Flying flags and ticking boxes: is your EDI strategy doing more harm than good?

Earlier this year the independent Inclusion at Work Panel published a report on the state of diversity and inclusion practices in UK workplaces. It concluded that employers are spending huge amounts of money on D&I training that's ineffective because it doesn't focus on the specific problems they have in their organisations and argued that employers needed a new approach. You can read our overview here.

A new report Flying Flags and Ticking Boxes covers some of the same ground; it looks at what has gone wrong with workplace initiatives to improve equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and suggests how leaders can fix it. It's based on 45 interviews with leaders across the public and private sectors. 

The authors interviewed have strong credentials and, if you have time, it's worth reading the entire report. But for those of you who don't, here are the key findings:

Too much of the work put into EDI is divorced from organisational goals

The report suggests that too many EDI initiatives aren't properly considered before they are rolled out. Some are completely unrelated to the organisation's core purpose and may have been adopted because of pressure from internal groups or because of media pressure to to something, or express a view, about a current issue. 

The authors' argue that organisations can't address all societal challenges, nor should they try to do so. It highlights that most businesses don't need to take a side on social issues or current wars etc that don't directly impact what they do. It suggests that making well meaning statements about these issues can make it much more difficult to then navigate disagreements between staff. One of the people interviewed said that a member of staff sent him a really long list of all of the campaigns it had run; Black Lives Matter; Ukraine - and then contrasted it with the organisation's absolute silence of the Isreal-Palestine situation.

It suggests that a better approach is to remain impartial on issues unrelated to your organisation's core purpose to minimise the risk that your staff will get engaged in stuff that alienates them from each other, or from your organisation. The report also suggests there are particular risks attached to social activism that crosses into politics.

There's too much activity focussed on superficial initiatives that have little or no impact

The report says that too many organisations focus on ‘virtue signalling’ by engaging in initiatives that require little or no effort: 

‘… the real problem is that, instead of working on root causes of potential disadvantage and finding effective solutions, those employed in diversity have whizzed down the aisle of the EDI supermarket, filling their trolley with … lanyards, and also the religious festival calendar, the float at Pride, the BLM stickers, the #MeToo badges and every Charter going, staff networks (with no agreed objectives), guides to do and don’t use words and language and all-in-all putting together the partisan pantheon of what they think is the basic EDI kit.' 

It says that these sorts of initiatives achieve very little. They might start a conversation, but other than that they do practically nothing to stop discrimination, create wider opportunities, give a voice for people who think differently or drive any meaningful outcomes for organisations. 

Staff networks may not be helping 

The authors recognise that staff networks can help to find practical solutions to some issues, and it cites examples such as pensions that can be used by Muslim employees, suggestions of workplace adjustments for people with disabilities or designing better parental leave policies. But, they indicate there are considerable downsides: people with the same protected characteristic don't think the same way and many groups fail to represent the range of views but are often treated as the authentic voice of the whole of that group. 

Fear is stifling debate

A #nodebate culture silences those people who take a different view on controversial issues. This damages cohesion and innovation. Leaders are worried about saying the wrong thing and don't have the confidence to lead difficult conversations.

So what might work?

The report recommends that you:

1. Link you EDI initiatives to your goals

Design EDI-related strategies and approaches that are primarily focused on helping your organisation to achieve its objectives. EDI should be about talent, not politics. And it shouldn't be shaped by those people who shout the loudest.

Model the behaviours you wish to see in your workforce. Explain what you are going to focus on and how these initiatives will drive progress.

2. Create a culture of productive disagreement

Most employers want to unlock talent and achieve the goals of their organisation. To engage staff, leaders need to recognise that there will be a huge range of views among staff on issues that matter to the business and the last thing they should do is force them to agree with each other. Healthy organisations need diversity of thought to counter group-think. 

‘Diversity of thought, regardless of groups or categories, is a real win for business. Inclusion doesn’t mean: think like this, speak like this, behave like this, otherwise we will exclude you'.  

3. Ensure inclusion doesn't exclude other views

Organisations need to listen to all views. Be careful about focusing on individual identity categories in ways that risks alienating those who don't fall within them or don't think the same way. Encourage your staff to bring their professional selves to work and make it clear that you expect them to behave and dress appropriately, and use respectful language towards each other. 

Don't assume that someone's language or behaviour towards another person that has caused upset or conflict is driven by maliciousness or prejudice. In most cases a better approach is to encourage your staff to be genuinely curious about their colleague's intentions rather than immediately assuming the worst and raising a grievance.

4. Ask the right questions and analyse the data

Find out if your staff feel able to express their professional opinion and disagree with each other respectfully via anonymous staff surveys. 

If you are collecting data on categories (such as sex, race or disability) use accepted definitions rather than creating your own. Categories need to be detailed enough to allow you to properly analyse what is going on. For example, BAME/LGBTQIA+ miss the different experiences of those who fall within them.

Consider what data you need to determine if your DEI initiatives are working and only track what's important to you. The report recommends using the ‘theory of change’ to help with this to track: what activities you have run; how many staff were trained; your intended outcome and intended impact.

Accept that it will take time to see genuine change and don't extrapolate from the data what it can't support. 

5. Re-evaluate your staff networks

Staff networks are not working in many organisations, and where they focus on interests of particular groups they can reinforce divisions. Evaluate their purpose and, in particular, if they are contributing to your organisation's activities and goals. Consider if there are better ways of getting your employees to tell you what they need.

6. Check the quality of your EDI training

Ensure that those with responsibility for contracting external training make certain that its content is properly evidenced and reflects the law, and that its delivery is evaluated in terms of relevance, quality and impact. 

Only use external trainers and speakers who explicitly recognise a diversity of views on the more challenging areas of EDI and have the ability to facilitate the conversations about them. They should commit to engaging all participants, and their views, in training sessions and to deal openly with difficult conversations. 

Ensure external trainers properly understand the legal framework of the Equality Act, especially with regard to recent case law on questions of belief, discrimination and harassment. 

Measure training outcomes (such as behaviour change) – not just inputs and outputs (for example, the number of people trained).

7. Find a common purpose 

Create and communicate a shared sense of purpose and organisational identity to which staff can contribute through what they each differently bring. Everyone should understand that they have a value to the organisation in pursuit of this common goal.

Recognise that staff contribute to your success through their identity, skills, expertise, talent and the type of personality they bring to work. But, make sure that your staff understand the fundamental contract they have with you and that you are paying them to perform a role, not push a particular agenda. Your staff need to acknowledge that there are important boundaries between their personal and professional lives. 

Build a culture that respects and embraces difference, and that encourages constructive disagreement, in order to unite diverse people and achieve positive outcomes for your organisation. 

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