Creating an Inclusive Workplace

Little time ago organizations had started making huge investments to create a diversity department that looks after creating a diverse workforce. This being enabled through exclusive diversity recruitment drives or hiring more women in the workforce at all levels. However, this has started begun to fall flat on the face.  Though, it all started to integrate women into the workforce at multiple career levels however with no or weak implementable policies this is still lacking in the vision of the organizations and respective HR strategies.

Few thoughts which can certainly help to boost the cause:

Realigning Job Description: We should start re drafting the job roles that exist in the organizations to support employees from different races, ethnicities and gender. There are definitely multiple roles (viz back end roles which require minimalistic intervention) that can surely onboard the differently abled employees into the workforce.    

Reward Strategy: Inclusiveness comes from creating right rewarding opportunities for women and ethnic minorities to move up the ladder in key decision making roles without any discrimination.

Job Mentorship: Identifying mentors at job to identify these gender role bias issues and getting it resolved. These mentors should be able to guide the mentees for key decisions and help remove biases at workplace.

Life/Work Balance & Part Time Working:  Creating inclusive is through the work practices that exist at the workplace which includes part time working (And getting full salary) for the mothers who re join organization. This helps them to balance their personal life while taking care of the newly born along with the business. It does not necessary mean flexi policies exist only for women but for the male workforce also who take turns to help their family, be it children’s school or other family related issues that need to be catered to.

We need to be inclusive in our thoughts, decisions and policies to create such an environment rather than only talking about them in papers or business talks with no implementable practices. Once we are free from all these biases in our thoughts we would no longer need exclusive diversity departments to make it happen.

Motivating Gen Y

Are we following the right steps in motivating our Gen Y work force? This Gen Y workforce who is very high of himself/herself might be circling around you while listening to their ipods. They are always online, texting, tweeting and don’t ever block their path even while in office. This is the kind of workforce we are talking about. Though much has been written and said about these employees but still we have to catch up a lot in terms of our practices. 

Gen Y has no issues in voicing out their concerns so don’t ever think about trying to suppress their ideas.  Hearing out their concerns and working on their issues give them a lot of ego boost which is the base of their career development. They are constantly thinking of new and innovative ideas and have entrepreneurial mindset.

In order to keep this flock of employees motivated, we must check on following few things:

1. Always make sure that they are working in teams as these are the people who have grown up hanging around with friends
2. Give them regular feedbacks. Don’t ever wait only for annual appraisal/review
3. Don’t intimidate them by poking your nose in their work style
4. Give them enough flexibility in their work culture. Don’t try to bind them with forced time lines
5. Have proper communication channel. Don’t leave them working in silos
6. Reward them intelligently. Don’t just rely on appreciation mails
7. Recognize their work based on their performance and not on their tenure

These are the people who as per Dave Ulrich believe in Life/Work Balance and not Work/Life Balance as for them their work revolves around their lives. If we start working towards their recognition, development and growth, these Gen Y people will have no issues working for the same organisation.