Over the past decade, many organizations have developed expertise in human capital analytics, enabling them to correlate different variables related to their workforce, leadership, human resource practices, organizational structure, and business outcomes. It also means engaging with, for example, individuals who work in offshore locations, or in support or back-office functions, or who are contingent workers rather than employees. How can one know when social inclusion is achieved? In exchange you’ll be the first to get the results! But is that inclusion? The idea of “belonging” and metrics to measure the success of any people initiative are becoming increasingly important to a strong diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy. Typically, these surveys include questions that indirectly address inclusiveness, making them an easy and convenient proxy measure. Using a combination of approaches seems to work best. Return to Work: A Leader’s Guide To Avoiding The Mental Health Crisis. Establish a sense of belonging for everyone. Which groups are under-represented in th… Governments are beginning to require transparency and reporting on diversity, inclusion, and inequity in the workplace. Are collaborations with senior management, participation on priority projects, and involvement in important meetings the same for women and men when controlling for other factors like job level or tenure? Are employees who look and think differently more comfortable speaking up in a secluded meeting room than in the wide-open prairies that some companies refer to as “the dorm” or “the pit”? An organization may establish quantitative measures based on: Representation: What is the workforce profileof the organization? At another company, ONA revealed that women who had a strong relationship with a senior-level leader were the most likely to be promoted. But that is not inclusion. Sometimes the answer surprises them: increasing diversity should not be your goal. How can we measure if inclusion strategies are working, and when we reach an optimal level of full inclusion? These themes might seem obvious - but if they were obvious to everyone, inclusion would not be such a widespread problem, would it? In fact, cognitive research suggests that our brains are hard-wired to belong. We must become conscious of the unconscious in order to help make an environment which is inclusive for all employees. More than three-quarters of the innovation leaders and D&I leaders who participated in a recent survey by The Conference Board agreed that an organization’s level of inclusion is related to its ability to innovate. Find out more about specific initiatives you should implement in your workplace to focus on measuring D&I. Better workplace data and analytics, they believe, will eventually provide keener insights. However, it is not as easy to tell if your organization is inclusive. One of the most promising applications is in measuring inclusion and tracking its progress over time. But inclusion isn’t totally unquantifiable. Companies can also develop original survey questions based on the qualitative data they glean from focus groups. As employers get better at using technology, data, and analytics to understand the workplace, designers may play an increasingly important role in helping it become more inclusive. They can do the same with survey data about inclusion. For example, tools can now measure how opportunities differ by gender or ethnic background by examining the pattern of interactions among employees, such as collaborations on project documents, electronic communications, and scheduled calendar meeting. Launch a pulse survey about diversity and inclusion. Based on our research with companies and inclusion experts in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, here is a comprehensive definition that goes farther than being asked to dance: In an inclusive workplace, everyone feels respected and valued for being who they are; people trust that they can speak up and be fairly treated; and they share a sense of belonging. We believe that measuring inclusion should be the next big area of focus for D&I teams. What specific actions would make it better? “It’s like a Fitbit for your career,” says Waber. Clearly, it has become more inclusive! Figure 1 (below) shows a more comprehensive picture of where inclusion “lives” in the workplace. Tell me about a time when “being different” from others at work affected your willingness to share an opinion or idea. They are unlikely to retain that talent or maximize its contributions if the workplace is not one that values differences. What the badges don’t capture is anything people say. Measuring the success of diversity and inclusion training is not a straight-forward as other training topics; it takes long-term tracking, benchmarking, and qualitative measurement. They tell you that you either have a problem or you don't. Diversity and inclusion are often treated as synonyms or strung together like a hyphenated last name. Companies must first spend substantial time in advance answering employee questions and allaying their fears. The answer: There are a variety of measures across three broad categories of data that reflect dimensions of inclusion: These dimensions can be measured using a variety of approaches, ranging from the old-fashioned methods to cutting-edge tech tools. For example: What does your direct manager say or do that makes you feel valued and respected? Quantitative measurements are aligned with basic principles of affirmative action. Caveat: In its most limited form, ONA can be just another way to measure diversity. There are few more vocal advocates for data protection than the CEO of Humanyze, Ben Waber. Many of these analytics, including ONA, sociometric badges, and even e-mail headers, can also provide real-time feedback to individuals. The main types of indicators to consider when measuring financial inclusion are: As a result, they designed one with wheels and moved it around strategically, based on which teams had the greatest need for collaboration. Where does it fall short? An experienced learning partner, such as Roundtable Learning, can bring you ideas, advice, and support to help your organization exceed your goals and find success. ONA produces a visual map, like the one in Figure 2, showing not only the number of connections in a network but also their strength. Better workplace data and analytics, they believe, will eventually provide keener insights. While diversity is relatively easy to measure, inclusion is often described in subjective terms and anecdotes. To gather more information about a topic, like diversity and inclusion, you can use a pulse survey. Inclusion, on the other hand, is relative to how everyone else is treated. So, how do we know if a company is succeeding? This book considers both the issues associated with measuring inclusion and provides examples of evidence-based good practices and models of effective measures. It is continuously created and reinforced—or undermined— through everyday conversations, meetings, leadership behaviors, managerial practices, and corporate policies. Are patterns of behavior consistent with the perceptions of inclusion, or is there hidden bias? But before companies can leverage these capabilities, they must first define what inclusion means. While this pop definition is memorable, it falls short in telling us what inclusion looks and feels like, or where it comes from. The answer: There are a variety of … Stricter data-privacy regulations should not deter companies from incorporating digital data to understand inclusion and other workplace factors. Prioritize data that truly drives diversity and inclusion You might be thinking, “I have no idea where to start measuring diversity.” Just as with any data in business, start with what you have. Don’t just measure diversity, measure inclusion too. Companies that want to create a scorecard for inclusion, or use those measures to assess and reward leaders, must be extremely careful not to conflate inclusion with diversity—that is, the dancing with the party. Employees who opt-in (and, again, that is an essential pre-condition before an employer uses these tools) can receive a confidential report on their interactions over the past week, based on their e-mail headers and online calendar. Take Starbucks for example: they recently closed all of their 8,000 company-owned stores nationwide to give 175,000 employees racial-bias education in response to a shocking incident at a Philadelphia store in April. If you want to know whether your employees’ experience aligns with your company’s ideals—at scale—you can just ask. By comparing the responses of specific groups of employees—men versus women, managers versus non-managers, newcomers versus veteran employees—companies can identify highly inclusive teams or business units as well as trouble spots. One company, for example, found that the networks of men and women looked quite different: Men built more connections with senior leaders than did their female peers. First developed at MIT and since commercialized by a company called Humanyze, these matchbox-sized devices record information about people’s movements and interactions: who they speak to, where, and for how long; who speaks first, who speaks longest, and whether they interrupt each other. Inclusion, diversity, and belonging are essentially about organizational change. A Common Sense Guide for Returning to the Post…, Navigating Your Future Workplace Post COVID-19: A Roadmap, The COVID-19 World And Its Impact On The Future Of Work, A New Normal: Touchless Offices in the Post-Pandemic World, 5 Ways To Achieve A Healthier Work Space Now And…, Enriching the Workplace with Biophilic Design, A Look into The Workplace Post-COVID-19: The “Anti-Office”. It will show them how their own patterns compare to those of top performers. Engagement and Measurable Results: One of the things that we're finding in the research is when you do employee engagement surveys, or employee satisfaction surveys, they’re actually measuring inclusion after the fact. Inclusion means having an environment where all employees have equal access to resources and opportunities. If inclusion is an outcome, employee feeling, bias and sentiment are all inputs that we must measure to assess the level and depth of inclusion within organisations. Diversity is easier to tally. A company culture that doesn't value and reinforce empathy is at high risk of bias - intentional or not - against groups of its employees. A national conversation about inclusion is happening. Digital technologies can provide more robust ways to understand and measure inclusion. To meet these growing demands, creative and sophisticated new solutions are being developed to measure how included employees feel, and measure actual behavior to assess levels of inclusion throughout the workplace, and train employees to be more empathetic and inclusive. You should be able to easily tell if your organization is diverse, and this is more than an eye test. The data can come from the company’s communication and collaboration systems, or from other sources. Measuring Inclusion Business leaders often ask us for specific suggestions on what they can do to increase diversity. One way to measure and adjust your D&I initiatives is to ask employees about their experience directly. Digital technology is transforming how companies can use data and analytics to optimize environmental factors such as light and temperature levels, traffic flow, and floorplans. Rather than relying on an off-the-shelf or top-down explanation of what makes for an inclusive workplace, companies can ask representative groups within their workforce to speak from their personal experience. Measuring Inclusion. Let’s say an organization’s 2015 headcount shows that the percentage of women shrinks significantly as they progress up the ranks. Review data policies. ONA can also help organizations become more inclusive. breakthroughs. Diversity and inclusion is a challenging subject to tackle and even tougher to measure and report on. Are their voices heard when they come up with a new idea? Women’s networks, on the other hand, included more people at their own or lower levels. If it turns out that male employees have different communication patterns than females, for example, then the company may need to consider whether those differences play a role in the unequal advancement rates of men and women. Start with gathering and listening to employee feedback, and exploring baseline demographic data to see where inequalities might exist. How is social inclusion measured? Technology has really opened the door to measuring behavior and employee interactions that can detect whether patterns of behavior are inclusive. #peopleanalytics #hranalytics #diversity #inclusion. From a financial point of view, inclusion is important because it can help organizations recoup their investments in building a more diverse workforce. Measuring inclusion and diversity Decisions about inclusion interventions should be based on evidence. If, indeed, inclusion is a root-level need, why are organizations not measuring it, or at least not measuring it well? To combat this trend, leaders decide to increase their efforts to hire and promote female leaders. Measurement is important to establish the extent and depth of exclusion and to monitor progress toward inclusion. For example, surveys are basic but useful approaches to gauge employee experience by including targeted questions. And diversity of thought sparks new ideas, creative thinking, and why-didn’t-I-think-of-that? They have also educated their workforce, from top to bottom, about what makes for an inclusive workplace and why that matters. For each individual to bring their best self forward, a … Many of the inclusion experts we interviewed are optimistic. Inclusion is more subtle and complex. Humanyze, the sociometric badge company, used its own data to learn that innovation and relationship-building flourished around the company’s coffee pot. How can a company be inclusive if its people do not try to imagine what it might be like in someone else's shoes? It includes the many elements of the workplace that serve to acknowledge and value individual differences and encourage people to express their unique views. The same data also helps the private sector improve the design and delivery of financial services. Workplace diversity not only expands your talent pool, but allows each member of your organization to draw from the backgrounds, viewpoints, and experiences of fellow team members – but you already knew that.The question isn’t whether diversity is important, but “How can my company measure diversi… Not unlike the sensors that capture real-time data about a physical space such as an office, sociometric badges, for example, collect data about people (with their full knowledge and consent). Humanzye protects the identity of individual employees; client companies receive reports based on anonymized, aggregated data. Building a company without workplace diversity is like weaving a tapestry with only one thread: ineffective and probably a little boring. This webinar discusses data and approaches that can be used for measuring social inclusion. How to Harness Technology’s Effect on the Workplace, Why You Should Apply Zen Principles to Workplace Design, How to Establish Better Guidelines for Remote Workers, Six Ways the Pandemic is Changing Flexible Workspace, Industry News: The Death Of The Office Desk Is Upon Us, Creating Hybrid Communities Post-COVID-19, Work Better: Expanded Expectations for Wellbeing at Work, Supporting Physical and Mental Health Through Design. The paper is aimed at D&I professionals, however, anyone interested about workplace inclusion may find it handy. Measuring inclusion can also provide new insights about the role of work design in fostering inclusiveness. A company could also compare the networks of their most successful teams with those of average ones, to tease out the connection patterns that are most strongly associated with high performance. Many quantitative measures focus on the amount or number of persons in an organization based on traditional affirmative action definitions. When ONA is combined with other kinds of data, however, it can be extremely powerful. While there is broad consensus that diversity and inclusion are good for business, accurately measuring inclusion in conjunction with diversity is a common obstacle for business leaders. Without a way to measure inclusion, executives and HR teams have to rely on their own subjective perceptions of the culture at their organization—with varied level of accuracy. *Editor’s note: Download our full Diversity and Inclusion Handbook for more than 70 pages of tangible strategies to help you cultivate diversity and inclusion on your team, including diversity goals and objectives. Required fields are marked *. Research shows that diverse teams are more innovative and contribute to better business outcomes. They might then choose to experiment doing things differently—say, reaching across organizational levels more often or starting up at least one conversation a week with people they do not know. 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