Author’s note: I’ve experimented here with a storytelling approach to my writing. For a primer on the characters, check out our storytelling page. Let me know if I should continue along this path!
Robin is a hiring manager at a rapidly growing European tech company, Verdivo. In just the past year, the company has grown from just 40 employees to over 100. As more faces have been joining the team, it’s become apparent to the hiring team that they’re failing to hire people from diverse backgrounds.
Robin’s team has decided that they need to put together a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy, however Robin knows that in order for meaningful change to happen, they need a simple, but comprehensive explanation for their hiring team.
Sitting at their desk on a Monday morning, Robin scratches their head and tries to pull together some ideas. They’d already read plenty of articles online, but actually applying it to Verdivo’s hiring process was proving challenging. Robin thought back to a meeting the wider team had discussing their hiring plans. A part of the conversation stood out in their mind.
A conversation about DE&I
The team had gathered in a naturally lit conference room, and the company’s DE&I specialist Maria, was talking.
“Diversity is inviting people from all walks of life to a party. We’re talking about different backgrounds, genders, religions, cultures, ages and neurotypes”. She paused, leaning slightly forwards on the conference table. “But it’s not enough to be diverse on paper. There’s also inclusion. Inclusion means making everyone feel welcome when they arrive – like at a party, being invited to dance, and not just standing in the corner”. Smiling, she said “Diversity is the variety in who we choose to have around us, inclusion is what is needed for people to feel like they belong”.
Elena, the company’s operations manager, leaned forwards, adjusting her wheelchair slightly. “And equity means making sure that the dance floor is accessible. Everyone needs a fair chance to go up and enjoy themselves. If I can’t get on to the dance floor because there’s no ramp, or someone else is struggling because the lights are too bright, or the music is too loud, then we don’t have equity”.
Luca, a data analyst on the autistic spectrum, nodded his head thoughtfully. “For me, equity could mean allowing adjustments in the interview process – such as allowing me to see the interview questions ahead of time, so I can process them better. It could also mean making office more sensory friendly, such as avoiding bright lights or allowing me to wear noise cancelling headphones in the office”. Nodding his head, he then said “For me, inclusion can also mean understanding the way I communicate and think is different from the majority, but those differences can be a strength”.
Jamal, an engineering manager, sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. “So, let me see if I understand this right? We’re hiring a data analyst at the moment. Diversity means widening the candidate pool, and equity means that everyone is evaluated fairly – perhaps using standardised scorecards or anonymised hiring. Then inclusion means that once they’ve been hired, the team members can contribute fully, and no matter how different they are, their input is taken seriously”. He shrugged, “I used to think all this was just HR box-checking, but when we hired Luca, he was able to bring fresh perspective to a problem which had been baffling my team for months – that really drove it home for me”.
Defining Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Robin smiled, remembering the conversation. Each of them had brought different perspectives, but overall had helped Robin to understand the distinctions between these three terms. Opening their notes, Robin wrote:
- Diversity: Having a wide variety of people from different backgrounds, identities and experiences in your applicant pool and workforce.
- Equity: Adjusting organisational policies and processes to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to contribute to their fullest, even if they’re different to the norm.
- Inclusion: Ensuring everyone feels valued and accepted – not just tolerated.
Impactful statistics about DE&I
It was all very well just putting together some definitions, however Robin wanted the readers to feel the impact of having an inclusive workforce. After performing some Google searches, and digging into some original sources, Robin was stunned by some of the statistics:
- Companies in the top 25% of ethnic and cultural diversity in executives were 36% more likely to achieve above-average profitability – McKinsey & Company, 2020
- More diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture new markets than less diverse organisations – Harvard Business Review, 2013
- 35% of an employee’s emotional investment to their work and 20% of their desire to stay in their organisation is linked to feelings of inclusion – Catalyst, 2019
- Increasing perceptions of inclusivity in a workplace reduces work absences, adding nearly one day a year of work attendance per employee – Harvard Business Review, 2019
- When companies establish inclusive cultures and policies, they are 59.1% more likely to report increase in creativity and openness, and 37.9% better assessment of consumer interest and demand – International Labour Organization, 2019
Robin was surprised to see just how many different aspects of the business could be affected by an inclusive culture: more engaged employees, greater profitability and creativity, as well as being better placed to enter new markets. The increase in market capture was significant, and Robin’s curiosity burned. Intrigued, Robin jumped on to a zoom call with Maria.
Diversity supports localisation
To Robin, the statistic about capturing new markets really stood out. With a burning curiosity, Robin asked Maria to clarify it.
Robin: “Maria, when I was researching my article on DE&I, I read that diverse companies are 70% more likely to capture new markets. Have you seen that happen before?”.
Maria: “Of course, let me tell you about a project we worked on a few years back – this was before I joined Verdivo. We were trying to launch an existing project management app into the Japanese market. It had been a hit in the European markets, so the team was confident it would do well in Japan. We were sure that we could just replicate our existing playbook. But after the launch – the app flopped. We realised that we had no sense of how the Japanese might use our tool. I mean, from the tone of the language we used, to the colour palette and our onboarding journey – we were just guessing. We made assumptions which were pushing away this new audience.”
Robin: “But you found a way around that, right?”
Maria: “Fortunately, yes. We had recently hired Keiko, a user experience designer who’d grown up in Japan. She’d spent the start of her career working professionally in Tokyo. When we presented our screens to her, she immediately picked out the flaws in our designs”.
Robin: “And what were those?”
Maria: “She told us ‘this casual tone you’re using might not feel as welcoming here. Also, Japanese users often appreciate a more guided introduction to features, rather than just being dropped straight into the app’. You should have seen the team’s faces. We realised just how much of the nuance we’d missed”.
Robin: “So Keiko’s input helped you to localise the app?”
Maria: “Exactly. We revisited the onboarding flow to provide a step-by-step introduction, almost like a guided tour. Instead of our usual bold and playful tone, we toned it down, and chose a more professional and calm voice. These changes may have seemed small, but they made a world of difference”.
Robin: “And was this effective?”
Maria: “Engagement and retention shot up almost immediately after releasing these changes. Users were giving positive feedback about how the product felt intuitive and respectful. Our team realised that without Keiko’s understanding of the local culture – we might have missed the mark entirely. With her help, we were able to build trust with the local customer base”.
Robin: “That’s incredible – so the takeaway here is that some localised insight can totally change a market receives your product?”
Maria: “That and more – without her input we would have been working with guesswork and stereotypes. Her knowledge transformed our approach, ensuring we spoke the language of our users – both literally and culturally. That’s the power of having diverse backgrounds and experiences in teams, you can genuinely connect with markets around the world”.
Wrapping up
Robin tapped their keyboard, finishing off the blog post. Leaning back in their chair, Robin smiled, imagining the future their business was working towards. The first step had already been taken – starting with understanding the differences between diversity, inclusion and equity, and helping the wider business to understand it as well.
It would be a long road, and Robin knew there weren’t any quick fixes, but each day they were getting closer.
Thanks for reading about Robin’s introduction to DE&I. If you’re interested in learning about some of the ways you can promote equity in your hiring process, see the following articles:
- What is neurodiversity? – helpful tips for accommodations you can make for neurodiverse candidates in your hiring process.
- What is anonymised hiring? – ways you can reduce unconscious bias while screening CVs.
