“Diversity is not how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another’s uniqueness.”
Ola Joseph
Creating an inclusive work environment is essential for any organization aiming to foster a successful workplace with engaged staff. But in order to measure data on inclusion and progress, managers need to analyze the figures surrounding diversity and create understandable reports that reveal their insights. In this regard, Marriott is setting the bar for creating a safe and inclusive work environment. The leading player in the global hospitality and tourism industry has over 120,000 employees spread across 8,000 properties worldwide and 30 brands reaching 139 countries. They have achieved this feat by placing equal importance on building diverse leadership teams along with an encouraging atmosphere that promotes cooperation amongst their staff members.
How Marriott Champions Inclusivity in Hospitality
When it comes down to women-owned businesses operating within their supply chain, they make up 10% of it; likewise, 50% of US leadership consists of members from diverse backgrounds – 21% being executives. Teambuilding highlights that around 66% of their total workforce comprises people of color, of whom 53% are women. In order to focus on developing cultural competence among its workforce population, Marriott introduced ‘The TakeCare Movement’ in 2010 and other initiatives such as Global Unity Day and Culture Days. These programs allow employees from different nationalities and ethnicities access resources that greatly help them understand guests better. Their numerous affiliations with organizations, such as the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and WEConnect International, helps them make their company more culturally rich and diverse.
How Marriott’s Inclusivity Efforts Offer Lessons to All Industries
Marriott has had an established board-level committee that is tasked with monitoring and reporting progress around diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. They also set goals related to each aspect of diversity to ensure tangible results. Women Leading Travel and Hospitality highlights that three specific programs that promote these values are their Women’s Leadership Development Initiative, Emerging Leaders Program and TakeCare Community Talks. Other companies can learn from this by making sure that there is strong leadership devoted to fostering an inclusive and safe environment. For this purpose creating an environment free of sexual harassment should be one of their primary focus. To do this, consider hiring a sexual harassment law firm. They can provide legal representation, create policies and offer their legal expertise on the matter and help in making a company’s environment harassment free and secure.
How can Organizations Collect Data and Improve Inclusivity
By collecting data on their workforce, companies are able to gain a more detailed understanding of how their people experience inclusion and create a larger picture for organizational growth. InclusiveEmployers states that surveys are the best way to gather feedback from employees on factors impacting individual performance, such as job satisfaction, team relationships and recognition received. Companies should use anonymous survey tools which capture both protected characteristics (like ethnicity) or non-protected ones (such as political belief). Pre-employment assessments should ensure potential hires not only have the necessary educational requirements but also share compatible values of diversity and intercultural collaboration when engaging with existing teams.
In addition, participation in activities that promote inclusion should be encouraged. Backpac.co highlights that these include celebrating different cultural events, engaging in community initiatives, encouraging employees to take part in training and workshops. These could be organized in collaboration with different government and non-government organizations that promote diversity and inclusion. Finally, making sure that communication between leadership and rank and file remains respectful, so all team members feel valued and supported — increasing self-esteem and engagement across the workforce.
Analyzing the Collected Data to Promote Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
When conducting surveying or administering focus groups, organizations should strive for an 80% response rate from their entire pool of employees. However, as little as 60% can still provide valuable insight into inclusion with the workforce. PWC’s diversity data guide explains that once the collected data has been reviewed, business leaders may analyze certain results within the organization and note areas where lower disclosure rates were detected. Utilizing this information effectively will require further investigations into how distinct employee cohorts enter and exit your company. This analysis could help identify where action is needed most in order to improve inclusion levels across all segments of workers.
Taking entry level recruitment as an example; you may wish to look at the proportion of applicants from different socioeconomic backgrounds throughout each stage of the recruitment cycle – starting from when initial CVs are reviewed, all the way through interviews and offers being made. Evalart states that through this information it’s possible to identify any biases within the process which could ultimately limit opportunities available regardless of talent or potential held by certain candidates. Similar analysis can then also help companies refine talent management processes further down the line.
By accessing this data, Payfit highlights that employers can discover issues within their workforce such as disparities between people of different genders or ethnic origins. Breaking down data into categories and subcategories can also be very beneficial – this helps identify interesting trends between different groups that may not have been obvious before. Data analysis offers a clear pathway for organizations to make informed decisions based on facts which ensure fairness when creating an atmosphere of inclusion. By analyzing these figures frequently, businesses not only guarantee compliance but also set up well-rounded working environments where all members feel comfortable putting forward their efforts.
Conclusion
Undertaking such measures can certainly go a long way in helping to ensure that all employees are treated fairly and respectfully while being able to better identify any potential areas of improvement where further action needs to be taken. A few key ways organizations can collect such data includes conducting surveys, using secure anonymous survey tools, pre-employment assessments with inclusivity measures, evaluating workplace culture and communicating respectfully and with empathy to staff members. Marriott has been leading the charge on this front for some time now and more companies should follow their example as everyone works towards an even more inclusive future for businesses across the country.
Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash