Dive Brief:
- Employers with sustainable diversity and inclusion initiatives have a 20% increase in inclusion, which translates to improved job performance and retention, according to a Gartner report.
- Gartner recommended three ways for HR to achieve sustainable D&I: eliminate "outsiderness"; make everyone in an organization responsible for achieving day-to-day D&I; and demonstrate empathy through benefits, such as flexibility, and initiatives, such as wellbeing programs.
- "Belonging is a key component of inclusion. When employees are truly included, they perceive that the organization cares for them as individuals, their authentic selves. HR can help make that happen," Lauren Romansky, Gartner's managing vice president, said in a statement. "That's good for employees — and ultimately improves business performance."
Dive Insight:
Other research, such as a 2019 Betterup report, agrees that a sense of belonging can be a powerful factor in retention. "Belonging is a basic human need that has not been given the attention it deserves in the workplace. Our research shows that when workplace exclusion exists, it has a detrimental impact to a company's bottom line," BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux said in a media release.
Crucial to this is a sense of "psychological safety," according to Seth Mattison, co-founder and chief movement officer at Luminate. At a recent conference, Mattison told attendees that refers to the idea of being able to bring one's whole self to work without fear of retribution. "This is a fundamental, core element of high-performance teams," he said.
Many employers will pursue this ideal unapologetically in 2020, a Forrester report predicted. Heightened employee expectations are driving this shift, Forrester said. And the risk of not getting it right includes "[p]ublic shaming and less ability to attract and retain top talent."
