Improving Organisational Effectiveness to Positively Impact Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB)  Part Two

As someone passionate about equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB), I have been taking a course on the psychology of diversity. The course has challenged me to apply scientific thinking to diversity matters and approach diversity through a dialectic lens. This has been challenging because, as a person of colour, it was indeed challenging to detach my emotions from such a personal subject. I have personally seen and experienced the effects of marginalisation, and it is a very emotive subject with polarised opinions on both a societal and scientific level.  

One of the most interesting things I learned in the course is that the cognitive ability to categorise people is an evolutionary construct that we used to adapt and survive as a species in the hunter-gatherer age. Categorisation helped us to store and quickly retrieve information, allowing us to think about others in shorthand terms (e.g., dark, mid-aged, athlete, short and curly hair). It helps us respond to new information with minimal effort. Even babies are wired to see differences, which is the basis of attachment behaviour between a child and mother. However, this categorisation becomes the source of prejudice and, subsequently, bias, which is usually unconscious thoughts and motivations from childhood. It's like the invisible smog of bias that lingers in the air, affecting our perceptions without us even realising it.  

At this point, I understand where many good intentions fail at an organisational level. We try so hard, and it just doesn't work. In fact, the more we try, the more divisive it gets. How do we undo unconscious cognitions that developed over a lifetime? Research has shown that we have 175 cognitive unconscious biases, and it is a tall ask for anyone to change 175 ways of thinking that they do not know about but have successfully seen them through to where they are today.  

As I wrapped up the course, I concluded that the answer to change lies in each of us. Science posits that we could do this in three ways: de-categorisation, re-categorisation, and personalisation.  
De-categorisation means seeing others as individuals but not the descriptors we give them (e.g., dark, middle-aged, athlete, short, curly hair). To understand more about this, reading about the outgroup homogeneity effect would be helpful. Re-categorisation means seeing others as a member of the larger group-the concept of 'we', and personalisation means seeing individuals as unique people and celebrating the beauty of individuality. This happens when we increase our cultural competency.   

This is a journey to unlearn and relearn, a journey of self-discovery and a rediscovery of self, grounded in the common ancestry of humanity. I am reminded of the wise words from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): "The individual is responsible for creating a culture of peace, respect, and tolerance." One thing is very important as we tackle our 175 biases, the smog of prejudice all around us or the labels we have been given by others or even by ourselves. We are all RESPONSIBLE (RESPONSE-ABLE). We all can respond; we have an obligation to do something, and let's start with tolerance and respect for 'the other.'  
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To improve organisational effectiveness to impact EDIB positively, we must start with ourselves and our biases. By understanding the science behind categorisation and prejudice, we can begin to deconstruct our biases and work towards a more equitable and inclusive society. ​

Improving organisational effectiveness to positively impact Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB).  
I am working in a team to creatively improve the effectiveness of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) interventions. As some of you know, I made a call last week for people to share creative interventions they have come across that have been impactful. As part of the work, I conducted primary research to identify barriers to achieving change in this area. Today's post shares the insights gained so far, shedding light on the challenges organisations face and proposing strategies for positive change. 

Understanding the Challenges: 
To tackle EDIB effectively, my respondents felt we must first acknowledge the complex factors contributing to the challenge. Studies, including a notable article from Harvard Business Review, indicate that many common EDIB interventions can inadvertently make organisations less diverse. My research has identified several key obstacles hindering progress, resonating with existing literature. These obstacles include the organisational environmental context and behaviour, underrepresentation in leadership, language use, unconscious bias, socio-political context, and historical factors. 

Addressing Socio-Political Context: 
To create a more inclusive environment, it is crucial to confront the socio-political context in which organisations operate. We must actively counteract the effects of polarisation, misinformation, and microaggressions experienced by marginalised groups. Furthermore, fostering a sense of belonging and psychological safety is paramount, ensuring that individuals feel respected and valued and promoting inclusivity throughout the organisational culture. 
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Strategies for Change: 
To drive impactful change in the realm of EDIB, my research has suggested a range of strategies that organisations can implement: 

• Long-Term Commitment: EDIB should be viewed as an ongoing journey of continuous learning and improvement rather than a one-time training exercise. It also identified EDIB literacy requires a lifetime learning mindset.  

• Education and Language: Integrate EDIB principles across various training programs, avoiding segregation into separate modules. Promote education on EDIB concepts throughout the organisation, ensuring that inclusive language encourages understanding and empathy. There was a feeling that the work associated with EDIB disengages people, and perhaps fundamentally, we all just need to remember that this is about being respected and valued as an individual. Some also use creative ways to engage others in the dialogue, e.g., using media or theatre sketches to provoke a conversation or reflection.  
• Leadership's Role: My respondents encourage leaders to actively listen, practice allyship, and demonstrate unwavering commitment to EDIB values. As my respondent talked about allyship and leadership, I was reminded of the movie hidden figures when Al Harrison, the director of the Space Task Group, knocked over the Coloured Ladies Bathroom sign. He did it to end bathroom segregation at NASA. We need more Al Harrison in our leadership ranks.  
• Internal and External Benchmarks: Setting measurable goals and establishing benchmarks to monitor progress and hold the organisation accountable is a concept that resonates with all. External benchmarks, however helpful, can become a box-ticking exercise and enable us to focus on the process rather than the impact. Combining both is important to see results. 
• Moving Beyond Right and Wrong: All the people I interviewed felt that EDIB discussion has inadvertently enabled binary thinking on right and wrong. We are encouraged to foster a culture that transcends binary thinking, emphasising values-led behaviours founded on fairness and empathy. Allowing space for others, actively listening, and, as one of my interviewees said, forgetting EDIB, just treating me as a human, respecting me and valuing me as an individual.  
• Measuring Behavioural Change: Develop effective methods for measuring shifts in behaviours and attitudes resulting from EDIB initiatives. Common approaches are values lead recruitment, appraisals which measure behaviours associated with EDIB, values-led recognition scheme, 360 feedback etc.  

• Cross-Organisational Collaboration: Encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing across departments and teams, fostering a holistic approach to EDIB. One of the creative approaches I came across is a group of organisations' leadership in the same sector coming together to form a group that collectively works on EDIB within their industry. 
• Starting Small and Assigning Responsibility: Begin with manageable initiatives and designate individuals responsible for driving EDIB efforts within the organisation. Several respondents talked about trying to boil the ocean with EDIB efforts.  
• Active Bystanders: Empower employees to be active bystanders, proactively intervening when situations compromise EDIB principles. Training on active bystanders was particularly mentioned as a powerful tool in fostering inclusion, as it enables a form of allyship that speaks to joint responsibility.  
• Leveraging Technology: Respondents felt we could utilise technology as a powerful tool, such as through short videos to promote understanding and capture diverse perspectives. A day in the life of …… and providing framework for reflective dialogue; however, it is crucial to remain mindful of language use when employing technology. 
• Demographic and Generational Considerations: Adapt EDIB initiatives to account for the unique challenges and opportunities arising from demographic and generational shifts. There was a feeling that we are focused on one or two generations in the workplace, and as we currently have three generations in the workplace, we shouldn't forget to cater for all.  

• Creating a Burning Platform when there is none for EDIB: One of my interviewees reflected on the fact that we seem to launch to action after a tragedy and wondered if we could have that sustained agenda without tragedy. In our discussion, we couldn't find an answer to that. I have reflected on this question over the years and don't have an answer. I have settled on raising awareness about the importance of the work and hope to see organisational commitment with time. 
• Recruitment: I had talked about valued-based recruitment; some cited ensuring inclusive language in adverts, interview panel training etc. However, one of my respondents shared that they established a candidate care program which sounds so creative.  

 
We are halfway through our project, and I am excited about the end product of the work, but I couldn’t resist the urge to share the collective wisdom from what I have done so far. Enhancing EDIB within organisations requires a comprehensive and sustained approach. In the meantime, we are still searching for insights on designing innovative strategies to improve organisational effectiveness to positively impact Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. 

​As I debated what to blog about this week, I checked Google Bard for the most popular human resources searches in the last month, and it showed onboarding was #1. Given the amount of information on onboarding, I was surprised, so I decided to look at an area that isn’t often discussed, the socialisation aspect of onboarding.

Often, onboarding is geared towards knowledge acquisition, particularly helping new starters understand how we do things here or various organisational practices that are vital to the organisation's smooth functioning; however, it is important to consider the socialisation component when bridging the time gap between employment and productivity. Also, as a bonus, this is the time to build organisation commitment. See my previous post on commitment.

I have been leading a project at work on reviewing our onboarding to help new employees to feel, connect and understand the organisation to do their best work at the earliest opportunity. The opportunity to work on this project has underscored the importance of the socialisation process and how that can lead to better outcomes.

To back up some of my findings from delivering this project, I went on a hunt for research that would back my practice, and, luckily, I found a study that investigates onboarding practices, their impact on newcomer socialisation, and the perceived helpfulness of these practices (Klein et al. 2015).
The concepts of onboarding and socialisation are different; it is crucial to differentiate between the two. Onboarding refers to the practices implemented by organisations. At the same time, socialisation involves the proactive efforts of new employees in understanding their new environment facilitated by the mechanics within the organisations, which supports the curiosity and intrinsic motivation of the new employees in the early days. 
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In the article, the authors categorised onboarding practices into three groups: inform, welcome, and guide. Inform practices aim to provide the necessary information and resources for successful adjustment, welcome practices that focus on developing social connections, and guide practices that assist new employees in transitioning effectively. This is similar to the aims of the project I referred to earlier, feel, connect and understand the organisation.

There are several findings from this article, but the most important one I would like to draw out is the research on the helpfulness of the practices that make up the onboarding process. The authors measured the following activities within the groups identified. I have arranged the groupings in order of their helpfulness according to their research, with the most helpful being at the top.

Ranked number one in helpfulness is guide. The onboarding activities include:

• Assigning someone at a higher level, the line manager, to be a mentor.
• Having a single point of contact (welcome coordinator) for any questions.
• Having a colleague assigned as a ‘buddy’ to help answer any questions.

 
Ranked number two in helpfulness is - Inform-Resources. The onboarding activities include:

• Being shown how to find things on the company’s website.
• Being given an initial plan that outlined development opportunities.
• Being provided with a glossary of abbreviations and 'buzzwords' used throughout the company.
• Being directed to a section of the company website specifically designed for new starters.
• Being given a list of names and contact information of important people within the company.
• Ensuring that the workspace was ready (including all supplies, materials, and equipment), and if onboarding remotely, ensuring that the supplies arrived either before the first day or by the first day.

 
Ranked number three in helpfulness is - Inform-Communication. The onboarding activities include:

• Attended a question-and-answer session where new employees could ask senior leaders questions.
• Being invited to meet with a senior leader.
• Having the line manager set aside a block of uninterrupted time with the new starter.
• Meeting with someone from the HR team.

 
Ranked number four in helpfulness is - Inform-Training. The onboarding activities include:

• Being shown a new employee video.
• Being encouraged to observe a current staff for some time.
• Receiving on-the-job training on how to perform the job.
• Being given a tour of company facilities.
• Attending an orientation program with other new employees.
• Completing the online orientation program.
• Attending a session where presentations were given by colleagues who were experts on specific tasks or procedures.

 
Ranked number five in helpfulness is - Welcome. The onboarding activities include:

• Receiving a personalised welcome (phone call, email, or letter) to the company from a senior leader.
• Receiving a personalised welcome (phone call, email, or letter) from my manager.
• Being given a welcome kit.
• Participation in exercises to get to know other colleagues.
• Organised gatherings (meeting, welcome lunch) to meet other colleagues.
• A new employer welcome celebration was held.
• Invitation to participate in a social event to get to know other colleagues.
• New employees' families are invited to attend a social activity held outside of work.
• New employee joining was announced in an email, on the company website, or in a company newsletter.
• Company t-shirts or other items with the company name/logo are sent to the new starters' home address.

 
As with all research, there are limitations; in this study, the authors relied on data recall from the 373 participants. With my project, I got feedback from new employees 30 days into the role, and the feedback showed similar results but with some nuances depending on roles, seniority and complexity of the organisation. All new employees ranked activities related to guide and inform- resources highly. New employees whose roles had limited interaction with leadership really appreciated the opportunity to meet the senior leadership team. From my interpretation of the feedback received, my colleagues would rate inform-training activities in fifth place and welcome activities in fourth place, give or take some nuances.

Many of my readers will have a solid onboarding process; the key message here is that regardless of how your onboarding is structured, it is essential to include a mix of effective practices from each category listed above. The guide and inform practices enable the socialisation process, and formalising these activities helps with the socialisation process. It goes without saying that organisations should continually evaluate the effectiveness of their practices, ensuring that employees are experiencing them as intended.

Effective onboarding practices are vital for new employees to feel connected, understand the organisation, and perform their best work early on. The project I worked on and this study shed light on the importance of specific onboarding practices and their impact on newcomer socialisation. By implementing the right combination of practices and considering individual needs, organisations can create a supportive onboarding experience that sets their employees up for success from day one.

Reference
Klein, H.J., Polin, B. and Leigh Sutton, K., 2015. Specific onboarding practices for the socialisation of new employees. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 23(3), pp.263-283.
 
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