THE HR AND
LEADERSHIP TEAMS
USUALLY THINK THE
WORKFORCE IS MORE
INCLUSIVE THAN IT
ACTUALLY IS.
feature
future of HR will have to face the need for
inclusion of this demographic group.
People also have different lifestyles or
life aspirations that affect their approach to
employment. Many employees are caring
for children, children with special needs
or aging parents, or they just don’t want to
give up their lives for work. They may view
work/life balance as more important than
climbing the corporate ladder.
Many of our HR, compensation and
benefits systems were designed for people
living in two-parent nuclear families with
an expectation of upward mobility with
the same company. That is simply not
the situation we are in anymore. Our HR
systems (compensation, benefits, employee
engagement, talent management, etc.)
need to keep up with the changing demographics
of the workforce and their
different needs, desires and motivations
– in short, the different ways they are included
and engaged.
IS HR WEARING ROSECOLOURED
GLASSES WHEN IT
COMES TO INCLUSION?
An inclusive workplace culture is one that
strives for equity and embraces, respects,
accepts and values differences. The HR
team, along with the leadership of the organization,
has a pivotal role to play in
creating inclusive organizations. However,
evidence suggests that they often don’t see
the need for inclusion as clearly as the rest
of the organization does.
The Canadian Centre for Diversity
and Inclusion (CCDI) has conducted
organizational culture audits and inclusivity
assessments for over 25 Canadian
organizations in multiple sectors and
industries. Often, there is a significant
gap between the perceptions of the HR
and leadership teams, as compared to
the average answers from the rest of the
workforce. That is, the HR and leadership
teams usually think the workforce
is more inclusive than it actually is. This
may be why some people in HR and
leadership don’t consider diversity and
COMMUNICATION
The new key to the C-Suite
• COACHING • WORKSHOPS • ASSESSMENTS
Learn more at:
www.3Vcommunications.ca
22 ❚ SEPTEMBER 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
