Furthering your diversity and inclusion programme.
2 min read
I recently read an interesting and thought-provoking article published on the website of HRD (Human Resources Director) regarding the role of L & D in promoting and incorporating D & I policies as part of their day-to-day role, parts of which I would like to share with you here.
An often-underrepresented area of development is its role in furthering organizational D&I. The intrinsic link between workplace equality and education is sometimes overlooked by the C-suite, which can be more concerned with hard data and metrics. However, as Daisy Auger-Dominguez, chief people officer at VICE Media Group told HRD, you ignore this partnership at your own peril.
“L&D plays a fundamental role in promoting belonging at work,” Daisy explained. “What predates this work is affirmative action - government policies that were made to create access for predominantly Black and Hispanic talent at organizations. We went from that compliance driven stage of work to the realization that it’s actually good for the organization.”
As Daisy told HRD, hiring diversly isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s sheer business sense. A report from Glassdoor found that 67% of jobseekers consider workplace diversity when looking at a new role – with 50% of employees wanting their current employer to do more to increase D&I.
The pandemic pressed pause on any individual upskilling, with 46% of employers dramatically decreasing their L&D initiatives. While this was necessary to accommodate overnight digitization, it was also frustrating for employees – many of whom felt their careers had stalled in remote work. But this pause didn’t just impact professional development, it also hampered diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace.
The price of diversity/versus benefits
While every company will have their own individual budgets for D&I, HR research body SixFifty estimates companies spend around US$8billion on diversity training each year. This figure normally includes all consultation fees, training day expenses, technology implementations and workshops. The average cost of creating and rolling out an up-to-date, comprehensive DEI program is anything between US$25,000-US$450,000. While this may seem like a lot – the benefits speak for themselves. McKinsey & Company found that companies which choose to embrace diversity enjoy 21% more profitability – with a 27% higher likelihood of outperforming competitors.
So apart from all the intrinsic and intangible benefits of a robust D & I initiative, on a purely monetary basis it just makes sense!
