Creating an equitable workplace is not as simple as hiring for diversity. In June 2020, I did an interview with The Berkshire Eagle in which I shared how important it is that organizations learn to talk about race before hiring people just to fill a quota. The first step is to acknowledge the prevailing cultural beliefs, norms and behaviors that limit or exclude other groups and address them. With my equity and Inclusion coaching clients, I have shown them that careful preparation, investment of resources (time, funding, and staffing), and a commitment to ongoing work are the essential ingredients of success. Pacing for transformative long-lasting change versus reactivity is essential.
Unfortunately, hiring for diversity without attention to workplace culture is all too common, and consequently so often is the negative impact of these efforts. In place of investing diligent care, I've seen organizations and decision-makers extract both existing and newly arrived team members’ time, expertise, ideas, and labor--and, in the process, their hopes and aspirations.
As human beings, we can innately adapt, and we also resist change. In equity and justice work, fear and defensiveness naturally arise. Organizational leaders can easily assert their diversity intentions and commitments, but they are not naturally equipped to accept a team member's actual experience when it doesn’t mesh with a policy’s purpose or their own professional and personal experience. It takes intentional practice and safe, emergent working conditions for an employee and a manager to navigate cultural and systemic inequities resulting from the constructs of race, gender and class.
What does hiring with this type of care mean? Leaders must start by equipping themselves with tools to build awareness and trust. There are five areas of cultural competence: shared knowledge and language for how to talk about culture and diversity; examining diversity and representation; beginning bias-assessments; navigating cultural difference; and ultimately, applying these insights to strategy work like recruitment and retention. Then, it’s about setting goals and getting clear on what success looks like in this hiring process. What are our considerations? And once a hire is made — what are the conditions for success and how can I support that?
This work will keep changing! Embracing concepts like adaptation and emergence, holding the work of equity and justice, and modeling commitment to transformation are imperative. Getting comfortable with discomfort will support leaders who must bring to light individual and cultural biases in order to create a welcoming environment….Only then does introducing new people into the organization become possible, because the applied attention has been paid to culture, and authentic work has been done to support and prepare the leaders and managers who will steer the organization to its new way of seeing, listening and interacting.
Brain science shows us that people cannot do their best work when they're stressed. IDEA work (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) is about learning how to build relationships and trust, which alleviates stress. When organizations commit to preparedness, people learn to notice the small interactions and remarks that make people feel less than or excluded (the microaggressions) before they happen and consequently create strategies to affirm identity and belonging. Leaders will know how to respond appropriately and in many cases identify the resources they need so these harmful incidents don't persist and there is room for learning, growth and behavioral change. We will see less harm done to individuals and communities, and more affirmations, stronger relationships, and confidence among staff. This focused work puts teams on the path toward substantial growth. The conditions, or rather foundations, will have been established with shared language and clear expectations aligned with the organization’s mission, vision, and values. Challenges are expected and embraced and when they arise, the leaders will pause and address them. Leaders will be able to respond effectively to issues as they arise in the workplace, the community and the wider world. If they don’t have the resources they will know how to identify them. New programs will often emerge that reflect the energy, collective work and wisdom of the entire team. Almost without fail, these organizations become the leaders in their sectors and advocates and allies for systemic change locally and nationally.
If you don't think you have the resources to do this preparation work of inquiry and education, identify partners to work alongside you and invite them in! If it’s necessary to hire for diversity quickly, one recommendation is to hire a cohort. But when you do, provide them (and all managers and staff who work alongside them) with the necessary scaffolding. Create conditions for accountability and safety. Safety means freedom from harm, perception of harm, or threat of harm. Yes, the call is urgent, but not so urgent that you skip past basic respect for new and existing team members. Set aside time for care and education and manage an expectation of a 3-5 year intentionally focused journey for a cultural shift.
As we continúe to respond to the challenges of a pandemic and its impact on all of us, as the Black Lives Matter Movement continues to garner long-overdue attention and momentum, we can embrace this unprecedented opportunity to change. It is up to leaders to cultivate a work environment that embraces these changes as something beyond “the right thing to do” and meets the seen and unseen needs of our workforce.
If you believe diversity is not an issue that you can take up now, it simply isn’t true and you are in a shrinking minority. Resources do exist. This past year has been the most opportune time to dig in and establish a norm and expectation of facing race, non-binary representation and equity overall in the workplace. Your organization will come out stronger with the due diligence and care to respond effectively building on the strengths of your team and organization.
When diversity recruitment and retention work is done with this level of care, things shift in immeasurably positive ways for all. I invite you to see yourself as an ally in creating workplace communities where we all thrive.
I close with one final reminder: pacing is essential. Many companies and organizations have found their commitments to anti-racism (or rather, as I prefer, the terms racial equity and justice), lacking since I first wrote this in July and have made substantial efforts to change. Recognize the latent power dynamics and associated trust and sincerity doubts as a veritable perspective… This only transpired at the feet of a pandemic and a televised lynching converging. Be sure to bring your company along in a state of inquiry and curiosity with resources so that people recognize the long-term commitment and work ahead while being equipped with the commensurate opportunity for input and resources to do the personal and professional development that is required. Only then will people experience ownership in the new work ahead as you build an inclusive and equitable future both in and outside of the workplace, one that can be sustained over time.
Be patient. Be deliberate. Make learning your practice! Anticipate mistakes and remain accountable to their impact. Commit to repair the harm. Identify a community of peers with the same vision and level of commitment that will support and challenge you. Lean into these challenges with the deep knowing we are not yet clear what lives on the other side of justice, innovation and equity AND also lean in with the sincere belief that you’ll emerge on the “right” side of history, seeing every peer, employee and community member in their true humanity on the path together.
© 2021 Gwendolyn VanSant