Joe Gerstandt | keynote speaker, freedom fighter, freak-flag flier

This is a slightly modified version of a post I published earlier this year…seemed timely with SHRM Leadership this week.

A lot of my work happens with and around HR folks…and that means that a lot of it happens with and around SHRM.  I have attended and presented for a number of SHRM events, local, state and national; and I have presented for and interacted with a number of local SHRM chapters and state councils.

There are some interesting conversations taking place about SHRM and its role moving forward, but this is not that.  I simply want to consider an area of opportunity for SHRM chapters.  I think that local SHRM Chapters have the potential to champion Diversity and Inclusion in a very real way and wanted to share some thoughts about that here.

There are certainly exceptions to this, but from what I have seen, it is fairly common for a local SHRM chapter to only really focus on D&I once a year.  Omaha, which has a pretty large and pretty active SHRM chapter brings in a speaker or speakers each April for a luncheon keynote and an afternoon workshop and it is generally a pretty decent event.  The Diversity Committee also gives out some awards and scholarships, and shares some information via the newsletter, but the April session is the only substantial learning and development opportunity around Diversity and Inclusion.

Once a year is not enough.

Diversity and Inclusion is a big and complex body of work that sits at many, many intersections.  I do not mean to be critical of what any chapter is doing right now, but I do believe that more is needed.  This set of issues is as critical to the success and evolution of our organizations and communities today as it has ever been.

I think there are some things that the average local SHRM chapter could do to play a bigger role in moving D & I work forward in their community:

1.)    Fresh Faces: Passion and experience are wonderful, but so are fresh perspectives and skills.  Make sure that the people on your diversity council are rotating and that their roles are rotating. A lot of councils are doing the same things they have always done, because the people involved are the same. Do you have new contributors and new decision makers regarding what you do around diversity and inclusion?

2.)    Less Celebration, More Evidence: Celebration and awareness can certainly be valuable, but I think that a lot of SHRM chapters (and a lot of HR folks in general) lean too far toward the celebratory activities.  It is important that we are also sharing facts, science, research, case studies that people can take back to their organization and use.  Are you helping your members build a library of knowledge, facts, figures, tools and models to inform and guide their work?

3.)    Constant Programming: As I said earlier, once a year is not enough.  One workshop / speaker event per year might be all that you can manage, but shoot for some kind of learning opportunity once a month…webinars are a great way to do this. There is no shortage of relevant topics and webinars are an affordable and low maintenance way you can allow your members to plug in once a month.  This also helps keep the momentum and the energy up.  A few topic ideas for consideration:

• D & I employment branding
• creating a D and I strategic plan
• veterans issues
• using social media for D & I efforts
• employees with disabilities
• training that works
• religious diversity in the workplace
• gender identity
• demographic trends (national/regional/local)
• employee resource groups
• diversity councils
• flex work/job sharing
• working parents
• engaging middle managers in D & I work
• dealing with resistance
• engaging senior leaders
• engaging white men
• metrics
• ROI / making the case
• strategic partnerships
• mentoring
• personal wellness for practitioners
• internships

You can probably find presenters on these topics and others at little or no cost for webinars, if you have someone that is willing to do some networking.  If you cannot swing a webinar, you might want to promote the practice of sharing information (articles, whitepapers, research) through a blog, LinkedIn group or video.  How often are you providing something of value to your members regarding Diversity and Inclusion?

4.)    Sharing The Real Expertise: Outside speakers / consultants can be valuable and bring new or different information to your chapter, (and I am happy to be that outside speaker/ consultant!) but …there is very little expertise or experience that does not already exist somewhere within your membership.  Within any SHRM chapter there are people with a wide variety of skill sets, roles and experiences. By just providing a casual environment for people to network, share resources and ask questions of each other you can facilitate a lot of learning and development.  Do you have a space (in real life or on-line) where your members can ask questions regarding D&I work of each other and share resources and experiences?

5.)    Consider Your Audiences: I think there are several key audiences for what you say / do regarding D & I as a SHRM chapter and it is important to consider each of them and what they need from you.

• HR Practitioners: This is clearly your biggest audience, and these are the folks that are supportive of or involved in D & I work, though it is not their primary role.  They may not be asking for specific things but will generally be appreciative of anything that you can provide, especially if it is applicable and if it is easy to put into their schedule.
• D & I Practitioners: This is a much smaller group of folks that are working specifically in D & I related roles.  You may not be able to provide a lot of programming geared towards these folks as they are likely attending diversity specific conferences, etc., but you might at least be able to bring them together and you might be able to engage them in sharing their experience and expertise with the rest of your members.
• HR Leaders:  HR leaders all say that they “get it” regarding D & I because they are expected to get it, but I think that the truth is a bit more complex than that. If more HR leaders really “got” D & I they would not relegate it to the “feel good project when it is convenient” role that they often do.  This group needs to be challenged and supported.   Far too many of them opt-out when it comes to D & I related activities and that shows that it is not a real priority.  It is not a real priority because it is not well understood. Push on them.
• Community and Business Leaders:  I think that SHRM chapters do not always think about this group, as it does not necessarily fall within their membership, but I think this group is an important piece of the puzzle.  If SHRM can apply a little more pressure on this group of folks regarding D & I work, it will likely make things easier for the HR Practitioners, D & I Practitioners and HR Leaders that are their members.

Each of these groups has different needs and different priorities and it will probably be valuable to reflect on your relationship with each group from time to time.  Are you providing some value to each of these groups?

When I go to the web site for a SHRM state council or local chapter, I often see “diversity” right away…it is prominently featured with its own tab on the home page and when I click on it I get taken to a page that lists some resources (of moderate value)…and probably some language about the work that SHRM is doing on a national level.  Hmmm. That always feels like talk and no walk.  There are exceptions to this, but as someone who has looked at a lot of SHRM chapters this is very normal.  Are there not local resources?  Are there not local events?  Are there not local organizations or practitioners that should be recognized?  Is your chapter not doing anything of its own?

And then I look at their annual conference agenda…

(and this may start to sound very self-serving as I am a speaker myself)

Regarding diversity (which is sprinkled throughout the language on the website and in all of the marketing materials as if it is one of the events top 4 or 5 priorities), I often see very little real space on the agenda.  There are certainly some exceptions to this. But most or all of what is framed as diversity related topics are actually about compliance, litigation and how to avoid getting sued.  Before we ask one more person outside of HR to take a more proactive philosophy towards diversity and inclusion we have to do so ourselves.

And I have not even touched on diversity of the speakers themselves yet.

Enough.  We are setting a poor example.  We are not practicing what we preach.  We are absentee landlords.

You think HR is slow to adopt social media?  Breaking news, we still have not really adopted diversity and inclusion and we have been talking about that stuff for decades.  I truly believe that as a profession we do not truly understand diversity and inclusion and we do not truly understand why they matter to the organizations and clients we serve.

Here is the deal.  Right here in the middle of 2011, diversity and inclusion are maybe the most misunderstood issues in the world of business…at the same time that they are becoming increasingly critical to business success.  We in HR are the solution. We are the ones that can help turn this around, but we must bring our own game up to speed.

If you are going to talk a mean game about diversity and inclusion then play a mean game. If you are not going to play the game then get that garbage off of your site and your newsletters…as you are setting a poor example.    If you are putting on a conference make sure that there are a variety of perspectives and a variety of issues related to diversity and inclusion on the agenda.  It’s not hard to find.  If you need help, let me know….I will send you a list.  I will even make sure my name is not on it, so it’s not self-serving.

Be good to each other.