Predixa, an award-winning, AI-driven, growth strategy company, in partnership with Bhavior, an organisation that creates trusted working environments, recently led a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) focused event. The event highlighted the financial, social, and psychological benefits of diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces and shared ways that make a business more DE&I-driven.
Notable speakers shed light on the critical business aspects that can uniquely benefit from a culture based on values of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness and the ways that DE&I can be measured and incorporated within the fabric of the company.
DE&I, when done right, impacts all areas of business: from brand reputation, talent acquisition and retention to revenue growth, profitability, and innovation. However, to put it into effect, board-level ownership of the change is critical.
The Positive Impact of Inclusive Organisations
Predixa’s CEO Paula Newby spoke about DE&I’s positive impact on the KPIs of inclusive organisations such as operating results, return on equity, performance, and profitability – all of which are seen to ascend.
“We have seen that DE&I often remains a low priority on the agendas of most companies and the key reason for this is the often unknown or under-analysed, company-wide benefits that can potentially be gained as a result of its implementation.
A lack of DEI-relevant metrics, an understanding of its potential benefits and a dearth of leadership support in the area are the main barriers to the effectiveness of such initiatives.
Data confirms that diverse teams, meaning teams that have age, gender, and geographic diversity, make better decisions 87% of the time, and bring 60% better results compared to companies that aren’t DE&I focused.”
The Impact on Customer Loyalty
Inclusive organisations also have a much stronger impact on customers who are found to be 60% more loyal and 50% more willing to pay a premium for a product or service. At the same time, for organisations to enjoy the far-reaching advantages of DE&I, board-level ownership is critical. This means being accountable to internal and external stakeholders, gathering the right soft and hard data from various parts of the business, and encouraging company-wide involvement at the management level is vital to make change happen.
Inclusive Language and Communication
According to Drs. Joyce Carols, Bhavior CEO and a trusted advisor on People, Culture, and Leadership, one of the key tenets of DE&I is an inclusive language that acknowledges diversity, conveys respect, is sensitive to uniqueness, and promotes equal opportunities.
“Communication that is free from stereotypes, subtle discrimination, and negative messages can only occur in a psychologically safe context where integrity & ethics are the core foundation.
Inclusive language is about choosing to communicate with care and with the utmost regard for the perspective and feelings of others. It is one of the main ways that feelings of inclusiveness can be grown.”
She added that this communication must encompass spoken language, text-based verbal and non-verbal communication, and visuals, and should be suitable for the education level of the recipient, their ethnicity, gender, and generation. Inclusive culture ensures that people feel valued and listened to, are treated equitably, and are empowered to achieve their full potential.
The one-day event held at Mawaheb saw representation from companies such as Etihad, FedEx Express, Accenture, Trane Technologies and other tier-1 firms from across the Middle East and shows the high level of interest, commitment and desire to implement best practices of DE&I in the region.
