How Workers Should Prepare For the Job Market in 2022
One of the most dramatic storylines to come out of 2021 was the unprecedented state of the labor market. America learned terms like “the Great Resignation” and “the Big Quit.” Businesses that were eager to reopen after pandemic shutdowns couldn’t hire enough staff to meet the demand, no matter how much they offered to pay. Corporations across the country doled out big signing bonuses and imaginative benefits to average applicants.
How to Realize the Benefits of Inclusive Leadership
Dr. Davis’s recently published article on Fast Company can be viewed here: https://www.fastcompany.com/90683353/how-to-realize-the-benefits-of-inclusive-leadership Implicit bias training has seen a significant uptick in the past year following the national and international calls for greater justice, equity, and inclusion. I know this firsthand because my firm has been flooded with hundreds of requests from clients wanting their entire leadership teams and general staff to go through it. The core message of implicit bias training is that all humans have it as a built-in safety and survival mechanism. Our brains are hardwired to be biased but when left unchecked, it can have a negative impact on everyday interactions and decisions, especially in the workplace. But simply being aware that we all have biases does not let us off the hook. That matters more than ever because the workforce and the marketplace have become more global, multicultural, multigenerational, and hyper-connected. On top of that, they all bring differing needs, expectations, and ways of thinking, working, and doing business. The ability to lead more effectively across differences is a key lever for attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent, driving innovation and creativity, as well as expanding into new markets, and serving new customers and clients. In addition to implicit bias training, in the last 18 months alone, my consulting firm has conducted nearly 100 listening sessions, and more than 50 inclusion and employee engagement surveys and focus groups, and the results have been consistent across industries, sectors, and company sizes. Workers expect their employers to: value diversity, equity, and inclusion want their leaders to be authentic, walk the talk and live the company values have the opportunity to grow their knowledge and acquire new skills work flexibly and have more autonomy in how they work be paid fairly and competitively work in a ‘safe-to-speak” culture where their ideas and opinions can be shared without fear of retaliation be recognized and appreciated And they report that if they don’t get it, they are willing to walk away. Today that threat has become real. The U.S. job market is slowly recovering by adding thousands of new jobs, while at the same experiencing the Great Resignation, where workers are quitting their jobs in record numbers. In June alone, 3.9 million people said “I quit” which was slightly down from the nearly 4 million who quit in April. In a recent Monster.com survey, 95% of 650 U.S. workers said they were thinking of quitting their jobs. The main reasons for quitting are very aligned with what our firm heard from workers in listening sessions and focus groups—they are experiencing increased burnout, work-related stress, a lack of development and growth opportunities, low wages and poor benefits, lack of flexible work, and toxic workplace cultures. Wait, there’s more. The 2021 Work Trend Index report conducted by Microsoft a few months ago studied more than 30,000 people in 31 countries. It revealed some startling findings that should be a warning to all leaders. Five that stood out to me because of the consulting work we’re doing with clients around the world include: more than 40% of the global workforce is contemplating leaving their current employer this year flexible work is here to stay leaders are out of touch with employees and need a wake-up call authenticity will spur productivity and well-being high productivity is masking an exhausted workforce Wow, talk about having some work to do to re-engage, re-energize, and retain existing talent. This is a clear and compelling business case and a loud cry for more inclusive leadership. Successful organizations recognize that in order to attract top talent, increase employee engagement and job satisfaction, drive innovation and creativity, and enhance the customer service experience, they must cultivate an inclusive workplace culture. And that begins and ends with inclusive leadership. It cannot be a nice to do, it must be intentional and a continuous development process. While culture is everyone’s responsibility, leaders set the tone. I call them “thermostats” in the company because they set the temperature and create the atmosphere that workers experience. In my 30 years in human resources, I’ve seen more often that people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad leaders and toxic workplaces. Many of the reasons listed above of why workers quit or plan to can be avoided/recovered by having inclusive leaders. I get it. Being an inclusive leader is not as easy as it sounds. Inclusive leadership is much more than having a title, giving a hug, and being nice. It requires a paradigm shift, an openness to different ways of doing things, leaning into some discomfort, and demonstrating the courage to embrace the unfamiliar. Many leaders have neither the basic foundational knowledge about inclusive leadership nor an idea of what workers expect in their leaders today (they are out of touch, as the Microsoft study revealed). Employees are demanding, at the very least, that our workplaces be more inclusive, welcoming, and respectful, that they create a sense of belonging, and are free from harassment. For some companies with legacy cultures and others that have existed for more than a century, this is an extremely hard change management process. But it’s necessary. Therefore, every leader should upskill and develop new competencies that will do those three things: re-engage, re-energize, and retain their workers. They must be intentional about valuing diversity and inclusion. Intentionality can include listening attentively to understand others’ perspectives and points of view and creating safe and brave spaces for staff to feel comfortable sharing their ideas without fear of retaliation. Instead of using the same person(s) to carry out tasks and special projects, they need to intentionally spread opportunities around. And it means not only inviting more diversity to the table but soliciting diverse perspectives and ideas. When they observe or hear something that is inappropriate, insensitive, or insulting, they speak up and call it out. These daily acts of intentionality can go a long way to foster trust and belonging. Additionally, leaders must increase their level of cultural competence, which can begin with a self-assessment and
There is Still Work to Be Done
It’s an honor to be published in the Tampa Bay Business Journal Jan. 15, 2021. Check out the article here: Companies that promised to review policies in 2020 in the wake of social unrest now face showing results in 2021. If 2020 will be remembered for anything other than the coronavirus, it will be for protests that spread to cities and towns across the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. Months of marches were held in both Tampa and St. Petersburg. While the initial purpose of these marches was to spur government reform regarding policing, calls for equality and racial justice soon spilled over into other facets of life, including entertainment, education and business. Businesses ranging from the largest public companies in Tampa Bay to mom-and-pop stores put out messages of support and pledged to do better. Seven months after the protests began in late May, the organized marches have mostly died down. Progress has been made in some areas, but both sides — advisers and the companies themselves — know there is still plenty of work to be done in 2021 and the months ahead. “There are companies that are forward-thinking companies, and some companies … [that] are doing better but recognize they have a long way to go,” said Shirley Davis of SDS Global Enterprises, a Tampa Bay-based corporation that works with businesses to create more inclusive cultures. “There is still work to be done.” The momentum of the summer is waning a bit, said Cal Jackson, the director of Diversity and Inclusion global programs for Tech Data Corp. “There are still groups that are underrepresented in our organizations and what I feared is starting to happen: It can’t be a news cycle and there are unfortunately, police events that bring things back into the radar.” The slow march of progress Even before 2020, businesses were looking to diversify their ranks — both in leadership and among the workforce — and Tampa Bay was no exception. This has especially been the case when it comes to gender diversity. As of January 2021, 19 of the region’s 20 largest public companies had at least one woman on their board of directors, according to data provided by the companies to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. A majority of the 20 largest public companies had at least one ethnic minority on its board of directors, a group that primarily was comprised of Asian-Americans and African-Americans. But the majority of board members in Tampa Bay are white men, as is most of the leadership at those companies. That might be one possible explanation as to why many Tampa Bay companies tiptoed around this summer’s events and the issues they raised. Only three of the region’s largest public companies — Raymond James, Bloomin’ Brands and Welbilt — released statements concerning the racial unrest over the summer. Only nine of the companies have a diversity policy on their websites. And only a handful of companies have announced actual action taken to improve diversity within their company, such as creating a pledge to the Black community or hiring an executive to oversee diversity and inclusion. “We did an internal promotion… and created a new position: VP of diversity and inclusion, in order to formalize that process,” said Joanne Freiberger of Masonite International, adding that Carlini Rivers took over the position in November. Rivers had been with Masonite since 2016. But most companies have shied away from such actions, and most frustrating to SDS’ Davis are executives who are still unwilling to acknowledge that there are racial issues within the business world, let alone address them. “What’s disappointing is we have too many leaders … who turn this work into a political statement. ‘If we say Black lives matter, then we’re saying all lives don’t matter,’” she said. “We still have people who are resistant to it, who resist it in a way that sabotages and derails the spirit behind it. And regardless of the political, inclusion is a good business strategy.” Moving forward But perhaps that paints a bleaker picture than reality. Talking honestly about race can be a prickly issue that many companies would prefer not to discuss publicly. But Davis said interest in her company’s services has been robust. “I’ve been in this work for 20-something years, I worked in HR for Fortune 500 companies, and in that time frame I have not had that much demand and as many requests as we did in June and July,” she said. “It was amazing and at the same time, it was well overdue.” She said it started with helping companies craft statements during the summer protests, but continued on to holding listening sessions. Davis said she was impressed by the number of organizations that really did want to change how they operated, by conducting diversity audits and committing to making long-term changes. It starts at the top, Jackson said, quoting a story Tech Data CEO Rich Hume told him. “He said, ‘I saw just how our board of directors changed in regard to its dynamics and how they were innovative and their discussions as we put more women and more diversity on the board.’” It is important for companies bringing in formalized D&I practitioners and programs to continue progress in 2021, but the work isn’t just about racial equity, he said. It’s also about building environments of inclusion because that can boost the bottom line, not just promote good corporate citizenry. “We do this in our workplace for organizational effectiveness,” Jackson said. “[This work] decreases attrition, and makes us a progressive company so that we can always get great talent that wants to come work for us.” And, in a strange way, the pandemic has helped to achieve those goals, he continued. “It has pushed us to the realization that we can work and telework and we can have roles everywhere, and that gives us a humongous net that we can throw out now for phenomenal talent and not just based upon the location of where we need people,” he said.
How HR Professionals Can Foster More Inclusive and Innovative Cultures
It’s an honor to be published in IPMA-HR’s November 2020 HR News Publication! Check out the article here: The workforce has become more global, diverse, multicultural, multigenerational, virtual and hyperconnected. As a result, work gets done differently. Also, there is no question that numerous demographic shifts that have occurred over the past decade have disrupted many of our long-standing human resources policies and strategies. The ability of HR leaders to lead their organizations amid these disruptive forces and across differences while fostering more inclusive and innovative work environments in a wide variety of contexts, cultures and complexities will be a key lever for attracting, engaging and retaining top talent. Census data and global workforce studies continue to affirm the following realities: Women make up 51 percent of the global workforce and 60 percent of all degree earners (from associate’s degrees up to doctorates). There are currently five generations in the U.S. workforce. Among the two largest generational cohorts, baby boomers still account for roughly one-third (31 percent) of workers; however, nearly 70 million of the 79 million baby boomers are expected to retire over the next 5-10 years. Aging employees are expected to continue working into and through retirement. Between now and 2050, the portion of people in the workforce who are over the age of 65 is expected to grow by 75 percent. The other largest generational cohort, the millennials, now makes up 50 percent of the workforce. By 2025, millennials’ share of the workforce jumps to 75 percent. By 2017, the oldest members of Generation Z (those born 1996-2010) had entered the workforce. With 7.5 billion people on Earth, 1 in 7 has a disability. In the United States, the minority of today (people of color) will become the majority of tomorrow, making up 54 percent of the workforce by 2030. Of course, there are many other considerations, such as how to be more accommodating and appealing to the LGBTQ+ community, people with various religious beliefs and faiths, our veterans and active duty workers, and many more. We have to consider the diverse needs, expectations, thinking styles, work preferences, communication styles and development needs of a new generation of talent. That includes making changes such as revamping our policies to allow for greater flexibility in work arrangements; upgrading our benefit programs from offering only traditional 401(k) and retirement plans to instituting additional perks such as unlimited vacation time, paying off student loans, offering public transportation passes, gamification, health and wellness programs, onsite daycare, dependent care and long-term care benefits; and much more. It also means expanding our recruiting and selection processes to ensure less-biased decisions are made and our nets are cast wider to attract a more diverse slate of candidates. Additionally, it means offering individual career ladders and unique development opportunities. As HR leaders, we need to know how to navigate this complex and rapidly changing landscape. That means having the right skills and competencies to build more equitable, inclusive and high-performing workplace cultures. Why is this important? Because these kinds of work environments produce higher performance, increase employee engagement, fuel innovation and creativity, increase retention and positively impact the customer service experience. Ultimately, they positively contribute to an organization’s bottom line and result in sustained success. In fact, research cited by Bain & Company revealed that companies that create a winning culture are 3.7 times more likely to be top performers. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to more than 5,000 HR professionals and business leaders around the world over the past year, and these are the kinds of issues that are keeping them up at night. I am often asked, “What is HR’s role in fostering more inclusive and innovative cultures? And what strategies can we implement?” Here are the top 10 tips that I’ve implemented as a former chief diversity officer and HR executive, as well as what I’ve seen bring sustained success in fostering inclusive and innovative workplace cultures. Inclusive cultures afford all talent the opportunity to obtain a seat at the table and to feel a sense of connection and belonging. Make sure that your overperformers are not undervalued—or they will leave. Find the “hidden figures” in your organization who aren’t always the most visible or vocal but who are adding value. Embed diversity and inclusion into your company’s strategic and operating plans, not just the HR strategy. D&I should not be a stand-alone effort or done in a vacuum. Rather, it should be integrated into your organizational DNA. HR must upgrade and digitize. If not, HR will lose the ability to compete and add value because, according to Cisco Systems, nearly 37 billion things are connected right now. Digital transformation—cloud-based HRIS, recruitment solutions, internal communication platforms, workforce engagement—is key for HR’s transformation. Without inclusion, you will not attract top talent. Physical and psychological safety issues will arise, and mental, emotional and physical wellness will suffer, which will lead to complaints, lawsuits, low engagement, high turnover and absenteeism. All of these result in $7 trillion in lost productivity every year, according to Gallup. Think of diversity like an iceberg. Most often, we make 90 percent of our decisions based on the 10 percent of an issue we see. Look at the iceberg accompanying this article. And, yes, we all act according to our biases and make snap decisions within the first 5 seconds. There is so much that makes people unique and diverse that we miss out on because of our blind spots. Learn to take greater risks and get out of your comfort zone. Being risk-averse, rigid and complacent are antithetical to innovating. It’s HR’s strategic role and responsibility to build bench strength and leadership capability inside the organization. HR must also ensure that leaders develop the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) that will be needed in the future. This can be done via workforce planning, succession planning and generating predictive analytics. Stop using stock photos to show visible diversity in your company. Do not try to represent something
Want More Board Diversity??
Thank you, BoardSource and Hardy Smith for featuring me in your recent post on board diversity. Read below or check out the original post here: https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/make-board-diversity-work Make Board Diversity Work Posted by Hardy Smith on Aug 27, 2019 2:19:35 PM Adopting a goal to achieve board diversity is one thing. Taking action to achieve that goal is quite another. Despite ongoing encouragement for nonprofit boards to embrace diversity, BoardSource’s Leading with Intent: 2017 National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices survey shows that movement toward more diverse boards is just not happening on a broad scale. According to BoardSource’s findings, a majority of board chairs and nonprofit chief executives are dissatisfied with their current levels of board diversity. However, the survey reveals another alarming fact: a high percentage of those expressing dissatisfaction about a lack of board diversity do not consider action to alter the situation a high priority or even a priority at all. Furthermore, of the more than 360 organizations that report having no people of color on their boards, it is disturbing that only 10 percent indicate that “demographics is a high priority in board recruitment.” This is in spite of the fact that 62 percent of those organizations with no people of color on their boards admit, “expanding the board’s racial and ethnic diversity is important for increasing the organization’s ability to advance its mission.” Certainly the sector is sending a mixed message. But actions speak louder than words. And because of that, the message is actually very clear —diversity is not a priority. These organizations are shooting themselves in the foot. This message projects well beyond the present board to prospective board members, members, volunteers, staff, donors, and to the community of individuals being served. The more people see that these organizations ignore the need for diversity, the more that they will drive away individuals they would like — and need — to attract. Furthermore, diversity is beyond having a different face or two on your board. When board members who represent diverse communities see no active progress toward diversity, they first become frustrated by the lack of full-in organizational commitment. Then they become discouraged, and finally they become disengaged from their board service. To prevent your organization from going down this path, you need to do three things: Accept responsibility BoardSource says it best: “As the decision-making body at the highest level of organizational leadership, boards play a critical role in creating an organization that prioritizes, supports, and invests in diversity, inclusion, and equity.” The board sets the tone for the entire organization and whatever it makes a priority will trickle down to the rest of the organization. However diverse (or not) your board is at this moment is the direct result of how your board has operated up to this point. Own it. Take action To assist organizations in moving beyond stated intentions with deliberate action, I reached out to speaker colleague Shirley Davis, Ph.D., who is a recognized global workforce expert and specializes in diversity and inclusion. She advises, “Optics matter. When an individual doesn’t see anyone else that looks like them, it communicates that their values and needs aren’t important.” She adds, “However, any conversation around achieving organizational diversity should not be narrowly focused on just gender and race. True diversity isn’t about quotas.” Davis shares these actions for successfully implementing a goal for achieving board diversity. Recognize there can be unconscious biases that prevent action from being taken. Identify a champion to lead the initiative. Develop a positioning statement that covers what the organization believes and defines what is to be accomplished. Establish goals with measurable outcomes. Evaluate progress being made. Provide training and facilitated discussion that gives your goal a top of mind presence. It is also important to avoid making mistakes that will block successful implementation. Davis identifies these four as especially significant: Not seeing that achieving diversity goals is everyone’s responsibility Not recognizing that there can be diversity but not inclusion Not fostering assimilation so there is a sense of belonging Assuming achieving diversity is a quick thing. It’s a marathon — not a sprint. To create a true culture of diversity, Davis advocates going beyond focus only on the board by “operationalizing” your efforts. Every decision your organization makes should be looked at through a diversity lens. This includes leadership positions, committee involvement, program scheduling, employee hiring, vendor selection, member and volunteer recruitment, and donor acquisition. Further demonstrate your commitment to diversity by ensuring that the public view of your organization, such as through your website and social media activity, includes leadership statements that reflect on various aspects of diversity. As nonprofits take action on their commitment to board diversity and inclusion, following Davis’s advice will help remove a source of frustration among board members who do represent under represented communities. In addition, they will position themselves as much more attractive to individuals representing different races, cultures, genders, and generational groups. Commit to desired change Achieving board representation that is reflective of the community an organization serves is the right thing. But it is also the smart thing — the organization benefits from the diversification of different backgrounds, experiences, opinions, and skill-sets, which are all vitally important qualities for a board that wants to reach higher levels of success. Making board diversity a priority and taking action to achieve it is a responsibility that is squarely on the shoulders of the board. Remember, actions speak louder than words, and those nonprofits talking diversity and not taking intentional action are missing board leadership. The bottom line is that taking the right action is the way to ensure that your organization advances its mission tomorrow and into the future. Does your organization have a goal for increasing diversity and for creating intentional inclusion? What actions are you taking to achieve your goal?