workbook from pre-conference session at 2014 Missouri SHRM Conference on building an inclusive organizational culture

1. culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
2014 SHRM MISSOURI STATE CONFERENCE
August 5, 2014

2. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
ONE: LANGUAGE AND LOGIC
WHAT?
A clear, concise and consistent foundation of words, language, definitions and narratives to make the what,
why and how of diversity and inclusion work easily accessible to all.
WHY?
This is critical to guiding individual, group and organizational efforts.
HOW? MEASURE
Do we have clear and concise definitions for the words that we use relative to diversity and inclusion?
Are these definitions consistently known?
Is there a generally shared understanding of what (what it is), why (why it is important to this organization), how
(how we pursue that value - individually and organizationally)?
Is inclusion tangible?
Explicit behaviors?
Explicit experience?
Is there any kind of business case or value proposition in place?
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
2

3. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
TWO: EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES
WHAT?
The real and perceived fairness and consistency in how employees are managed.
WHY?
Employees need to believe that they will be treated based on their behaviors, actions and performance rather
than based on who they are.
HOW? MEASURE
Are employment practices (hiring, firing, promoting, rewarding, punishing, etc.) perceived to be fair?
Are employment practices perceived to be consistent?
Are employment practices explicit (written, not un-written), clear and concise?
Are employment practices malleable (easily changed) regardless of who wants to change them?
Are there safe places for employees to talk about their experiences?
Is exit interview data valued, used and shared?
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
3

4. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
THREE: ORIENTATION TOWARDS DIFFERENCE
WHAT?
Our default stance towards, or response to, difference.
WHY?
How we feel about difference (asset or deficit) informs how we interact with difference, which informs the
outcome of the interaction.
HOW? MEASURE
Is difference viewed (formally and informally) as a positive and valuable thing?
Do we take actions (individual, group, organization) to seek out different people, practices and perspectives?
What is the tone when we discuss diversity and inclusion? Does it differ from conversations about leadership,
sales, budget, safety, etc.?
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
4

5. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
FOUR: DECISION MAKING
WHAT?
How we approach decision making and related group processes.
WHY?
Being deliberate and intentional about how we utilize difference in our decision making processes can have a big
impact on both our decision making ability and our organizational culture.
HOW? MEASURE
Are there any explicit agreements in place for how to make decisions and deal with disagreements?
Are conflict and disagreement (as long as they are done well) viewed as normal, important, healthy things?
Is there support, training, rewards in place to promote speaking the truth, respectful disagreement, conflict
management?
Are we deliberate about including a lot of different points of view, perspectives, identities and voices in our decision
making efforts?
Do supervisors receive training on conflict management?
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
5

6. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
FIVE: RELATIONAL NETWORK
WHAT?
Informal networks of relationships spread throughout our organizations.
WHY?
These networks play a vital role in the diffusion of ideas, information, influence and trust. They also tend to be very
silo-ed and segregated, meaning that access to ideas, information, influence and trust is silo-ed and segregated as
well.
HOW? MEASURE
Do we value relationships and relationship building? Do we make space and time for it? Is it rewarded?
Are there any efforts to help employees develop greater relational/social skills?
Is there any deliberate effort to build bridges across functional or geographic divides?
Do we support employees in using social tools to build and nurture big, diverse networks of relationships?
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
6

7. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
SIX: BALANCED OUTCOMES
WHAT?
Evidence that we truly believe what we say about diversity and inclusion and are acting accordingly.
WHY?
Inclusion is not a matter of intentions, but rather actions and outcomes. The journey towards greater inclusion is
largely about finding and surfacing contradictions so that we can learn from them and take corrective actions.
HOW? MEASURE
Are employment outcomes (retention, promotion, engagement, satisfaction, compensation) balanced?
Is our workforce reflective? (local community, larger population, industry)
Where disparities are found, have we looked for and determined causes?
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
7

8. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
SEVEN: ACCESS
WHAT?
Universal employee access to the tools fundamental in creating an inclusive work experience.
WHY?
So that, as our workforces become more diverse, our organizational cultures are able to evolve and adapt.
HOW? MEASURE
How difficult is it for employees (regardless of tenure, title or function) to get access to information?
How difficult is it for employees (regardless of tenure, title or function) to get access to influence?
How difficult is it for employees (regardless of tenure, title or function) to get access to change?
Is it safe to be unpopular here?
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
8

9. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
EIGHT: BEHAVIORAL INTELLIGENCE
WHAT?
An accurate, evidence-based understanding of human behavior, specifically as it applies to how we interact with
each other and make decisions about each other.
WHY?
This is fundamental in mitigating the impact of bias.
HOW? MEASURE
Do we operate on an accurate understanding of human nature and understand that human beings are naturally
biased?
Are there efforts in place to mitigate bias in decision making about people?
Are our diversity and inclusion conversations focused on intentions? Or are they focused on actions, behaviors and
outcomes?
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
9

10. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
NINE: INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP
WHAT?
Specific behaviors and actions that we expect, develop, promote and reward.
WHY?
Framing inclusion as an activist thing rather than as a state of mind or the absence of hate, makes it easier to realize
and measure and it makes it much easier to hold each other accountable.
HOW? MEASURE
HOW? MOVE
ASSESSMENT:
INITIAL IDEAS FOR MOVING FORWARD:
10

11. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT
Language and Logic
Employment Practices
Orientation Towards Difference
Decision Making
Relational Networks
Balanced Outcomes
Access
Behavioral Intelligence
Inclusive Leadership
11

12. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
culture builder bootcamp:
the workbook
the what, why, & how of building
an inclusive organizational culture
MOVE FORWARD PLAN
Start to think about a Move Forward Plan. Consider the following:
• the results of your assessment
• your ability to drive change
• the value of proposed change to your organization
12

13. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
joe gerstandt brings a new clarity and a fresh energy to diversity and inclusion work.
joe has worked with Fortune 500 corporations, small non-profits, and everything in between. He speaks at numerous
conferences and summits, and blogs at www.joegerstandt.com. He is a featured contributor for Diversity Best
Practices, and the Workforce Diversity Network Expert Forum. His insights have been published in Diversity Best
Practices, Diversity Executive, HR Executive, The Diversity Factor, The American Diversity Report, the Corporate
Recruiting Leadership Journal, Associations Now and other print and on-line journals.
He co-authored the book Social Gravity: Harnessing the Natural Laws of Relationships, and serves on the board
of directors for the Global Diversity and Inclusion Foundation, the Talent Management Human Capital Executive
Research Board, the Chief Learning Officer Business Intelligence Board and the HR Examiner Advisory Board.
joe grew up on a family farm in NW Iowa, served four years in the United States Marine Corps, including
participation in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, attended Iowa State University and then spent 6 years
working in management and business development for technology and communication companies. He then made
a career change and went to work for a grassroots non-profit organization where he found himself drawn to issues
related to diversity and inclusion and then became actively involved in that work.
Today, joe is a strong advocate for resetting the diversity and inclusion conversation, and believes that we can
ill afford to continue applying a 20th century approach to an increasingly critical set of 21st century issues. His
keynote messages and interactive workshops bring greater clarity, new perspectives and fresh energy to diversity
and inclusion work.
joe lives in Omaha, Nebraska (the middle of everywhere) with his patient, kind, patient, loving and patient wife, two
daughters, a son, a dog and a frog.
about joe
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14. CULTURE BUILDER
m i s s o u r i S H RM
clients
Anti-Defamation League
ASAE Annual Conference & Expo
ASAE Great Ideas Conference
Baird Holm Law Firm
Bankers Trust
California Society of Association
Executives Annual Conference
CalSAE Annual Conference
Catalyst Awards Conference
Catholic Charities
Central Iowa SHRM Conference
Chattanooga SHRM Conference
Citizens Energy
Colorado Human Resources
Association HR Conference
ConAgra Foods
Cox Communications
Diversity Roundtable of Indiana
Annual Conference
Executive Council on Civil Rights
Training Conference
Experian
Governor’s Conference on Community
Service
Habitat for Humanity
Hospital Corporation of America
HR Southwest
HRevolution
iCAN Women’s Leadership Conference
Illinois SHRM State Conference
Multicultural Forum on Workplace
Mutual of Omaha
Diversity Conference
National Conference for
Community and Justice
Nebraska Health and Human Services
Nebraska SHRM State Conference
Nonprofit Association of the Midlands
Northern Ohio SHRM Conference
Ohio SHRM Annual Conference
OIA Rendezvous Conference
Omaha Public Power District
Principal Financial
Psychologically Healthy
Workplace Conference
Regional Fair Housing Conference
Sanford Health
SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition
SHRM Annual Student Conference
SHRM Diversity Conference
SHRM Leadership Conference
Sletten Construction
South Dakota SHRM
Annual Conference
Sparrow Health Systems
Stryker
SXSW
Target
Tennessee SHRM State Conference
Texas Society of CPAs Annual Meeting
Union Bank and Trust
Urban League Equal Opportunity Day
Seminar
Veridian Credit Union
Walmart
Wells Fargo
Women of Color Leadership Summit
Word Made Flesh
Workforce Diversity Network
Power of Inclusion Conference
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want more joe?
twitter.com/joegerstandt
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slideshare.net/joeg
joegerstandt.com