Harnessing The Inclusion Imperative

A major issue that leaders of organizations are discussing today is how to embrace the move back from a fully virtual workforce and return to what will now be a hybrid workplace. How can you take an ecosystem approach to include full-time in-office and virtual workers? How do you create a space for the hybrid workplace model where half or more of your team are virtual workers in a way that actually helps business? How do you create an environment where things like continuity, productivity and safety are afforded to all? How do we build a strategy to make it crystal clear to leaders what is required of them going forward to promote the inclusion of virtual workers into the culture of the once in-person-only organization?

Many leaders say they understand what needs to happen for the organization to become more inclusive. Inclusion and diversity are in the news at the moment when talking about the impact of the pandemic on different demographic groups, the way it shifted working life for so many of us while highlighting challenges around caring for family and working. Add to this the focus on long-standing issues of race, as well as systemic racism in organizations and our nation following the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests. It may seem to many people a rhetorical question to ask why it matters for organizations to get diversity and inclusion right. In answering this question emerges the inclusion imperative.

The inclusion imperative is alive in companies that have clearly defined inclusion and how it's different from diversity. It should be no secret that these two words are often confused. The words "diversity" and "inclusion" can be interpreted in slightly different ways in different cultures. People talk about diversity and inclusion and the inclusion part is most often an afterthought. The fact is that diversity and inclusion are different from each other. They're complementary; they are essential to each other — but they are different.

So, what does it look like when an organization harnesses its inclusion imperative? What would I be experiencing if I were in that organization? What would I be seeing? Would I feel welcomed and valued? Would I be able to contribute while being my authentic self? When inclusion thrives, it pervades the entire work culture, positively impacting everyone. Everyone in that environment is able to succeed, and no one is left out. Inclusion has a positive impact on people's interest in working for a company. It increases productivity, which improves decision-making, reputation, revenue, customer relations and a lot more. All in all, inclusion helps build more sustainable organizations.

What might the workplace look like if every organization harnessed their inclusion imperative across their entire distributed workforce? Companies that operate with an inclusion imperative define diversity as the vast mix of different people — different individuals, identities, backgrounds, perspectives, strengths, that are a reality in society and a reality in the workforce. In doing so, these companies open themselves up to an enormous opportunity to see the benefit of that diversity.

Businesses are facing enormous pressures with the disruptive global challenges of the pandemic, the economy and climate crisis, plus shifting social expectations from a variety of stakeholders. Stakeholders in the form of employees, customers and investors are demanding structural systemic change and more. When inclusion is indivisibly woven into how organizations operate, it plays a role in addressing those pressures to make the business case for diversity yet again. Investing as an organization in your whole workforce develops inclusive skills in your company and employees that allows them to be well equipped for the future, whether they are working virtually or in the office.

There are many organizations that are doing work on inclusion and are making progress, but there are also many that do not. What is it that holds organizations back from making progress, maybe even when they want to? The primary reason is not linking inclusion to business goals or to core business priorities. Many companies are taking a piecemeal approach of implementing isolated initiatives instead of a cohesive comprehensive strategy. Added to this conundrum is a limited understanding of what inclusion really is, how to cultivate it, how to create value with inclusion and how to measure it.

There is a risk in taking a piecemeal approach to inclusion and diversity. We end up overburdening individuals to have the right awareness, motivation and capabilities to overcome what is reinforcing the status quo, rather than having everything in the organization pointing in the same direction. When aligned, the company can be seen as clearly signaling, supporting, structuring and institutionalizing inclusion in how we all show up every day and how the organization works to achieve its mission.

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