THE INCLUSION PARADIGM The Key to Organizational Performance

1
THE INCLUSION PARADIGMThe Key to Organizational
Performance

• Presented by
• Georgia Coffey
• Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diversity and
  Inclusion
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

2
The Context

• Federal government is one of the most diverse
  environments in American society in terms of
  race, ethnicity, and gender (REG), yet we still
  have barriers to equal opportunity. Despite our
  diversity, we maintain a largely homogeneous
  mindset which maintains barriers and creates
  cognitive dissonance, conflict, and flawed
  decision-making.
• Defining diversity solely in terms of REG has a
  detrimental effect. To gain full acceptance, we
  must define diversity broadly to include all that
  makes us unique, including the diversity of
  thought. Only then will we realize the
  performance advantages that diversity offers.
• Stella M. Nkomo. Identities and the
  Complexities of Diversity, in Susan Jackson and
  Marian Ruderman (eds.), Diversity in Work Teams
  Research Paradigms for a Changing Workplace, 1999

3
The Facts

• By 2042, there will be no single demographic
  majority
• By 2050, 1 in 5 people living in the US will be
  Hispanic
• New entrants to the labor market will dominate
  the work-scape.
• Currently 4 generations in the workplace soon to
  be 5.
• Disabilities affect 20 of all Americans.
• Women earn the majority of college degrees
  awarded in U.S.
• There are an estimated 9 million LGBT individuals
  in the U.S.
• 1 in 5 workers have experienced discrimination at
  work.
• lt 50 of employees who experience discrimination
  will stay
• Attrition costs 150 of employees salary and
  lost productivity.
• Inclusive organizations have high employee
  engagement, which yields higher organizational
  performance.
• References US Census Bureau The Gallup
  Organization. Employee Discrimination in the
  Workplace, Public Opinion Poll. December 8, 2005
  Sirota Survey Diversity Research Network, 2002
  Nishii, 2010.

4
The Challenge

• Diversity and inclusion must be the cornerstones
  of our talent management strategy and our
  business processes.
• Inclusion holds the key to organizational
  performance diversity without inclusion, will
  not work.

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Historical Perspective
Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion Civil Rights to Full Inclusion
Inclusion Inclusion Inclusion
Managing Diversity Managing Diversity Managing Diversity Managing Diversity Managing Diversity
Diversity Diversity Diversity Diversity Diversity Diversity Diversity
Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity Equal Employment Opportunity
Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Affirmative Action
Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement Civil Rights Movement
Melting Pot (Assimilation) Melting Pot (Assimilation) Melting Pot (Assimilation) Melting Pot (Assimilation) Salad Bowl Inclusion (Multiculturalism) (Process Performance) Salad Bowl Inclusion (Multiculturalism) (Process Performance) Salad Bowl Inclusion (Multiculturalism) (Process Performance) Salad Bowl Inclusion (Multiculturalism) (Process Performance) Salad Bowl Inclusion (Multiculturalism) (Process Performance) Salad Bowl Inclusion (Multiculturalism) (Process Performance) Salad Bowl Inclusion (Multiculturalism) (Process Performance) Salad Bowl Inclusion (Multiculturalism) (Process Performance)
ltltlt 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 gtgtgt
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Core Understanding
EEO refers to the laws, regulations, and policies that guarantee our rights to equal opportunity in terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.
Inclusion is leveraging the diversity in our workforce to achieve full participation and optimum performance it is about empowerment and engagement. In-reach focused.
Diversity is all the ways in which we are similar and all the ways in which we differ." Outreach-focused -- Dr R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.
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Defining DiversityThe full spectrum of human
differences and similarities, including immutable
and mutable characteristics yielding unique
perspectives.
Reprinted with permission from Loden Associates..

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Defining Inclusion

• Inclusion is the process of leveraging
  individuals diverse talent, not in spite of
  their differences, but because of them.
• Inclusion requires a deliberate strategy to
  empower all human resources to engage them in the
  fabric and mission of the organization.

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What does the research show?

• Diversity Research Network
• Workforce diversity is positively associated with
  higher business performance outcomes.
• Racial diversity is positively associated with
  higher performance in organizations that
  integrate and leverage diverse perspectives.
• Gender diversity is positively associated with
  more effective group processes and performance in
  organizations with (inclusive) people-oriented
  performance cultures.
• Center for Creative Leadership
• Diverse teams are more creative and perform
  better in problem solving than homogeneous teams.
• Diversity in workforce and processes results in
  better decision-making.
• The effects of diversity are highly dependent on
  the presence of facilitating or inhibiting
  conditions in the organization absent
  facilitating conditions (inclusion) the
  aforementioned outcomes are reversed.
• Conclusion Diversity without Inclusion will not
  work
• The Effects of Diversity on Business
  Performance Report of the Diversity Research
  Network, October 2002.

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The flip side

• UNC Business School
• Workplace conflict results in 22-53 lost
  productivity.
• EEOC
• Average EEO complaint costs approximately 60,000
  (administrative process) up to 250,000
  (including settlement/damages).
• 25-40 of workforce attrition rate and 5-20 in
  lost productivity can be attributed to poor
  diversity management turnover costs 75-150 of
  the replaced employees salary.
• Conclusion There is a positive ROI for
  Diversity Inclusion.

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Systems that Influence Organizational Inclusion
Changing an organizational culture requires
re-engineering business processes and
deconstructing silos. True inclusion will drive
employee engagement which increases
organizational performance
Source From Diversity to Inclusion. Katharine
Esty, PhD. Northeast Human Resources
Association. April 30, 2007
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Current State of Government

• The Bureaucratic Model
• Hierarchical
• Chain of Command
• Controlled Communications need to know basis
• Linear business processes
• Self-reinforcing maintenance of status-quo
• Convergent thinking and decision-making
• Heroic Leadership and Accountability
• David Bradford and Allen Cohen, Power Up
  Transforming Organizations through Shared
  Leadership. Wiley Sons, New York, 1998.

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MASLOWS HIERARCHY - HEROIC LEADERSHIP MODEL
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Desired End State

• The Inclusive Model
• Flattened organizations
• Empowered contributors
• Continual, transparent communications knowledge
  is empowering
• Matrix Management
• Innovation and creativity rewarded constructive
  conflict
• Divergent Thinking open-ended decision process
• Shared Leadership and Accountability
• David Bradford and Allen Cohen, Power Up
  Transforming Organizations through Shared
  Leadership. Wiley Sons, New York, 1998

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FLIP THE PYRAMID!INCLUSIVE/SHARED LEADERSHIP
MODEL
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How do we get there?

• Inclusion Engagement Performance
• Self-examination Education
• Process Reengineering
• Metrics
• Communication Reinforcement

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Check your mindset

• Leadership
• Recognize your unconscious bias (Harvard Implicit
  Analysis Test)
• Challenge assumptions reduce confirmation bias
• Open mind to new, untested notions consider
  alternative
• Power and accountability must flow down flip
  the pyramid
• Sharing power does not abdicating responsibility
• Understand true motivators autonomy, mastery,
  purpose
• Employees
• Invest, own, and lead
• Connect
• Take risks
• Dan Pink, RSA Animate-Drive, The Surprising
  Truth About what Motivates Us, April 2010

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Begin with Cultural Competence Where are you on
the continuum?
POSITIVE
Cultural Proficiency implements change to respond
to cultural needs, do research and teach
Cultural Competence
recognize individual and cultural differences,
seeks advice from diverse groups, hires unbiased
staff
Cultural Pre-competence
explores cultural issues, are committed, assess
needs of organization and individuals
Cultural Blindness
differences ignored, treats everyone the same,
only responds to needs of dominant group
Cultural Incapacity racism, maintains
stereotypes, unfair hiring practices
NEGATIVE
Cultural Destructiveness forced assimilation,
subjugation, rights and privileges for dominant
groups only
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Business Process Reengineering

• Knock down walls
• Review current processes identify barriers to
  input
• Design processes to yield more than one solution
• Use interdisciplinary teams encourage divergent
  thought
• De-construct silos employ matrix management
• Practice 360 Communication cont. learning
• Dont fear creative tension constructive
  conflict
• Align rewards systems accordingly ensure
  fairness

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How do we know we are there?

• The VA Diversity Inclusion Indices
• Standardized metrics for
• Workforce diversity
• Workplace inclusion
• Organizational performance

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Diversity Index

A measure of workforce diversity based on the
convergence of the representation of each
demographic group in the organization (by race,
ethnicity, gender) with the relevant/civilian
labor force (R/CLF). The Diversity Index is
derived by the ratio of the workforce
distribution to its corresponding R/CLF, up to a
value of 100.

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VA Diversity Index Sample
Ratio of VA workforce representation to
corresponding RCLF
Capped at 1.0 or 100
Representation Indices capped at 100 (Blowup of
previous chart with the ratio cap)
Current (FY 2012, Dec) VA Diversity Index based
on CLF 87.44 Current (FY 2012, Dec) VA
Diversity Index based on RCLF 96.75
91
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VA Diversity Index FY 2003 to FY 2012 (Dec) based
on CLF
Prior to 2009 the Asian and Native Hawaiian and
Pacific Islanders population were combined into
a single category.
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Inclusion Index

• The Inclusion Index is a single measure of
  organizational inclusion based on employee
  responses to select Federal Employee Viewpoint
  Survey (FEVS) items.
• 20 FEVS items were linked to six empirically
  validated dimensions of inclusion, based on
  multiple factor analyses and literature research.
  
• Favorable responses (i.e. agree, strongly agree)
  on survey items were averaged to yield Inclusion
  Index.
• Can be computed at
• Agency level
• Sub-agency level
• Occupational grouping

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Approach

• In partnership with Office of Personnel
  Management, VA performed factor analysis of FEVS
  survey items which yielded clusters of
  homogeneous items.
• SMEs conducted review of research literature in
  the area of organizational inclusion to identify
  six empirically validated dimensions of inclusion
  (Shore 2011, Nishii 2010, April Blass 2010).
• Performed 2nd factor analysis to validate
  proposed dimensions of inclusion and identify the
  highest correlated/most appropriate items for
  each dimension.

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DIMENSIONS OF INCLUSION

• Fairness of Employment Practices (Rules and
  Procedures)
• Fairness of Employment Practices (Performance
  Evaluations)
• Inclusion/Participation in Decision-Making
• Inclusive Management and Leadership
• Information Access/Open Communication
• Integration of Differences

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FEVS Items Mapped to Dimensions of Inclusion

• Fairness of Employment Practices (Rules and
  Procedures)
• Arbitrary action, personal favoritism and
  coersion for partisan political purposes are not
  tolerated. (37)
• Prohibited Personnel Practices are not tolerated.
  (38)
• Fairness of Employee Practices (Performance
  Evaluation)
• In my work unit, steps are taken to deal with a
  poor performer who cannot or will not improve.
  (23)
• In my work unit, differences in performance are
  recognized in a meaningful way. (24)
• Awards in my work unit depend on how well
  employees perform their jobs. (25)
• Inclusion/Participation in Decision Making
• I have enough information to do my job well. (2)
• I feel encouraged to come up with new and better
  ways of doing things. (3)
• My talents are used well in the workplace. (1)
• Employees have a feeling of personal empowerment
  with respect to work processes. (30)

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FEVS Items Mapped to Dimensions of Inclusion,
cont.

• Inclusive Management and Leadership
• My supervisor supports my need to balance work
  and other life issues. (42)
• My supervisor/team leader provides me with
  constructive suggestions to improve my job
  performance. (46)
• My supervisor/team leader listens to what I have
  to say. (48)
• My supervisor/team leader treats me with respect.
  (49)
• In the last six months, my supervisor/team leader
  has talked with me about my performance. (50)
• Information Access and Communication
• Managers promote communication among different
  work units. (58)
• Managers support collaboration across work units
  to accomplish work objectives. (59)
• Integration of Differences
• Creativity and innovation are rewarded. (32)
• Policies and programs promote diversity in the
  workplace. (34)
• My supervisor/team leader is committed to a
  workforce representative of all segments of
  society. (45)
• Managers/supervisors/team leaders work well with
  employees of different backgrounds. (55)

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VA INCLUSION INDEX (Notional data)
Inclusion Dimension Favorable Responses Unfavorable Responses No Responses Score
Fairness of Employment Practices (Rules and Procedures) 3089 1850 135 62.54
Fairness of Employment Practices (Performance Evaluation) 3617 3963 31 47.72
Inclusion/Participation in Decision making 6177 3886 85 61.38
Inclusive Management and Leadership 9257 3082 346 75.02
Information Access and Communication 2841 2030 203 58.32
Integration of Differences 5852 4030 266 59.22
INCLUSION INDEX 30,833 18,841 1,066 62.07
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VA Inclusion strategies

• Robust, transparent communications (recurring
  in-person meetings, electronic, print, broadcast
  video)
• Continuous learning, career mapping
• Mentoring/Coaching/Rotational Assignments
• DI infused Leadership Development Programs (in
  outreach and curriculum)
• Cultural Competency/Unconscious Bias Training
• Conflict Management Training
• Targeted outreach/Diversity Focused internships
• Barrier analysis (in recruitment, development,
  work processes)
• Process Reengineering Matrix Management
• Mandatory Leadership Accountability Measures
• METRICS VA Diversity Inclusion Indices

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LESSONS LEARNED

• INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY Obstacles leading to
  9/11 intelligence failures included
• Hardened attitudes against change
• Insular organizations
• Resistance to external recommendations
• Insistence on preserving the status quo
• SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY Causes that contributed to
  the Columbia shuttle accident included
• An organizational culture that squelched dissent
  and stifled differences
• Resistance to external criticism and doubt
• Imposition of the party line vision(which) led
  to flawed decision-making, self-deception,
  introversion, and diminished curiosity
• Organizational barriers that prevented open,
  effective communication
• ECONOMIC COMMUNITY Issues leading to Lehman
  Bros. bankruptcy and economic meltdown
• Insular organization
• Narrow decision-making failure to gain broad
  input/perspective
• Outmoded, embedded cultural habits rigid,
  inflexible culture
• Misuse of talent
• A culture that is too strong can also end up too
  rigid and can shut out diversity, especially
  diversity of perspective. Hope Greenfield.
  Culture Crash, The Conference Board Review,
  Fall 2009.

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What does this mean for Federal govt?

• Diversity Inclusion yield higher organizational
  performance they business imperatives.
• Diversity should be broadly defined, including
  but not limited to legally protected groups
  diversity of thought is rooted in our race,
  gender, and ethnicity.
• Intolerance to diversity breeds disastrous and
  costly results agencies must first guarantee
  equity in the workplace before diversity and
  inclusion can thrive.
• Diversity Inclusion strategies should be
  infused in business goals and processes.
• Inclusion drives employee engagement which drives
  performance.
• Flip the pyramid!

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SYNERGY FOR AHIGH-PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
High Performance
Equity
Workforce Diversity
Organizational Inclusion
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• Presented by
• Georgia Coffey
• Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diversity and
  Inclusion
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Georgia.coffey_at_VA.Gov