🔒Building a diverse workforce adds value to your company — here’s how to begin

Q: We know that having a diverse workforce adds value, but where do we start? We live in Maine and there's just not a lot of diversity.

ACE Advises: Building inclusion and leveraging diversity require a well-informed, structured strategy in tandem with agile, committed leaders and skilled change agents.

It's not enough to create an organization's version of Noah's Ark, bringing in “two of each kind.” Diversity, equity and inclusion work (DEI) is about culture change.

All organizations and institutions have their legacies. The choices made in their formation determine their deep structure and culture. Those early decisions are made in service to those who occupy the organizations at the time.

Many challenges associated with greater DEI can be linked to the culture, the invisible architecture of the organization or institution.

To manage the change:

• Accept that emotional resistance, especially anxiety and discomfort, goes with the territory.

• Commit to a long-term change process and not a one-off training program.

• Form a diverse team to lead the initiative, chaired by a member of the executive team. This work must be done in partnership with members of your organization, at all levels.

• Provide training and development for the team to position its members for success.

• Assess your organization's readiness for change; strengthen as needed.

• Transition to a formal start-up phase, beginning with data collection, analysis and feedback.

• Engage stakeholders in developing the strategy.

Repeat this iterative process of acting, collecting data, learning and adapting.

There isn't a roadmap on how you change entrenched cultures and systems. But there is a path and a direction. We must build the road forward by walking it.

Susan M. Gallant can be reached at susan@smgallant.com or www.diversity-i.com