AN INCLUSIVE STRATEGY
Inclusion
is a good business policy for managers of the 21st century
With the
rise of private enterprise, broadening of the reach of education, melting of
age-old social barriers and emergence of the IT revolution, workplaces are no
longer homogenous spaces. Shrinking of spaces means more and more people
overcome the barriers of distance and travel to non-native places to work; it
also means that more people from diverse backgrounds make it to hitherto unheard
of professions.
This
brings us to the all important theme of inclusion at workplaces, something that
is being discussed and debated with fervour across the world. It is pertinent
to note that the world has, in recent years, become more porous and heterogeneous
with migration of talent and increasingly diverse populations, making inclusion
an important aspect o workplace policy.
Twenty
years back when India was yet to embrace the concept of start-ups,
entrepreneurship was not for everyone, and business es adhered to traditional
ways of working, diversity and inclusion were not among the key issues facing
business managers.
However,
for business and human resource managers of today, it pays to have a workplace
that hon ours and values diversity and ensures that heterogeneity of
backgrounds and sensibilities doesn't impede teamwork. Ensuring this is what
inclusion is all about. In a world of free flow of people and brain, no work
community can be a monolith, and without doubt, the diversity that people of multiple
origins bring to an organisation is immensely enriching. Not just race, colour,
gender, caste or sexual preferences, even individual personality traits add to
the diversity of an organisation.Some employees may be more adventurous in
their attitude, and advocate risk taking while others may believe more in
playing safe. Some may be brilliant in ideation; others may be finer executors.
Some may be mavericks in their approach, others may be conformists.
Effectively, it is a combination of all kinds of people that lends strength to
an organisation.
On a
macro level, when considered for a country like India, adequate representation
and assimilation of all groups and subgroups in the economy will ensure better
streamlining of India's potential and would boost innovation and free thinking.
The moral
responsibility of an organisation is to make sure the workplace has a fine
balance of multiple and diverse people, and that none is discriminated against
because of their origins. An organisation's work culture should be cultivated
to ensure complete assimilation and acceptance. For example, in a north Indian
organisation of 100 people, even if there are three non-Hindi speakers, it is
imperative for the managers to ensure that all communication is delivered to them
with sincerity and that they do not feel out-of-place because of their
linguistic difference. Women employees should not feel sidelined because men
occupy all decisionmaking powers. Similarly, an organisational culture should
ensure that a homosexual employee is not differentiated, discriminated or
ridiculed for being different. It is the moral responsibility of an
organisation to make sure each individual is respected for his or her
abilities and not discriminated against for any reason.
Inclusive
organisations are those that cultivate cultures that encourage engagement,
respect diversity, induce higher productivity and innovation, as well as
retention.An environment of greater involvement, respect and connection among
peers helps generate a greater sense of belonging among employees and ensures
higher rates of success for a business.
Richness
of backgrounds and ethnicities brings with it richness of ideas, perspectives
and abilities, which together creates higher business values. The organisations
of the 21st century need inclusive diversity to succeed.
On a
global level too, the question of diversity is a case in point. The United
States of America which has traditionally been a heterogeneous society finds it
relatively easier to ensure inclusion of diversity as compared to the more
homogenous European nations. In recent years, several European countries such
as France, Greece and Italy, which have witnessed an influx of migrants have
witnessed tensions over the question of assimilation.Making diversity
acceptable and putting it into practice is what managers trained in inclusion
need to do.
-The
author is director, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
|
Surajit Mitra
|
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