Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER April 17, 2017 28 FEATURES ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation THE MOST COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF ONTARIO LAWYERS, LAW FIRMS, JUDGES AND COURTS Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario with more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references. You can depend on the accuracy of this trusted directory that includes the most up-to-date names, phone numbers, mailing addresses and emails so you don't have to search anywhere else. 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(prices subject to change without notice) ONTARIO LAWYER'S PHONE BOOK 2017 DIVERSITY Organically produced diversity and inclusion Economical Insurance looks at engagement data to inspire customized strategy By Louise Taylor Green A working assumption in HR is that a highly en- gaged workforce pro- duces better results. We analyze engagement data by segment, de- velop glitzy enterprise-wide pro- grams and, in some cases, push, pull or coerce line leaders into taking an ownership role in how engaged their employees are. While there are undoubtedly key enablers, HR practitioners would agree there is no silver bullet around engagement. Even though HR has come a long way from the snapshot data produced in first-generation employee satis- faction surveys, it needs to make sure what is measured is tailored to what's actually important in the organization. Listening for engagement Today's surveys are quite good, and more predictive tools are becom- ing available. e big survey pro- viders have valid, reliable tools, and they've improved user experience, delivery logistics and post-survey action plans; however, very little in those surveys is customized around business drivers: • How do you ensure company priorities are reflected in the survey design and deployment? • What depth of discretionary ef- fort is needed from designated groups of the workforce in order to deliver on the business plan? • What engagement drivers must be sustained to deliver on the strategic plan? Much of what's done around en- gagement isn't customized — and maybe that's OK — but we need a deeper level of listening and more organizational alignment to un- derstand the degree to which the workforce is truly engaged. Addressing hiring bias I administered my first employee survey as a CHRO in 1996. e results were glowing and we knew our organizational dynam- ics (such as an exciting industry, leaders who were technical ex- perts and great people leaders, and the latest equipment) were significant contributors to those positive results, even though we were a low-paying industry. ose positive results painted a picture of a highly satisfied, proud and loyal workforce. But curiosity about some of the comments in the survey stimulated a deeper sentiment analysis on the results. ere was an underlying tone sug- gesting we were all too much the same — that was something that wasn't on our radar yet. To under- stand what they meant, we decid- ed to look at another data source. As a federally regulated em- ployer, we measured diversity through the annual Employment Equity Act requirements. Using a discovery mindset, we confirmed the sentiment found in the en- gagement survey: We had fairly low diversity when considering the four designated groups. Hir- ing leaders were unconsciously hiring a particular profile, which is known as "unconscious bias." While employees were engaged, they were also sending us a clear message to do a better job to en- sure diversity and inclusion. ey actually helped prepare our com- pany for a growth explosion that would bring operations to four continents in the next five years. And we were ready with a workforce that truly reflected our customer base. Accentuate the positive So often, action plans address the disengaging drivers found in survey results. We jump to pro- gram development that can cre- ate overload for the HR team and for people leaders. Engagement actions aimed at improved emo- tional attachment to the company, or increased discretionary effort, become one more thing HR pro- fessionals and leaders need to turn their diluted attention to. While there may be real insights on the disengaging drivers that are worthy of focus, we don't typically spend enough time on the engag- ing drivers. Survey results say a lot about what keeps employees feeling positive, connected, loyal and proud — characteristics that inspire them to act like company ambassadors — so why not use an appreciative inquiry approach to the engagement survey results? Instead of mining data and building action plans for what we don't want to see in our company, what if we built sustainment pro- grams and supportive tools for what the workforce is telling us they want more of? e key point: If you want more of something, focus on it. At Economical Insurance, we have done just that. In the last engagement survey, 92 per cent of employees provided accolades related to diversity and inclusion in the work environment. ey said we are open and accepting of differences in gender, ethnicity, background, race, sexual orienta- tion/identity and religion. is particular insight wasn't a complete surprise as the company had invested significant effort in gender equity in the workplace and had built a Women's Leader- ship Network. We benefited from a halo effect where employees saw our investment and positive re- sults in gender-based diversity as an enterprise-level commitment to broader diversity and inclusion matters. Employees told us the diversity and inclusion philosophy contrib- uted to their engagement, so we began the discussion around what we needed to do to sustain these positive sentiments. Tapping individual passion, establishing commitment e first step was to gain a deeper understanding of the workforce's views about diversity and inclu- sion. We put out an internal call for employees to tell us why di- versity and inclusion matters, and what their personal interests were. e results were overwhelming, with hundreds of thoughtful re- flections, so we went deeper still. We invited 50 respondents from across the country to take part in a full-day "Diversity and Inclusion ink Tank." e think tank kicked off with a keynote address from Olympic gold medallist Mark Tewksbury, who shared an incredibly moving and inspiring testimonial of his personal journey in overcoming bullying, exclusion and negative stereotypes. Here is how the think tank was structured: • Discuss and define diversity and inclusion. • Provide participants with labour force participation data from Statistics Canada. • Facilitate small-group working sessions to produce a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, oppor- tunities and threats) analysis through the employee lens of diversity and inclusion. • Use the Bersin by Deloitte frame- work to evaluate our diversity and inclusion maturity in rela- tion to the work environment, industry, community and talent management processes. • Ask participants to help us prior- itize the actions arising from the analysis, which has now served as the foundation for our evolv- ing, multi-year diversity and in- clusion strategy. Having the honest participation of 50 people who are committed to advancing these diversity and inclusion efforts, and willing to invest their discretionary effort to do so, is a sign of engagement like no other. We are on the path to co-creating an even more diverse and inclusive workplace with the support of the think-tank col- lective and the leadership team across the national organization. By listening to employees, we've uncovered how much they value diversity and inclusion in a com- pletely organic way — what a gift. Louise Taylor Green is senior vice- president and CHRO at Economical Insurance in Waterloo, Ont. For more information, visit www.economical. com.

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