Building an Inclusive Organization Leveraging the Power of a Diverse Workforce, reviewed

A diverse workforce is a business imperative. Without it, companies are made up of employees who come from the same background and have the same skills and, therefore, the same blind spots. A diverse workforce brings together different strengths, a variety of experiences, a huge breadth of knowledge and a wealth ofcreative problem-solving techniques. However, in order to leverage the benefits of this diverse workforce, businesses must be inclusive. Inclusion ensures that employees feel supported, are treated fairly and are therefore happier, more engaged and more productive. Building an Inclusive Organization is a practical guide to creating an environment of real inclusion. It explains how to remove unconscious bias from company processes including recruitment and selection, how to make the case for diversity and inclusion to all stakeholders and how to embed inclusion into an organization’s culture and overall business strategy.

Packed with case studies from organizations including KPMG, Uber, Salesforce, Harvard University and the UK National Health Service (NHS), Building an Inclusive Organization shows how to implement robust processes and policies to foster diversity and inclusion in organizations of any size, and in all sectors, including the creative industry, finance, tech, and academia and foundations. Guidance and advice is also provided on how to use ‘nudges’ to change behaviours and overcome bias, how to achieve transparency and accountability, and how to measure, review and evaluate inclusion.

The concept behind this book makes sense. The authors clearly outline the business case for why there is value in taking this approach. They start with the dramatic but attention grabbing example of the KLM accident which resulted in the largest ever loss of life, directly caused by the over experienced chief pilot’s unwillingness to listen to and actually hear what his junior team members were telling him. Tragically they, and many many more people all died as a result of his inability to accept information that did not conform to his world view. Thankfully for most of us in every day life the consequences are not so dire, but even so there are still many many good reasons for having a heads up, open approach to diversity.

The authors are also conscious that it is easy to trot out easy simplistic statements, but much harder to actually achieve fundamental change, and to be aware of our own inbuilt biases and prejudices. They work through several helpful chapters to provide a road map to achieving greater awareness about what a real and meaningful diverse and inclusive organisation might actually look like. If you are serious about implementing fundamental changes into your organisation then this is a valuable book to read.

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