Improving the value of DE&I with digital coaching

Globalisation, technology, and the COVID-19 pandemic have combined to reshape the workplace and how people work. More and more organisations are making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) a priority as they look to retain top talent and ensure employees are engaged and productive.

Organisations that reinforce proper D&I programmes allow employees to show up each day to work without fear, and enables them to be their true selves, said CoachHub in a report titled, The Value Of DE&I and Why Digital Coaching Helps.

The positive impact that DE&I can have for businesses can be transformational, CoachHub said. For instance, when individuals from different backgrounds and experiences collaborate within a work environment, organisations can capture a bigger share of the consumer market.

Organisations with more diverse management teams are also found to have 19% higher revenues due to innovation, while teams that follow an inclusive process make decisions faster with less meetings.

Citing findings from Forbes and Boston Consulting Group, CoachHub also identified how Inclusive teams make better business decisions up to 87% of the time, and helps individuals find personal happiness beyond the workplace.

Challenges of creating successful DE&I initiatives

While more organisations are recognising the critical importance of DE&I, not all are succeeding in implementing successful initiatives.

To invoke positive change, leadership must take the proper initiative, with organisational change starting at the top. Leadership needs to be able to identify DEI priorities, develop good strategies for implementation and stay committed to their plans.

Communicating the importance of DE&I across the organisation must be continuous and consistent, taking a proactive rather than reactive approach. Communication can help bridge the gap between different groups, which is why a two-way communication between employees and managers is essential.

CoachHub also cautioned that the side effect of instantaneous information, however, is an overabundance of personal opinions that are often based on emotions and not facts. This can make it difficult for having open conversations with others and empathising with their points of view. As a result, more conflicts may occur instead of collaboration which ultimately, slows down any DE&I implementation.

Organisations also need to create “cultural competence”, which allows employees to feel safe when having vulnerable conversations. A lack of cultural competence can create an “us-versus-them” feeling where training and conversations are rejected. When there is a lack of awareness of the diversity that is present within an organisation, a more reactive approach is often adopted.

DE&I programmes should also be inclusive to all, instead of being focused on one group such as women or specific minority groups. When that happens, other groups might feel alienated and less engaged at work.

Digital coaching can be a key component of DE&I

With belongingness, empowerment, fairness and respect being the essential factors for the success of DE&I, CoachHub believes that digital coaching is the most effective change management tool and is twice more effective than classroom training, e-learning modules and one-on-one sessions with senior leaders.

CoachHub also added that digital coaching brings about:

Reflectance: An awareness of unconscious biases, shifts perceptions, and allows individuals to see reality from another’s point of view.

Long-lasting effects: A psychological transformation with increases in self-efficacy, developmental support, positive affect, developmental planning and opening to behaviour, which can be noticeable after just six months.

Diversifying coaching pool: A more accessible, highly personalised and flexible approach, which also allows employees the option to choose a coach with a similar background in terms of age, gender or language.

Sense of belonging and uniqueness: The creation of a company culture in which both the minority and majority employees can feel a sense of belonging and the comfortability to express their opinions, thus minimising conflicts, and confrontations.

Click here to learn more, including CoachHub’s DE&I framework, and how you can create successful DE&I programmes with the essence of digital coaching in your organisation.