduates bring their appreciation of diversity wherever they go in the future.
This is a natural consequence of DEI ideas and practice being found, as Dr. Tan concludes, “not just in the cultural intelligence module, but across the MBA curriculum in NBS.”
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