Canadian HR Reporter

STRATEGIC CAPABILITY NETWORK'S PANEL of thought leaders brings decades of experience from the senior ranks of Canada's business community. eir commentary puts HR management issues into context and looks at the practical implications of proposals and policies. CANADIAN HR REPORTER EXECUTIVE SERIES 9 JULY 2018 Figuring out the diversity equation ree SCNetwork members delve into Renée Bazile-Jones' presentation Jan van der Hoop: As the head of the Canadian Centre for Inclu- sion and Diversity, Renée Bazile-Jones speaks with passion and fi rst- hand knowledge — knowledge of the challenges faced by the 80 per cent of the workforce who are not straight white able-bodied males (SWAMs, the people who built the systems and structures that ex- ist today) — and knowledge of the value and importance of "getting diversity and inclusion right" in our communities and organizations. Common themes overlapping with many of the other presenta- tions we've heard recently… most notably, the value to the bottom line of simply DTRT (doing the right thing). Predictably, high diversity (HD) plus high inclusion (HI) equals high engagement (HE). And that (usually) translates into noticeably improved financial and other outcomes. ere was an interesting distinc- tion I learned from the presenta- tion. Bazile-Jones defi nes diver- sity as being about the "mix" — a collection of diff erences (gender, ethnicity, values, backgrounds, perspectives) present in the orga- nization. "Inclusion" is about get- ting that mix to work together. So, going back to the previous formula (HD+HI=HE), both HD and HI need to be present in the right balance for it to work. Culti- vating diversity without investing in inclusion can lead to chaos and friction in the business and, ulti- mately, diversity will leave if it's in an inhospitable setting. Which leaves you back at the beginning, stuck with the limits of homogeneity. is was an informative pre- sentation; I only wish there had been more detail on metrics and success stories. Paul Pittman: SCNetwork is fi rst and foremost a group of employers, and I make that point because its primary goal is com- mercial which may confl ict with community objectives. Canada's population of neces- sity is diverse — by orientation, ethnicity, language, religion, race, homeland, age, ability, gender and so on. We have to engage and harness the incredible talent represented by all of the charac- teristics available when building a workforce. Has leadership ever been anything else? If the workforce is left alone, will an acceptable culture emerge if left unchecked? Is that the eu- phemistic United States melting pot or the version assumed in the United Kingdom? at is not the outcome Bazile- Jones is proposing. Besides, it takes generations. But Canada also expects new arrivals to re- spect and honour its values and culture (adjusted from time to time to refl ect growing diversity). To say we can accelerate the best outcomes by "responding to backgrounds, profi les and orien- tation with dignity and respect" sounds mildly disingenuous when you say it out loud — what else would you do? We are only starting to un- derstand the management of diversity and the consequences of over-engineering in pursuit of commercial results. Diversity alone as a means to fi nancial outcomes will not work and will threaten engagement; it feels like a solution looking for a problem. The more diverse the input, the better the decision-making, and to achieve that, we need the involvement of all stakeholders — more than that, at this point, I am not prepared to endorse but, like Jan, a deep dive into the numbers might be insightful. My mother told me when I was growing up that I was diff erent... just like everyone else. It has al- ways been important that leaders keep that in mind and are pre- pared to include, accommodate, change and adapt to gain the best from all the individuals within their sphere. Go ask someone who has taken a leadership assignment in anoth- er country or an expatriate com- munity what phenomenal, accel- erated learning it can be. As a practical matter, organiza- tions will not survive the shrink- ing labour pool if leaders do not grasp the importance of diversity. Doing so will certainly prove fi - nancially benefi cial for employers and society, too. The presentation was excel- lent, with lots of "aha" moments, but I worry that carving out di- versity and inclusion as a discreet initiative might divert leadership focus. Including all employees equally is critical. It's also territory ripe for encouraging consulting and solu- tion peddling and jargon. But, then again, I am fully con- scious that Jan and I — the fi rst two lead-off rants for this article — are SWAMs. Sandi Channing: Bazile-Jones is passionate and knowledgeable on this topic. She defi nes "repre- sentation" as the tip of the diver- sity iceberg, focusing only on the visible diff erences, whereas diver- sity is much broader in scope. She expands the general notion of diversity to include personality plus four dimensions of diversity — primary, secondary, organiza- tional and global. ese dimen- sions take the meaning of diver- sity to well beyond the traditional defi nitions and really become in- clusive of everyone. Bazile-Jones explains that to value diversity, we need to recog- nize and acknowledge all diff er- ences — not just the visible ones. Her premise that "diversity is the mix and inclusion is getting the mix to work well together" simply refers to good leadership. Eff ective leaders recognize and use the strengths of their team so members feel valued, important, safe and accepted. ey acknowl- edge and use the diff erences in each team member, resulting in improved communication, mo- tivation, inspiration and overall company performance. While there may not have been a plethora of data presented, I liked the presentation. Bazile-Jones provided compel- ling statistics on the impact of di- versity and inclusion on engage- ment and fi nancial performance, and brought home the impact on the success of organizations. Those that capitalize on the multiple perspectives, ideas, skills and passions of employees are maximizing their people invest- ment and are rewarded fi nancially — sounds like a great ecosystem. is Empowered by: is Empowered by: A Great Leader A Great Leader www.scnetwork.ca Networking, Mentoring, Peer-Peer Feedback Formal Online & Of ine Learning On the job experiences & challenges 20% 10% 70% Join SCNetwork, for a monthly dose of thought leadership and grow your community of peers in a collaborative space. We welcome all HR professionals who support business success through people. Cultivating the Power of Human Capital for 35+ Years! Looking for a way to achieve the 30% you need to become a great leader? PANELLISTS: • Jan G. van der Hoop, president of Fit First Technologies in Toronto • Paul Pittman, founder and president of the Human Well in Toronto • Sandi Channing, senior director of total rewards at Compass Group Canada Jan van der Hoop Paul Pittman Sandi Channing Organizations will not survive the shrinking labour pool if leaders do not grasp the importance of diversity. Diversity and inclusion strate- gies should be implemented in a change management style, with consideration of the competitive advantage internal staff will bring long-term, she said. Other measurements include employees' level of cultural com- petence and recognition of diver- sity and inclusion, demographic representation, organizational cul- ture and community perceptions. Employee surveys and sessions can be a quality data source to aid HR in mapping and tracking progress and making evidence- based decisions. Both qualita- tive and quantitative evidence are necessary to defi ne the issues facing individual organizations, said Bazile-Jones. "The starting point is: 'Who is in my workforce and what are their needs?' You can do that on your own," she said. "It also provides an opportunity for you to create actual strategies to address the very things that may be barriers to your long-term sustainability and success." "Part of your calling card is to look at the organization, understand what issues may be barriers to attracting a range of people… and not just diff erences that you can see, but that intel- lectual capacity, those innovators as well." Map, track progress with data DIVERSITY < pg. 1

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