LeadershipHQ Magazine February 2015 1st Edition

THE PATHWAY TO TALENT NEUTRALITY Mike Beeley, CEO Reagent Like many well-meaning phrases, acronyms and words that have entered the HR vernacular over the years, Diversity may have fallen victim of overuse, misuse and abuse. The following chart shows the key steps on this pathway from Diversity to Inclusion: 1. ACHIEVE GENDER REPRESENTATION The sad fact is that, for many in Australia, Diversity has become synonymous with workforce participation ratios of females, and to a lesser extent how organisations meet their legal and moral obligations around Indigenous employment. 2. MIX AGE AND ETHNICITY 3. INCLUDE GLBT AND DISABILITIES Most people agree though that Diversity goes far beyond numbers, and in fact quotas can often shift the problem of alienation and exclusion from one demographic to DQRWKHU© 7KHUH© LV© QR© HDV\© ½[© RU© ³HQGõJRDO´© WKDW© D© ZRUG© OLNH© Diversity implies, as it is unlikely to change the behaviour of organisations or individuals in any way. There is growing opinion that we require a new word to describe the journey we need to take, not the destination we need to reach, and that word is Inclusion. Inclusion is the premise that we must embed diverse thinking and participation into our organisation to be able to deliver truly diverse solutions to our customers, staff and stakeholders. The shape of the solution depends on the shape of the challenge, and therefore the team that creates WKH©VROXWLRQ©VKRXOG©UH¾HFW©WKDW Our focus should be on talent, not the package it comes in. We QHHG©WR©DWWUDFW©DQG©UHWDLQ©WKH©EHVW©ZRUNIRUFH©IRU©RXU©VSHFL½F© challenges, and along the way remove the barriers which get in the way of diverse thinking, such as quotas, unconscious ELDV©DQG©D©ODFN©RI©DZDUHQHVV©RI©VSHFL½F©WDOHQW©JURXSV DIVERSITY 4. REMOVE UNCONSCIOUS BIAS 5. COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVATION 6. ENGAGE TARGET AUDIENCES 7. TALENT NEUTRALITY INCLUSION © Copyright Reagent 2015. Now of course female participation is the most obvious and sizable problem most organisations are currently experiencing, and solutions such as targeting returning mums, current expatriate females and even adjusting our sourcing channels to female-friendly media are all great initiatives. But their success may be compromised by the prevailing culture of the organisation, and until that is addressed we will continue to struggle with our quotas. ,W´V© QRW© D© TXLFNõ½[© DQG© LW© FHUWDLQO\© ZRQ´W© EH© ZLWKRXW© LWV© GLI½FXOWLHV©DQG©HYHQ©LWV©REVWDFOHV©EXW©LW©LV©SUREDEO\©WKH©RQO\© sustainable way an organisation can achieve an authentic and believable approach to being truly Talent Neutral. The talent behind the talent. At Reagent we help Queensland companies attract and retain talent, whether they’re from overseas or homegrown. Better still, we help employers identify what makes them a great place to work and find the most effective ways to communicate this to prospects. For further details call 07 3666 0330. reagent.com.au EVP EMPLOYER BRANDING DIGITAL SOCIAL MEDIA TALENT MAPPING DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT MARKETING CONSULTANCY STAFF COMMS INTEGRATED MEDIA STRATEGY

LeadershipHQ Magazine February 2015 1st Edition | Page 19