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
Resources Available to Address Racial Inequalities
Given these unprecedented times of racial injustices that have precipitated the protests, outrage, and civil unrest in our country, we are aware of the emotional and psychological toll that these incidents can take on workers, businesses and communities. As CEO of SDS Global Enterprises, Inc. and throughout my 20+ years as an expert in the DEI space, I understand how important it is to take immediate action in times like these. In lieu of the recent events that have highlighted the inequities in our society, SDS Global continues to provide resources to respond and strategies needed to build more inclusive workplaces. These are some of the resources that we are providing to our clients to help navigate through these difficult and sensitive topics: Provide COACHING ON MESSAGING to your organization regarding the civil unrest and injustices that are happening in our nation. Facilitation of LISTENING TOURS with staff to create a safe space to allow for open dialogue and to identify opportunities and solutions for moving forward. KEYNOTES/WEBINARS via virtual platform on “Creating more Inclusive and Equitable Workplace Cultures” and “Tips for Tackling Taboo Topics” (such as Race/Racism, gender inequality, religion, etc). CONSULTING with SR. EXECUTIVES on strategies for addressing institutional and systemic racial inequities and other discriminatory practices. INDIVIDUAL COACHING to help leaders effectively lead and work across differences. Provide AUDITS and ASSESSMENTS on organizational culture to identify inequities. As leaders, it is our responsibility to instill and ensure an inclusive and high performing culture. Reassuring staff that they are valued, reaffirming that diversity and inclusion are core to your values and culture, creating safe spaces for sharing feelings, and offering solutions and resources on how to navigate emotionally-charged situations are all ways to help achieve this. We are a full-service provider with virtual delivery options that are available on multiple platforms. We stand ready to partner with you to provide expert consulting, facilitation, training, education, coaching, and strategy development. We look forward to hearing from you on how we can partner with your organization. Sincerely, Dr. Shirley Davis CEO of SDS Global Enterprises, Inc.