Cultivate an Inclusive Culture

Integrating DEIB requires leadership support, a clear strategy, and an action plan. Inclusive cultures, solid onboarding, ERGs, and updated handbooks promote employee belonging and retention.

How to Talk About DEIB Within Your Organization

The process of integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) practices throughout the employee experience requires an intentional approach across all phases. HBR outlines an organizational DEI maturity framework that consists of 5 stages ranging from Aware to Sustainable.

While this is one of many frameworks to consider, our overall recommendation is for organizations to galvanize leadership support, develop a point of view (informed by learnings and insights gleaned from the organization), and implement an action plan as DEIB continues to remain a top priority for tech talent.

Promoting Inclusive Organizational Culture

While outlining an overarching DEIB strategy is a requirement for any organization endeavoring to promote an inclusive culture, commitment to that strategy is essential to ensuring a positive end to end experience for your employees. Bain & Company’s research on what tech employees really want points to inclusivity as among the key factors in retaining top tech talent once they are hired.

Inclusive organizational cultures allow all employees to realize and contribute to their full potential. Below are some recommended key areas of emphasis for building and maintaining a healthy, inclusive culture:

Building solid onboarding processes

Successful and inclusive onboarding experiences enable employees to achieve the following interdependent objectives:

• High Performance

• Psychological Safety

• A Sense of Belonging

While each of these are equally important, many organizations miss the mark by focusing solely on performance. Research shows a feeling of psychological safety and a sense of belonging are important organizational attributes that have a direct impact on an employee’s performance.

Focusing on psychological safety and belonging in addition to high performance as key objectives at the outset demonstrates a commitment to an inclusive culture, and it begins the process of bringing new hires into alignment with organizational values.

Employee Resource Groups

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are voluntary, employee led groups that are formed with the purpose of promoting an inclusive workplace and providing an internal support network amongst employees who share specific characteristics and/or are from traditionally underrepresented groups.

Research points to the following methods used by leading organizations to create successful operating environments and outcomes for their ERGs

• Use clear purpose to prevent strategic misalignment

• Provide deliberate, detailed communications to eliminate the disconnect between expectations and reality

• Administer sound execution to avoid uneven levels of leadership support

• Marshal organizational support to lessen the burden on ERG leaders

When ERGs receive leadership support and expectations are aligned between the individual groups and the larger organizational DEIB objectives, they can be very effective at helping promote and foster inclusivity and improving diversity within organizations.

Handbooks and Codes of Conduct

Employee handbooks articulate the organizational culture and norms that employees can expect, and creates a go to guide on policies and guidelines that individuals will come across through the normal course of their employee experience. At their best, handbooks can be great navigational tools for new hires and help ground them in the acceptable behaviors and norms within the organization.

Viewing handbooks through a DEIB lens, it is important to periodically ensure they are reviewed and assessed for inclusive language, accessibility, and policies that are anti-discriminatory. Organizations should solicit feedback from their employee community, including new hires on their handbooks, and be open to constructive feedback and off-cycle refreshes as needed.

Handbook example

The TTS Handbook is a great example of an accessible handbook that provides organizational best practices and resources to employees, particularly new ones, so that they can more easily navigate their work.