Dr Louise ParkesDriving Diversity: Developing more inclusive organisations

Voice ProjectNovember 2016 Breakfast Serieswww.voiceproject.comE: enquiries@voiceproject.com

diversity

There is equal opportunity for all staff

Discrimination, bullying, abusive behaviours and sexual harassment are

prevented and discouraged

My supervisor genuinely supports equality between women and men

Gender is not a barrier to success

This organisation has an inclusive culture

diversity climateequity, respect, inclusion

diversity demographicsage, gender, CALD, disability

Driving Diversity

diversity demographicsHow do we engage a diverse workforce?

2006 a decade of diversity demographics 2015

Dougall (2015)

Giving minority

a voice: LGBTI

and non-LGBTI

employees

Langford, Parkes &

Metcalf (2006)

Developing a structural

equation model of

organisational

performance and

employee engagement

Parkes & Langford

(2006) Money or the

Mission? Comparing

drivers of employee

engagement in

commercial and NFP

organisations

Basile & Langford

(2007) Measuring

employee engagement

and a seven-factor

model of work systems

in Australia, the USA

and China

Langford &

Demirian (2007)

The effect of

organisational

performance on

engagement

Parkes & Langford

(2008) Work-life balance

or work-life alignment?

A test of work-life

balance for employee

engagement

Mingo & Langford

(2008) The HRM-

Performance Link:

A longitudinal,

business-unit

investigation

Barrett & Langford (2009)

Do men and women differ

in workplace engagement,

wellbeing and

perceptions of their work

environment?

Parkes (2009)

Supporting

employment

for people with

a disability

Langford (2009)

Measuring organisational

climate and employee

engagement: Evidence for

a “7 Ps” model of work

practices and outcomes

Presbitero &

Langford (2010)

Seven Ps of work

practices and

outcomes:

generalisable or

culture-specific?

Langford, Stewart,

Parkes, & Zhang (2015)

Lessons for improving

engagement, leadership

and culture from large-

scale surveys across the

NSW Public Sector

Langford & Leung

(2015) Generational

differences: Exploring

the drivers of

engagement across

age groups

Driving Diversity

purpose property participation people peace

resources

processes

technology

safety

facilities

passion / engagement

diversity demographics

organisation direction

results focus

mission & values

ethics

role clarity

diversity

leadership

supervision

recruitment & selection

cross-unit cooperation

learning & development

involvement

rewards & recognition

motivation & initiative

teamwork

talent

wellness

work-life balance

flexibility

organisational commitment

job satisfaction

intention to stay

progress

organisation objectives

change & innovation

customer satisfaction

performance appraisal

career opportunities

How do we engage a diverse workforce?

Driving Diversity

purpose property participation people peace

resources

processes

technology

safety

facilities

passion / engagement

organisation direction

results focus

mission & values

ethics

role clarity

diversity

leadership

supervision

recruitment & selection

cross-unit cooperation

learning & development

involvement

rewards & recognition

motivation & initiative

teamwork

talent

wellness

work-life balance

flexibility

organisational commitment

job satisfaction

intention to stay

progressorganisation

objectives

change & innovation

customer satisfaction

performance appraisal

career opportunities

diversity demographicsWe all need to believe, belong and achieve

Driving Diversity

diversity demographicsWomen and minorities tend to be more engaged

60

65

70

75

80

85

20-49 50+ Male Female EFL ESL

2007: Engaging the Mature Aged

2009: Do men and women differ in workplace engagement, wellness & perceptions of the work environment?

30 Australian Universities – English First Language

% E

nga

ged

Driving Diversity

diversity demographics

Feeling like I am helping other

people by doing my job

I feel important and the work gives me something to look

forward to in the week

I love working in the shed

Like earning my own money

Feeling like I can do my

job well

I am given the chance to do something new and challenging and

there is support if you need it

Driving Diversity

diversity demographicsBut engaging minorities can depend on diversity climate

60

65

70

75

80

85

Supported Employment Mainstream Employment

Average Person with a disability

passion / engagement

rewards & recognition

career opportunities

diversity

diversity climate 4 x more important for engaging LGBTI employees

2015: Giving minority a voice: LGBTI & Non-LGBTI employees2009: Supporting employment for people with a disability30 Australian Universities – Employees with a disability

% E

nga

ged

Driving Diversity

diversity climateFour practices that drive more inclusive organisations

SafetyKeeping high levels of health and safety is seen as a priority of the organisation and supported by managers

Results FocusThe organisation has a strong focus on achieving positive results & encourages staff to improve their performance

Recruitment & SelectionKnowing the benefits of employing the ‘right’ people, and being clear about who the ‘right’ people are

FlexibilityEmployees have a say about their work conditions and have work arrangements that meet their needs

Driving Diversity

diversity climateFour practices that drive more inclusive organisations

SafetyKeeping high levels of health and safety is seen as a priority of the organisation and supported by managers

diversity3% 12%6%safety incidents

workers compensation claims

Driving Diversity

diversity climateFour practices that drive more inclusive organisations

FlexibilityEmployees have a say about their work conditions and have work arrangements that meet their needs

wellness passion / engagement

• Age 50+• Women• Employees with disability

Driving Diversity

diversity climateFour practices that drive more inclusive organisations

Recruitment & SelectionKnowing the benefits of employing the “right” people, and being clear about who the “right” people are

• Broad recruitment• Clear criteria• Data driven• Transparent rationale

Driving Diversity

diversity climateFour practices that drive more inclusive organisations

Results FocusThe organisation has a strong focus on achieving positive results & encourages staff to improve their performance

60

65

70

75

80

85

Private Not for Profit Public

Private

Public

NFP

diversity climate

% F

avo

ura

ble

Driving Diversity

diversity climate

62% of people in the workforce

are female

but only 33% of senior roles are

held by women

Female Male

The proportion of female employees decreases as grade increases

<10% agencies had an explicit policy to

• address gender imbalance

• set key performance indicators for gender equality

• consider gender in succession planning

Lessons for improving engagement, leadership and culture from large-scale surveys across the NSW Public SectorAPS 11th Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference, Melbourne, 2-4 July 2015

Driving Diversity

diversityIncreasing workforce diversity lifts potential for high performance, and improving the diversity climate engages employees to fulfil that potential

To support diversity:

Keep working on WHS initiatives

Provide flexible work arrangements

Set diversity goals and measure them

Broaden recruitment and make it easier to select objectively

Driving Diversity