What are effective ways to communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership?
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) are not only ethical and social goals, but also strategic and competitive advantages for any organization. However, communicating the value and impact of D&I to senior leadership can be challenging, especially if they are not familiar with the concepts or the benefits. How can you craft effective messages that persuade and inspire them to support and champion D&I initiatives? Here are some tips to help you communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership.
One of the first steps to communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership is to align your messages with the organizational vision and values. Show how D&I supports and enhances the mission, vision, and values of the organization, and how it contributes to the strategic objectives and goals. Use examples and stories that illustrate how D&I aligns with the core values and principles of the organization, and how it creates a positive and inclusive culture.
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Priya Bates, ABC, MC, SCMP, IABC Fellow
Start with Why - The Six Rs In our book, Building a Culture of Inclusivity - Effective internal communication for diversity, equity and inclusion, we encourage readers to start with why DEI is important to the business. RIGHTS are about legal compliance, REPRESENTATION is ensuring your employees and leaders are representative of your customers and community, RETENTION is to ensure employees are staying and RECRUITMENT is about getting the best talent, REPUTATION is about being proactive to get recognized and avoid reputational crisis connected to DEI, and finally RESULTS - be creating a culture of inclusion and belonging drives engagement, innovation and bottom-line results.
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Moupia Roy Chowdhury
Passionate about fostering a culture of privacy and guiding organizations towards ethical and responsible data practices CIPP/E Data Protection Lawyer | Blockchain | Privacy Audits | Cybersecurity | Gen AI
Effectively communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership by sharing success stories that highlight the benefit of diversity and emphasizing the positive impact on innovation and company culture. Additionally, propose specific initiatives, training programs and metrics to measure progress in fostering an inclusive workplace.
Another important step to communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership is to use data and evidence to back up your claims and arguments. Data and evidence can help you demonstrate the business case for D&I, such as how it improves performance, innovation, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, retention, and reputation. Use relevant and reliable sources of data and evidence, such as internal surveys, reports, benchmarks, best practices, case studies, and testimonials. Use data and evidence to highlight the gaps, challenges, opportunities, and outcomes of D&I initiatives.
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Raj Ramanandi
Co-Founder @ InChorus Group | Our solutions help large organisations build Speakup Cultures | try.inchorus.org/home
In my experience the best way to captivate senior leadership to a holistic diversity strategy is leveraging actual stories and the lived experience of their current workforce. It helps if you use data that demonstrates experienced for different groups, by function, location, seniority, and other key demographics. Lastly, a blend of data and story/narrative works best to capture hearts and minds.
A third key step to communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership is to tailor your messages to your audience. Different senior leaders may have different levels of awareness, interest, and commitment to D&I, as well as different preferences, styles, and expectations for communication. Therefore, you need to adapt your messages to suit your audience, and use the appropriate language, tone, format, and channel. For example, you may need to use more formal and professional language for some senior leaders, and more casual and conversational language for others. You may also need to use different formats and channels, such as presentations, reports, emails, meetings, or podcasts.
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Jannie Frydling Petersen
Understanding and adapting to your audience will always be a key ingredient to ensuring the best communication and dialogue. But how often do you actually ask your audience what they prefer? What matters to them? What their priorities are, and how D&I fits into that picture? Do you ask if you don't fully understand or have follow-up questions? And do you somehow mark down what each audience prefers and have it outlined for yourself? In my experience this is difficult because people are busy and you want to make progress. But I find that these are the stepping stones that hopefully open up for more dialoge and more concrete actions.
A fourth essential step to communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership is to focus on the benefits and solutions that D&I can offer. Senior leaders are often busy and have multiple priorities and demands on their time and attention. Therefore, you need to capture their interest and attention by highlighting the benefits and solutions that D&I can provide for them, their teams, their customers, and their stakeholders. For example, you can show how D&I can help them solve problems, overcome challenges, seize opportunities, achieve goals, and create value. You can also show how D&I can help them avoid risks, costs, and negative consequences.
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Rohit Luthra
SGM - Employer Branding & Communication at Reliance Industries Limited
Position D&I as a strategic driver, not just a soft concern. Quantify its impact by demonstrating how diverse teams drive innovation, accelerate problem-solving, and contribute to increased revenue. Illustrate the effectiveness of D&I with real-world success stories and reputable research findings—for instance, Deloitte's study revealed companies with inclusive cultures were six times more likely to be innovative and agile and twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets. Avoid overwhelming leaders with theoretical concepts. Provide a straightforward, actionable roadmap with measurable goals, clear timelines, and assigned ownership. Ensure it's easily understood, tangible, and feasible.
A fifth crucial step to communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership is to seek feedback and dialogue. Communication is not a one-way process, but a two-way interaction that involves listening, understanding, and responding. Therefore, you need to seek feedback and dialogue from senior leaders, and invite them to share their opinions, questions, concerns, and suggestions. You also need to listen to their feedback and dialogue, and address their issues, doubts, and objections. You also need to acknowledge their support and recognition, and express your gratitude and appreciation.
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Jannie Frydling Petersen
In my experience, it's key to take solid notes and follow up proactively on the feedback and dialogue you engage in. It's key for the senior leadership to see you as a trusted advisor and knowledge partner and see that you remember what you talk about and that it matters to you. That doesn't mean you have to take action on everything - but simply that you understand them, their priorities and are ready to help when needed. Understanding the different needs for managers in terms of their preference for feedback and dialogue will also be key. Make it as easy for them as possible to engage and you are one step ahead.
A sixth and final step to communicate diversity and inclusion to senior leadership is to follow up and follow through. Communication is not a one-time event, but a continuous and ongoing process that requires consistency and commitment. Therefore, you need to follow up and follow through with senior leaders, and keep them updated, informed, and engaged. You also need to deliver on your promises and expectations, and show the results and impact of your D&I initiatives. You also need to celebrate the successes and achievements, and recognize the contributions and efforts of senior leaders and others.
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Jannie Frydling Petersen
I would advise to plan much more time for this than many do. This is where you can achieve real impact. But also be aware to help out and support if any of the initiatives are not panning out as planned or require adjustments. Changing takes time.
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