Sign #1: No budget set and communicated for Inclusion and Diversity
Solution: Create a budget to reflect intent, integrity, and accountability. Knowing your number is empowering and helps set clear expectations when going into the conversation with a consultant or strategist that will partner with you on the Inclusion and Diversity initiatives within your company.
Sign #2: When the only Black exec is the "D&I" exec
Solution: Reflect. Now is not the time to be reactive and shift the focus on adding another Black person in Leadership. This is the perfect time to be reflective and proactive. Examine how you got here and see if there any blockers that are keeping leaders of different backgrounds from succeeding within the Executive layer.
Sign #3: They treat Black like a bad word - for example - if Black issues are mentioned, they say POC, minorities, or race-relations
Solution: It's okay to say, Black. Black isn't a bad word. Here is where anti-bias training can be extremely beneficial. Understanding how the word 'Black' has been manipulated to be associated with something negative is a great place to start. This is also a time to reflect on being assertive and not passive with communication. Being open and direct goes a long way when talking about issues that might be uncomfortable.
Sign #4: No safe space to discuss Inclusion and Diversity
Solution: Assess the culture. This one will take some time if you are going to do everything in-house. It's not enough to say something is a safe space - your people must embrace it as safe. Not everyone can create and hold a safe space - the culture (your people) will be reluctant to embrace any discussion if they feel that it will reflect negatively on them or later used against them to threaten their job or financial security. Working with an outside professional is a great way to start establishing a safe space or bringing in someone new to the culture that is great at earning trust quickly.
Sign #5: You rarely see black, brown, or candidates of different backgrounds interviewing
Solution: Fix the recruiting and hiring. Ensure your processes are inclusive. It comes down to the barrier of entry. Doing a deep dive into what is actually needed for the role, training your people on what to look for and focus on during the interview. Creating some anonymity during the process and creating a solid debrief is going to help with addressing these issues.
Sign #6: Leadership wants to Diversity by a specific %
Solution: Stop doing this. Metrics are the marker, not the maker when it comes to Diversity. If you just focus on the marker, you aren't considering the true maker of Diversity, which is inclusion. Even if you create a high percentage of Diversity - things like microaggression, discrimination, and lack of equity won't keep the Diversity, and you will see a high-turnover from your diverse population.
Sign #7: Anything Inclusion and Diversity related gets pushed
Solution: Set A Goal and keep it. However, a goal can't make up for something that wasn't a priority in the beginning. Inclusion and Diversity isn't something that you can take on luke-warm - treat it like it is a priority. Start by setting the end date of when you would like real transformation to be established and back into it with clear action steps.
Sign #8: You've had one anti-bias training
Solution: Plan out the training and follow up. You can still get run over if you are on the right track. Investing in something is better than nothing, right? Wrong. One-night-stand-training is spotty and won't be able to anchor what is needed within the culture to address the true nature of Inclusion and Diversity. Before you do one training, plan on how you intend to anchor and continue the path of education within your company and culture.
Sign #9: Leadership / Management has not communicated how they intend to hold themselves accountable to the success of Inclusion & Diversity.
Solution: Add outside accountability. Investment, planning, and practice are vital. Put the money upfront, plan out everything, and bring along a professional to ensure that you are practicing and making progress on what you set out to do.
Sign #10: When Leadership talk about Diversity, but never inclusion
Solution: Highlight Inclusion. Diversity cannot exist without Inclusion - Inclusion can exist without Diversity. Don't follow the trend of Diversity - it will leave your culture empty and with more issues to clean up. When you create the foundation of inclusion, your Diversity is successful and thrives - thus reaping the benefits of an inclusive and healthy culture.
Charisse Fontes is the founder of Culture Circle and an Executive + People Ops Advisor to founders and leadership teams.
more about Culture Circle →first published on linkedin, jul 2020_
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