And I’m not talking healthcare benefits or an on-site gym. How healthy is the variety of your workforce? You might have diversity and inclusion-focused hiring practices; run workshops on unconscious biases, keep an eye on your men/women ratio and even have a Head of People and Happiness or a Diversity and Inclusion person on board. Despite all the effort, your diversity issues might still be deeper than they seem. Is your diversity check-up long overdue?
It’s not all about women
Organizations who focus on a diverse team see better results. What’s a diverse team, really? Contrary to a popular opinion on biological differences between men and women that determine career outcomes that former Google engineer James Damore outlined in his infamous memo that got him fired, study after study shows that women and men are “far more similar than they are different” and having a workforce where men and women play equal roles has to be a given.
Workplace diversity goes so much further than that, with gender, age, race, ethnic and cultural background, personality, and education being the tip of the diversity iceberg. Not to mention that not only these groups have to be equally represented in diverse teams: they have to be equally rewarded.
Is Pay Equity the Answer?
When I was a Partner at PwC, I was heavily focused on equity compensation issues. Equity plans can impact employees worldwide and, if designed properly, can indeed motivate and retain employees. It can go wrong however if senior management doesn’t understand their diverse groups’ needs. My long-term plan is to help senior managers work cultures that encourage employees to become active participants in their company’ success and to see the benefits from these contributions. Equity is a tool – helping companies implement a culture that sees results from their people policies is a wonderful reward.
Diversity and Variety
HR needs to understand that a diverse workforce requires variety when it comes to compensation, benefits and perks. So often I see a program that is made for everyone, with maybe changes for the senior management team. We need to ensure that all employees are provided with the choices that make sense for their stage in their life. Choices can be provided without extreme cost, and I’m on a mission to show you how.
My Promise
As I join Nua Group today as a Partner, my promise is to help companies understand their true diversity challenges (even when one might think that their company is diversity-issues-free), and work on solutions that truly work and make a long-lasting strategic impact.
With our team of experienced consultants and the ability to be nimble, creative and fun to work with, I can’t pick any other firm that can bring such a strong team to work with and I cannot wait to get my hands dirty.
Let’s talk!
Does your company have challenges with your employees? If something is keeping you up at night or you are getting consistent feedback from your employee populations, whether it’s local or global, get in touch and we can work together through a solution that can make true positive impact.
About the author
Carine Schneider was a Partner at Nua Group. Carine was named one of the 100 Influential Women in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley Business Journal and one of 17 Women to Watch in 2017 by Brown Brothers Harriman Center on Women and Wealth. She is the founder of Global Equity Organization where she served as Chair of the Board for 18 years and is now Chair Emeritus.