Diversity is only half the battle. If you want to exploit the benefits it brings in terms of creativity, innovation and better decision-making, organisations need to be inclusive.
Managing inclusion among different age groups will become more important. It includes entirely (for many employers) new cohorts of workers who can and wish to stay on beyond the traditional retirement age of 65.
Already, for the first time ever, Irish employers have multiple age groups (from Gen Z to Baby Boomers) working alongside one another in the workforce together, a huge source of diversity.
“People with different backgrounds have different expectations,” says Kara McGann, director of social policy at Ibec. It can be as simple as recognising that while an older person might expect someone to ring in when sick, a younger person expects to text in. “Appreciation of these differences makes us much more inclusive,” she says.
The pandemic means accepting that people take a different view of Covid-19. According to research from Laya Healthcare, one third of workers identify as particularly vulnerable because of an underlying condition.
Some are struggling to juggle work with home life, while others struggle with isolation. Both may wish to be back in the office. Others will have stayed in a customer-facing role throughout. Being inclusive means ensuring all viewpoints are heard and addressed.
The problem is “we tend to mix communications up with information”, says Maeve Houlihan, associate dean and director of the Lochlann Quinn School of Business at UCD.
She says expect growing use of employee feedback channels, such as Qualtrics, which facilitates employee engagement surveys, to rectify this. “Surveys are a good way of listening.”
More organisations will invest in online skills training too to help staff get the best from the virtual meeting tools available to them.
Awareness
A big issue at DCU is how to maintain a culture of inclusivity when almost all interactions are now remote.
Employers were already growing in awareness of managing introverts and extroverts. Having to manage remote meetings can make this harder.
"At an in-person meeting even a shy person will talk to the person next to them," says Marin Burns, director of HR at Dublin City University. "If everybody is on Zoom it's very difficult, particularly for people who are shy, or who have perhaps a speech impediment. Networking is curtailed. Zoom is also very transactional. It's not like a discussion at coffee, it's much more focused. The social aspects are gone. We tend to get straight into the action."
It’s particularly hard now for new staff joining, she says, which is why it has introduced a buddy system to help.
It helps that the university has enormous experience in fostering inclusion, having seen the merger in 2016 of it, the Church of Ireland College of Education, St Patrick’s teacher training college in Drumcondra and the Mater Dei Institute of Education.
Strategies
Since Covid maintaining the social aspect of communications has been the biggest challenge.
“You can have all the strategies in the world but the people you connect with are the reason why you come to work,” says Ryan, pointing out that no one wakes up wondering “where am I on the strategic plan? It’s about thinking ‘what are we going to do for such a person’s birthday’.”
For employers, ensuring people feel included will become massively important, which is why this year any staff returning to work at DCU found a cupcake awaiting them. It’s only a small touch, but it conveys a very important message. “It’s about ensuring people feel they are returning to a real community,” says Ryan.
