One Powerful Question to Ask: Is My Workplace Ready for Increased Diversity?
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On the career coaching side of JTC, many of our job search clients are women and people of color. They are usually extremely high performing, passive job seekers who have been loyal to and an anchor for their current employer. Therefore, a new job search tends to evoke a lot of mixed emotions. My clients love the work they do; but they hate how they are being treated in the workplace. They feel like the only option is to move on and find another job. Usually, the decision to work with me is because they are looking for someone to hold them accountable in finding their next job as well as to obtain insight into how to navigate the hiring obstacle course so that they can find a new organization to which they can become loyal.
The concern I hear most frequently from clients is the fear of leaving one job they hate only to wind up landing at a new job they hate. They would say, “I just want to work for a good company.”
At first, I took this message at face value and did not consider unpacking it. It was just an item on the list of what was important to them when selecting the next company to work for. But I kept hearing it over and over. So, I decided it was time to fully explore this notion of a “good company” as it seemed to be so critical in their decision to leave one employer to work for a new one.
So, what is the meaning behind the words, “good company”?
Based on my research at JTC, a good company equals a good work environment. A good work environment enables you to be your best at work. And being able to be your best at work gives you a sense of self-determination of career (which is the power to control your own destiny or career path).
Some examples given to describe a good work environment were:
I can bring my whole self to work and do not have to assimilate to fit in
I am invited into exclusive networks like “the good ‘ol boys club” that help advance my career
I can see people who look like me in leadership roles
I feel included on my team and among my peers
My voice is heard, and my messages are amplified
I get fair access to internal opportunities (i.e., promotions, projects, etc.)
I can see fairness and equity in how opportunities are given to people who identify like me
I receive mentoring and/or sponsorship
I receive constructive feedback and insights on how to get to the next level
I started to see the essence of what my clients were messaging. Working for a good company means working in a good environment. Working in a good environment ultimately affords a sense of self-determination of career.
In a nutshell, my clients were saying:
“If I feel that I can bring my whole self to work, enter exclusive networks, see examples of people like me in leadership, feel included on teams, feel that my messages are amplified, get fair access to opportunities, can see fairness in how opportunities are given, have access to a sponsor, and can receive constructive feedback on getting to the next level—then there’s nothing preventing me, or blocking me from setting my own career path. When things are equitable, I have a sense of self determination in my career.”
When it comes to your organization’s ability to increase diversity, remember that environment always wins.
Now, I imagine some of you are thinking, “we have a great culture, so we don’t need to worry.”
Remember, culture is an ideal that your organization is trying to reach, often with good intentions. However, on the road to this culture, your employees experience many environments. The environment is the outcome or impact.
Your business units have their own environment.
Different facilities have their own environments.
Departments within business units have their own environment.
Even teams have their own environment. This team environment is what can create the most powerful experience for an employee because it is often where they spend most of their time. Remember, employees aren’t leaving bad companies, they are leaving bad managers.
Image Credit: Caliber8
A Gallup poll of more than 1 million employed U.S. workers concluded that the No. 1 reason people quit their jobs is a bad boss or immediate supervisor. 75% of workers who voluntarily left their jobs did so because of their bosses and not the position itself. In spite of how good a job may be, people will quit if the reporting relationship is not healthy. "People leave managers not companies...in the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue.
So, while your employer is on the road toward creating an ideal culture, have you taken a moment to audit the environment?
If you feel that you have a great work environment, I want to challenge you to ask yourself one question.
“For Whom?”
In other words, WHO does your work environment most benefit? WHO do you have to be to experience this great work environment?
So, let us go back to the earlier list.
Your work environment enables (WHO) to bring their whole self to work without having to assimilate to fit in
(WHO) gets invited into exclusive networks like “the good ‘ol boys club” that help advance their career
(WHO) gets to see people who look like them in leadership roles
(WHO) typically feels included on the team and among their peers
(WHO) has a voice that gets heard and messages amplified
(WHO) gets fair access to internal opportunities (i.e., promotions, projects, etc.)
(WHO) sees fairness and equity in how opportunities are given to people who identify like them
(WHO) receives mentoring and sponsorship
(WHO) receives constructive feedback and insights on how to get to the next level
What populations at your workplace get to experience a sense of self-determination of career? The intent of the organization may be good but watch and observe the outcomes.
If you are in Human Resources or management, you have access to data that can tell you how your employees are feeling about their environment. You can find data represented in employee engagement surveys, exit surveys, 90-day new hire check-ins, and even by reviewing external sites like Glassdoor.com. If you want to know whether your environment is ready for increased diversity, separate this data demographically so that you can see the experiences of specific populations (e.g., Black employees in mid-level roles).
If you find that the environment is not ready or prepared (in other words, inclusive) for the type or level of representation they are seeking; someone has to have enough courage to say it aloud. This is not an inclusive environment for all. If you do not say it aloud, you will continue to hire people into your organization who leave, and the narrative will be that there was a problem with the people hired and not the environment at your workplace.
On the career coaching side, we will also continue to have job seekers, like my clients, who took a chance on your company. They left one bad employment experience to come to a new terrible employment experience all because you sold them this great ideal of a culture. And when it does not work out again, who do you think they begin to question—themselves or your workplace? And when their resume shows that there was a job or two with short tenure, who will be blamed--their previous work environment or their inability to be loyal?
On a final note, pay attention to what power and success looks like within your organization. Who is in power? Who gets access to the most influential positions? Who gets to DECIDE who gets access to the most influential positions within your organization? And once you’ve pooled the names, ask yourself, is that a diverse group? Because diversity begets diversity, it oftentimes takes diversity among those with the most power to increase diversity among the rest of the organization. Without diversity, it takes the three I’s: instruction (as in training), intention (a new vision), and intervention (new policies, behaviors, and practices). And all of it must be on-going.
For now, managers, hold yourself accountable for the environment you are creating. It is you as the employer that needs to be striving to build a more inclusive culture. Once you begin to do this, you will be able to retain top talent and begin increasing diversity.
Join the conversation in the comments. What are some examples of a good work environment for you? What are some examples of poor working environments?
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