Issue link: https://resource.opensesame.com/i/1462797
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | www.opensesame.com | (503) 808-1286 | 7 STRATEGY 2 Establish and Demonstrate Strong DEI Values An essential element for driving business is for leadership to establish organizational values and communicate them across the business. Top executives must support, reinforce and demonstrate these beliefs and involve other key stakeholders to promote the mission and vision from the beginning. Establishing a strong value such as trust speaks to leadership's ability to create a safe, welcoming and equitable place for all employees to work and to be open about its beliefs and processes. This is especially important in hospitality when customers place some aspect of their care or well-being in the business's hands. Instituting an organization's values can begin the moment new hires are brought onboard. Making DEI evident in the hiring process, creating clear policies around inclusion and setting expectations will start everyone on the path of bringing DEI principles into their work from the start. Committing to an open environment where everyone is encouraged to share thoughts and ideas further embeds positive interactions among workers and creates a harmonious place where both employees and guests want to be. 60% of organizations with high- level leadership publicly communicate diversity goals information. Source: Brandon Hall Group, Diversity & Inclusion Study: What's Changing, 2020. Accountability – Organizational Buy-in and Onus Of course, all the values, trust and transparency an organization can deliver means little without a wholesale commitment to a measurable system of accountability. Everyone involved in a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative should be responsible for their roles, from top leadership and mid-managers to every employee throughout the organization Accountability starts with a full assessment of the current state of DEI, committing to a new organizational vision and the steps to get there, and creating effective measures to gauge success. A successful DEI vision permeates all levels of organization: talent acquisition, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and all leadership: Talent-acquisition professionals should have specific Diversity, Equity & Inclusion goals. ERGs should have identifiable objectives designed to support and promote their members. Leaders should also have distinct inclusion targets and progress markers with performance and compensation tied to the results.