Maureen Frank of Emberin Pty Ltd, a sponsor company at the marcus evans HR Summit 2015, on how diversity and inclusion must be approached to achieve the desired outcome.

1. Interview with: Maureen Frank, Managing Director, Emberin Pty Ltd
“Human Resources (HR) must treat diversity and inclusion as a systemic cultural change process, otherwise it is best to wait until it can do that,” advises Maureen Frank, Managing Director, Emberin Pty Ltd.
A Telstra Women of the Year Award winner, Frank considers it a waste of time and money to focus on diversity and inclusion for the “sake of ticking boxes”. “Companies can do more damage if they are seen as inauthentic,” she believes.
An industry leader of diversity and inclusion consulting solutions, Emberin is taking part in the marcus evans HR Summit 2015, in the Gold Coast, Australia, 23 - 25 March.
How are inclusive cultures better for employees, business and the bottom line?
Inclusive cultures do more than just impact diversity. It is about engaging people so that every employee has a voice. In most organisations, 20 percent of people do 80 percent of the work.
An inclusive culture would set it up to better utilise all of its human capital.
How do most organisations approach this?
Their strategy contains different initiatives, but they do not review it as cultural change. They think that by doing certain things, they will eventually get there.
Creating the right environment and setting up a push/pull strategy would get results sooner. By that, I mean increasing the number of women in senior management.
Some organisations think they are inclusive when they are not. Is this all about the number of women in management?
Absolutely not. Unfortunately one of our only indicators of success is the number of women in senior management, but that is actually a lag indicator. What I recommend is looking at the “sneaky” diversity questions in engagement surveys. If employees say they feel heard and respected by their manager, that is a better indicator.
What are the key elements of your change model?
The pull strategy is key. Not only must leaders want and understand that they need to pull women and people with various differences into the pipeline, but also know how to. It will never work unless the leadership is totally behind it. That is why only a third achieve true cultural change.
How do you identify the “high potential” women in an organisation?
That is tricky, which is why many go unnoticed. The mistake that some companies make is to focus on the women who are part of the “talent
pool”, when the process that they go through to determine who is “talent” is subjective and biased.
The most merit-based way of identifying female talent is by testing their capabilities and true competencies.
Why are men vital to the overall process?
The simple truth is, the majority of people in leadership positions are men. If they are not involved in the process, it will not work.
Most men do want to be involved, they want to better engage female employees, but there is a big difference in understanding the concept of diversity and actually living it in practice. We cannot assume that men just know what to do; they sometimes do not.
Follow Emberin on Twitter: @EmberinPtyLtd
It is about engaging people so that every employee has a voice
Diversity & Inclusion:
Is Your HR Dept Getting the Desired Outcome?

2. The HR Network – marcus evans Summits group delivers peer-to-peer information on strategic matters, professional trends and breakthrough innovations.
Please note that the Summit is a closed business event and the number of participants strictly limited.
About the HR Summit 2015
The 11th annual HR Summit is the premium forum bringing elite buyers and sellers together. The Summit offers chief HR executives and service and solution providers an intimate environment for a focused discussion of the key new drivers shaping corporate priorities and HR strategies. Taking place at the RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Australia, 23 - 25 March 2015, the Summit includes presentations on attracting, empowering and retaining the finest talent, shaping a productive culture, mastering workforce planning, and uncovering innovative tools.
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About Emberin Pty Ltd
Founded almost ten years ago by Telstra Women of the Year Award winner Maureen Frank, Emberin is the recognised industry leader of diversity and inclusion consulting solutions and „turn key‟ programs in Australasia. Emberin works with listed companies, multi-nationals and Government bodies around the world to enable them to truly embrace and leverage their differences and to create inclusive cultures that are good for people, business and the bottom line. Emberin is focused on accelerated results for organisations and has a good track record in achieving this.
www.emberin.com
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marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world‟s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, case studies, roundtables and one-to-one business meetings.
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