The Reason Firms Are Attempting To Foster A Sense of Belonging

It results in better performance. JL

Sheree Atcheson reports in Forbes:

Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity outperform their competitors by 15% and those in the top quartile for ethnic diversity outperform their competitors by 35%. When employees “think their organisation is committed to and supportive of diversity, and they feel included,’ their ability to innovate increases by 83%. (But) the largest 150 Silicon Valley public companies averaged only 14 % women directors and an average of only 0.8 women executive officers. 58% of main boards in the FTSE100 currently have no ethnic minority presence.
Diversity and inclusion are topics on many executive agendas. Companies should be working to create more diversity within and outside of their organisation, because firstly, it’s the right thing to do, and secondly, it makes business sense. Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity outperform their competitors by 15% and those in the top quartile for ethnic diversity outperform their competitors by 35%.
If you want to create a diverse solution or product, you need a diverse team and leadership. So, how can companies reach those targets, create more diverse products and outperform competitors?
Top-level buy-in
Executive buy-in is a necessity. A shift in industry cannot be expected without engaging those who pull the strings. A 2016 study by Fenwick and West showed that the largest 150 Silicon Valley public companies averaged only 14 % women directors and an average of only 0.8 women executive officers. Additionally, almost 58% of main boards in the FTSE100 currently have no ethnic minority presence. This means companies must engage people which D&I strategies do not usually directly affect. Executive buy-in should focus on highlighting the business benefits of having diverse teams and inclusive environments. When employees “think their organisation is committed to and supportive of diversity, and they feel included,’ their ability to innovate increases by 83%. As an executive, your role should be focused around running your company in the best way possible, which empowers your employees.  Executives need to embody any diversity and inclusion strategy – writing down words on a piece of paper does not make a culture, having leaders
which embody and live it does.
Having top-level buy-in is only one step in any strategy. Organisations must create environments which allow people to bring their whole, true selves to work and understand they can climb the career ladder internally - they should feel a sense of belonging. Leaders cannot continue to look and sound the same, as this directly forms the unconscious/unchecked bias that these traits are associated with success. Companies need to create environments where people of all races, genders, sexuality, religions, socio-economic backgrounds (and everything in between) can thrive and realistically see themselves as leaders within the industry. To foster this culture, companies need to have a theme of allyship throughout the organisation.
What is allyship?
Allyship can take many forms - the overarching themes to follow are:

1. Openly sponsor someone within your organisation from an underrepresented/marginalised community
2. Speak your sponsee’s name when they aren't around
3. Share their career goals with influencers
4. Recommend them for stretch assignments which allow skill-set growth and career progression
5. Invite them to high-profile meetings
6. Open endorse them publicly

Allyship gives visibility and credit to under-represented groups, ensuring their voices are heard and actioned accordingly.
Humans need to see people who look, sound and have similar backgrounds to them in their leadership and organisation – additionally, they need to see people who do not look, sound or have similar backgrounds to them. The industry needs to embrace diversity and inclusion because tech does not have just one face.
Reworking company policies
An organization’s policies are crucial in embodying their on-paper diversity and inclusion strategy. Companies should work to provide parental leave, annual leave, flexible working hours, opt-in benefits, medical care and recruitment processes which can be tailored to embrace different needs and situations. A crucial part of forming inclusive policies is simply asking what your employees need and want – form employee resource groups and ask people what they think works well and what your organization is missing. Listen, form a strategy which actions this feedback in an appropriate timeframe, listen again and be prepared to adapt and rework your ideas of what's needed.
Unconscious bias should be readily discussed in your organisation and regular training given to all levels of the organisation on recognizing privilege and bias. Typically, underrepresented groups of employees are in junior or mid-tier roles meaning these people are actively working with middle-management in their daily roles. Simply providing training for executive level/partners will not directly positively affect the environments in which these people work in – companies need to invest
in training middle-management to ensure they understand any bias on their part, their role in empowering their team members and their ability to make the tech industry of tomorrow better than the one which exists today.
Switching up recruitment avenues and tactics
Moreover, diversity and inclusion strategies must focus on the talent pipeline in conjunction with empowering the current organization’s talent. Recruitment avenues and processes must go further to reach an array of talent which may not be feasible through standard recruiter pools. Partnerships should be formed with non-profits and organizations dedicated to helping underrepresented groups excelling in industry, allowing organizations to directly support and empower diverse potential future employees. Interviewers should not fall into one demographic and gender neutral language should be used in job applications.
A shift in diversity won’t happen without time and financial investment. There is no magic spell to fix the issues the industry faces, but by taking steps internally and externally, we can expect an impact in what the tech teams and leaders of tomorrow look like – and ultimately, a healthier bottom line.