Moving beyond diversity with purpose

Rob Perry, Manager Thriving People at the Sustainable Business Council (SBC),reflects on the past few years and what it means for sustainability, diversity and creating a culture of belonging for all.

Reflecting on the past few years, it’s clear the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused a fundamental rethink of work: what it means, where it’s done and how it’s led. At the same time, social justice movements, such as #metoo, #BlackLivesMatter and #ClimateStrike, have also elevated diversity, fairness and inclusion issues.

There is no denying the benefits working-from-home and hybrid models offer, but the Great Resignation, the emergence of ‘career cushioning’, the prevalence of employees feeling isolated, and employers struggling to maintain workplace culture and equitable working experiences are testimony to the many challenges that also exist. Creating a culture of belonging is more critical than ever, both for employees and for business success.

Leaders have long since recognised a diverse workforce offers a competitive edge; the business case is well documented. Yet, a gap remains between understanding the behaviours and norms that unlock this capability and actually putting it all into practice.

The more diverse your organisation becomes, the more crucial it becomes to ensure inclusion and belonging are core tenets of your culture.” the hui series, we helped members develop scalable innovations to build workplace belonging, embed inclusive and transparent leadership, normalise inclusive recruitment, and support staff to bring their authentic selves to work.

Language we use

Part of the challenge is that terms like ‘diversity’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘belonging’ are often used interchangeably. However, they’re distinct concepts that need to be understood both about what they mean and how they interact. Here’s the breakdown.

• Diversity refers to the characteristics that make people unique.

• Inclusion refers to the behaviour and cultural norms that make one feel welcome.

• Belonging refers to a sense of acceptance, which reflects the level of inclusion an individual feels in their workplace.

SBC members called on us to help support them in moving beyond diversity to put inclusion, fairness and equity at the heart of better business in the transition of Aotearoa New Zealand to net zero carbon emissions. The concept involves shifting focus from simply increasing representation of minority groups to actually creating a supportive and inclusive environment where all employees feel welcomed, valued and respected, regardless of how they identify themselves.

As part of our Thriving People programme, we hosted a series of hui called ‘Moving beyond Diversity’ designed to support businesses to increase their social impact. Through the hui series, we helped members develop scalable innovations to build workplace belonging, embed inclusive and transparent leadership, normalise inclusive recruitment, and support staff to bring their authentic selves to work.

Eight ways to build a sense of belonging in the workplace

Based on this work and supporting conversations, here are eight of my top tips for building a stronger sense of belonging at your workplace.

1. Create a working environment that ensures accountability for the physical and psychological safety of all.

2. Foster connection and build community through a focus on coaching, mentorship, networking and acceptance.

3. Empower individuals from diverse backgrounds to lead and have a voice in decision-making processes and to co-create the cultures to which they belong.

4. Share responsibilities based on skills, knowledge and experiences not the job title.

5. Address and correct biases and barriers in policies, procedures and practices (eg, in recruitment).

6. Provide education and training on topics such as unconscious bias, neurodivergence, cultural competence and inclusive communication.

7. Ensure an equitable system is in place where every employee is supported personally and professionally, and their contribution to the organisation’s purpose is valued.

8. Understand the narrative and build accurate, meaningful data about your workforce.

Without inclusion, the hononga (connections) that attract diverse talent, allow for creativity, facilitate engagement and improved productivity, and ultimately deliver added value to your organisation simply won’t happen. And the more diverse your organisation becomes, the more crucial it becomes to ensure inclusion and belonging are core tenets of your culture.

Through these hui, SBC has now built a network of more than 100 people leaders and diversity and inclusion champions engaged across the New Zealand businesses sector. With a network of 130 businesses that employ nearly 190,000 fulltime equivalent employees, our members have unparalleled influence and the ability to take large-scale collective action, and we can’t wait to see what they achieve by moving beyond diversity with purpose.

Diversity and inclusion may capture your head, but belonging captures your heart.

Robert Perry manages the Thriving People portfolio at the Sustainable Business Council. He champions business leadership and collective action that support employee wellbeing, positively impact on communities and wider society, and put people at the heart of the transition to a zero-carbon economy. Robert has over 20 years’ experience providing strategic leadership on critical sustainability issues and their solutions in business, consultancy and public sector organisations in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.