How to Measure Inclusion in your Workplace
Almost half of female business leaders say it’s difficult for women to speak up in virtual meetings, a recent survey by Catalyst, a nonprofit aiming to accelerate women into leadership, found. Meanwhile, one fifth of women say they’ve felt ignored or overlooked by colleagues during video calls.
We’ve found ourselves in a world where relations in the workplace have become less face-to-face and more online. With COVID-19 forcing many businesses to have their employees work remotely, we need to generate new strategies for maintaining and measuring worker inclusion.
McKinsey & Company conducted a survey of workers across three sectors -- financial services, technology and healthcare -- and measured three indicators of inclusion: equality, openness, and belonging. They found that negative sentiment about equality ranged from 63 to 80 per cent across the industries analyzed, whereas negative sentiment about bias and discrimination was between 38 and 56 per cent.
Despite the opposite being present in many workplaces, research by Deloitte Australia shows that inclusive teams outperform their peers by 80% in team-based assessments, while another study shows that inclusive companies have 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee over a three-year period.
Diversity or Inclusion?
According to Forbes, Diversity and inclusion (D&I) are more and more at the centre of many organizations’ values, with U.S. companies spending a combined $8 billion on D&I training each year. In 2020, 40% of companies discussed diversity and inclusion in their Q2 2020 earnings calls, up from 4% the previous year. Meanwhile, more than 1600 CEOs have signed onto the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge.
But, while 71% of organizations talk about diversity, opportunities are not felt to be equal by all, according to a PWC study of young women. It’s easy for a company to increase diversity, and focus on hiring candidates from diverse backgrounds, but not as easy to ensure these employees are feeling included. This leads to a company being unable to attract and retain talent, as well as decreased productivity.
So a diverse team isn’t necessarily an inclusive one, and making your company inclusive is a key ingredient to business success, as it drives diversity. While diversity is still important, lasting change comes from shifting the focus away from diversity and toward inclusion.
As Vernā Myers, VP of Diversity and Inclusion at online entertainment giant Netflix said: “diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance.”
So, how do you measure it?
A study by McKinsey & Company in 2020 titled Women in the Workplace found that over that past year, only 1 in 5 managers had received training on fostering diversity and inclusion.
But it’s difficult to quantify. Harvard Business Review advises that to effectively track inclusion, organizations must have a considered definition of inclusion to measure employee sentiment. You also need to ensure you can act fast on the results.
Aleria, an organisation aimed at creating a more inclusive, equitable world, has developed a framework for quantifying inclusion while uncovering inclusion-related challenges and opportunities. They suggest looking at specific “incidents of exclusion”, as inclusion itself is sometimes not visible. Exclusion however, might be easier to see, for example negative situations that employees experience based on their gender, age, sexual orientation etc.
Below are the categories of inclusion that Aleria has identified. Under each category, you can ask your employees to anonymously answer a series of questions to measure their satisfaction under each criteria.
Access and Participation
Are you able to speak with anyone in the organisation?
Do you feel you have access to leadership and resources?
Skills Use and Assignments
Are you included in projects that leverage your skills?
Do you feel that tasks are being assigned based on skills or capability?
Learning and Growth
Do you have support for professional development?
Do you attend conferences and professional events?
Compensation and Benefits
Are you paid adequately for your performance?
Does your salary increase with promotions or increased responsibility?
Career Opportunities
Are promotion processes clear, consistent and fair?
Do you feel like you can approach your leaders about career opportunities?
Work-Life Balance
Do you have flex-time and remote work options?
Is there assistance with caregiving?
Recognition
Are you appreciated for your tasks that are indirectly related to your role?
Are you acknowledged for your participation and contributions in meetings?
Respect
Are diverse perspectives encouraged and respected?
Are you comfortable sharing your unique personal traits?
Workplace Interactions
Do you feel like you’re respected in meetings and that your opinion counts?
Is your role as significant as the roles of your colleagues?
Final Say
While it’s easy to ensure your workplace is diverse, and while remote work may have given you the chance to hire candidates from an even wider range of backgrounds, ensuring inclusion is just as important. And it’s as simple as asking. Have your employees anonymously answer nuanced questions under the range of categories above, to get a sense of whether they’re feeling safe in your environment. Then develop your own strategies for implementing new techniques of inclusion.
Written for Empowering a Billion Women, June 25 2021
