April 7th, 2015
Maybe you are already working on bringing more diversity into your workforce. Maybe you have some targeted outreach programs, are increasing the diversity of your applicant pool, and are scrubbing the hiring process for bias. Good stuff. But are you hiring for inclusion?
I walk into a lot of conference rooms where people are not happy to see me. I get a lot of the stinkeye, a lot of crossed arms and twisted up faces. I am fine with the rooms that I walk into, this post is not meant to be a complaint, I have actually gotten very good at flipping those angry folks in the audience. It’s not me that I am worried about, it’s you.
You say that diversity and inclusion are really important to your organization. I see the language on your website, in your annual report, and on a lot of your HR and talent material. You say that it is this critically important thing, but you still have employees flipping their lids because they have to actually talk about it! Adult human beings in a world full of diversity, outraged by the fact that have to go sit in a room and talk about diversity, which they just did in 1993.
Want a more inclusive organizational culture? Hire people that want to be inclusive. Take your corporate values off the wall and use them, use them to set clear expectations. Ask diversity and inclusion related questions in the hiring process, include some basic D&I training in the onboarding process and weave it into other existing development opportunities.
The Marine Corps should probably try to avoid hiring pacifists, Zappos should probably try to avoid hiring people that do not want to sell shoes and if inclusion is truly important to your organization then it should show up in your hiring process.
When you say wonderful things about D&I, yet continue to hire and promote folks who roll their eyes at the topic…well your slip is showing.
Be good to each other.