Business Leaders interview - DE&I - Jeremy Buckle

DEI LEADERSHIP & VISION

How would you define diversity, equity and inclusion, and why are they important to you as a leader?

To me, DEI is formalising grown up emotional intelligence and self-awareness in a modern interconnected world. A mid 40's white male It means you are smart enough to take advantage of all the benefits it brings to your firm, your job and your lived experience.  I still see today companies today I have worked with (briefly) that completely fail to adopt DEI and are on a very quick road to leadership failures. 

How have you incorporated DE&I into your organisation's culture?

In convening communities, its often those who are the primary adopters of DEI that will partner with you to bring these networks together. So, from sales, content, operations DEI is in the DNA of every programme’s success path. This is regardless of industry or geography. 

Has there been a moment or experience that significantly shaped your views on DE&I?

World leaders can learn a lot from the youth of today. In the youth education programmes I have worked on The Big Bang Fair and YoMo, i have seen young people blind to the barriers and come together in ways that blow you away. What these many examples showed to me was that DE&I isn't about just fighting for the inclusion, acceptance and appreciation of specific groups of people, but identifying our humanity in a world where that becomes harder and harder to find each day. 

BUSINESS STRATEGY

How do you measure progress toward your DE&I goals?

Honest, anonymous feedback from your teams every one of them. More importantly form your audience. build this into all customer surveys and reporting. Be sure to reflect decision makers as well as community members. Those members will be tomorrow’s decision makers. 

How do you ensure that your DE&I initiatives are aligned with your overall business objectives?

Make sure that the DE&I initiatives are authentic, are relevant and impactful to the communities your audience operates in. DE&I is not just for your staff, it’s for all your stakeholders and customers. 

In your business, what role does the leadership team play in promoting and sustaining DE&I?

They are all ambassadors and facilitators of the programmes and have clear understanding how these initiatives help achieve our objectives - including financial targets. It may be a longer-term ROI, but if the programme is created correctly, you can measure and track that return. 

RECRUITMENT 

What strategies do you use to attract and recruit a diverse workforce?

Look for change makers and the same role in other sectors. The cross fertilisation of ideas, systems and processes will make the role rewarding for them and you and increase your DE&I engagement. Make sure the roles have full disclosure, not just role profiles and job function, but be clear on the importance and the impact the role will have in achieving company goals. Those who see meaning and purpose in the role are more likely to connect and resonate to your DE&I objectives. 

How do you ensure that the hiring process across your company is fair and unbiased?

Make sure that those interviewing aren't just the immediate team, arrange one interview with key internal stakeholders that can assess not just on job function and suitability but the social and wider human capital investment that they will make to the firm. 

Can you share examples of successful initiatives that have improved diversity in your hiring practices?

Advertise in the usual places but also in the communities in which you want representation. So parallel sectors trade publications where transferable skills can bring different viewpoints. The community publications for instance of specific ethnic communities, LGBTQIA communities. While the hit rate here may be low it’s going to be better quality and the cost for advertising is often next to nothing. 

Sweat your networks. Peer to peer referrals are the most effective (time, money and outcome) of them all. Ask your team to ask their friends and their community groups if they know people. 

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION

How do you support the career development of employees from underrepresented groups?

People want more out of a job than just a pay check. These takeaways are often varied but not necessarily expensive to implement. From skill development, network and profile enhancement, greater work life balance, and job / role security. It is usually time that is required more than anything. So, listening first to what they want, being honest and recognising when you don' t have the solution internally but are prepared to go outside for it will be appreciated more than simply not providing it or providing the wrong solution all together. So, drawing off your network (outside of the company if needed) to ensure they have the right mentors, the right support helps will ensure they are developed effectively and build loyalty with them. 

How can we ensure that, in the workplace, all employees have equal opportunities for advancement?

Recognise and measure on talent and contribution and ensure that you have a diverse assessment team. Ensure these are measured through traditional and nontraditional frameworks. Nontraditional frameworks will usually include a more even split of direct and indirect contributions to success. I have seen many large and small companies invest heavily in recruiting in DE&I, but still assess those staff on their outdated talent frameworks. You really are just doing half the job with the same outcome if not worse with a higher turnover and greater dissatisfaction.  

CULTURE

What can businesses do so that all their employees feel equally valued and respected?

Listen in small authentic feedback sessions. There is nothing worse than forcing staff to join a 50-person feedback virtual meeting with no one willing to be the one that speaks up. Make sure when you do listen, you actually hear what they say and update them on the follow through.   

Do you have a policy in place to address and prevent discrimination and harassment?

Yes, training courses with refresher modules done on line and in groups regularly.  

Do you encourage open dialogue about diversity and inclusion among employees?

Yes, we have a staff driven advisory team that feeds back and encourage the employee discord.  

CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS

Have you faced challenges in your DE&I efforts and were they difficult to overcome? Please share some examples if you can

When trying to adopt DE&I initiatives within event programmes, even with an impressive measurement tool, in place- many senior managements are reticent to take the risk for fear of being seen publicly as failing in DE&I.