Einstein Glanville

Good Practice

Diversity may prove to be the single most important performance factor of the 21st Century. Diversity’s emergence as a critical performance factor is evident in new research; the growing number of corporate success stories; the increasing commitment of corporations; and greater accountability measures; and new performance models. The reason for this is simple: The diversity of our global population affects every facet of business and society. Einstein Glanville can assist clients in identifying and internalising exemplar practices within their particular business paradigm.

Good Practice 1: Conduct A Diversity SWOT and PESTE Analysis
A Diversity SWOT Analysis is a powerful technique for understanding your Equality, Diversity and Inclusion related Strengths and Weaknesses, and for identifying any related Opportunities and Threats that you may face. The Diversity PESTE Analysis is another powerful tool for gaining an holistic appreciation of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion related trends (Political, Economic, Social, Technological and Environmental) that may have an adverse or positive impact on your business. These techniques should always be used prior to developing your Diversity Strategy or Action Plan.

Good Practice 2: Develop A Diversity Action Plan/Strategy
Diversity Action Plans provide a SMART framework detailing how you intend to deliver the organisation’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion objectives over a defined period of time. A good Action Plan will be evidence based, will ensure compliance, will include measures of progress, delineate areas of responsibility and will paint a picture of what success will look like.

Good Practice 3: Understand and Build Your Business Case

The business case for diversity comprises of the four R’s.

• Risk
• Reward
• Results
• Reputation

The exact mix of the four R’s in your business case depends on a number of factors including industry sector, market condition (growing, mature, declining etc) and the particular stage of the diversity journey that you are currently at amongst others. Einstein Glanville can assist in helping you identify your business case mix.

Good Practice 4: Mainstream Diversity into the Corporate Fabric
For Diversity to add value to your organisation, it needs to be embedded into the systems, structures and processes of the organisation and seen as integral to the business and not simply an add on or a tick box exercise to satisfy the requirements of legislation. Diversity leadership must be developed at all levels of the organisation to champion the agenda and to counter the forces of resistance which will inevitably be there. Finally there must be a level of accountability and responsibility to uphold organisational values and achieve organisational goals and objectives in a mutually respectful work environment which is shared by all employees at all levels and is reflected in relations with partners, stakeholders, and sub-contractors.

Good Practice 5: Demonstrate Commitment to Diversity
Diversity must be included in the formulation and statement of mission and vision. You must demonstrate that in your organisation Human differences and similarities are welcomed, valued and utilised at all levels across all formal and informal organisational systems and all employees are valued and respected as whole persons with identities and family lives which extend beyond the organization and to the greatest extent possible, are free to behave truthfully in the work environment. By offering adaptations in the workplace to eliminate barriers to work performance and workplace participation, you will create opportunities to persons with diverse physical and developmental abilities.

Good Practice 6: Foster an Inclusive Culture based on merit and equity
You must first acknowledges the existence of an explicit and implicit organisational ‘culture’ and continuously seek to align this culture to support organisational values and the synthesis of divergent perspectives. In order to avoid a ‘sausage machine culture’ where individuals who stay in the organization are processed into an homogenous group, you must create a professionally nurturing environment in which all employees have equitable access to opportunities for personal and professional growth and where success is based on merit with systems which acknowledge and reward the diverse contributions and achievements of employees at all levels of responsibility.

Good Practice 7: Engage meaningfully with internal and external stakeholders
Committed employees are employees who are respected and valued. Committed customers and clients are individuals who trust and value the services you provide. Commitment stems from listening, understanding and responding positively to address the needs of diverse employees and customers. Einstein Glanville has developed a useful engagement mechanism called the Equalities Programme Implementation Framework (EPIF) which applies the logical framework model to ongoing engagement with stakeholders.

Good Practice 8: Develop Diversity Metrics
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. You must develop an organisation specific set of measures to track progress and demonstrate the link between successful diversity management and improved business performance. There are a range of tools that can be deployed or customised to meet the requirements of your organisation.