Changing a company's culture is as hard as turning a ship in the ocean. It's not like in the Fast & Furious movies where they slam the brakes, shift gear, and do a 180 without thinking about it. With a ship, you turn the rudder a little at a time, and the bigger the ship, the slower you go because you don't want to tilt and bring down the ship. People are the same way, so to move culture takes slow progression.
In today's episode, Michelle and Maria talk about what it takes to create a more inclusive company culture and introduce a valuable resource, The Leader's Guide to Unconscious Bias along the way. They discuss how to revamp the systemic issues all over corporate America and positively impact diversity, equity, and inclusion. Michelle gives some tips on infusing DE&I into a culture, including assessing and revamping your recruitment process, employee resource groups, institutional boarding programs, and mentorship. Finally, the hosts recommend resources to guide you to inclusive company culture.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
What it takes to be a more inclusive corporate culture
Why we need to encourage diversity
Steps to infuse DE&I into a culture
Reshaping your hiring process to build DE&I
How to effectively use employee resource groups
The value of mentors during onboarding
DE&I resources
Quotes:
"We're going to keep revisiting this topic until we start to see the progression that we need to be a more inclusive society."
"To be a more inclusive society, it's going to take a village."
"What makes you you is part of how you grew up. What makes you better than you is how you start incorporating other positive things into your life."
"This is a great time to look at your recruiting process and identify what is working and what is not, but also use this as a chance to step up your game from a DE&I perspective."
"Most people who do not fit into the norm of your culture do not bring their authentic selves to work. Instead, they show how you have communicated that it's acceptable to show up. And so by having that mentor, that connector, who is a voice within the organization, you help to give authenticity to their voice."
"This is one of her first books. It works well as the toolkit for anyone hoping to address institutional or individual unconscious bias. And the very first step of the process, Pamela writes, is discounting the idea that bias means one is inherently ill-intended or morally flawed. And discounting that concept opens people up to own their bias, so people don't become defensive."
"It's incredibly uncomfortable, but we can't allow lack of comfort to stop us from progressing."
Show Links & Resources:
REL Talent: HR Consulting
Email REL Talent
REL Talent on LinkedIn
The Leader's Guide to Unconscious Bias
