cover feature
shows the more consistently
all people in
an organization consider their workplace
great, the more that company can outpace
competitors in areas including retention,
extra effort and growth.
GET A POLICY IN PLACE
While creating a more inclusive workplace
is more of a cultural commitment than a
short-lived initiative, there are still concrete
steps an organization can take.
Great Place to Work Canada and Pride
at Work Canada co-authored Beyond
Diversity: An LGBT Best Practice Guide
for Employers, a publication that highlights
several strategies for making a more inclusive
workplace for LGBT employees.
As a first step, the guide points out the
importance of a formal,
written policy
– one that seeks to
protect the entire
LGBT community.
“A lot of organizations
have
policy language
around harassment
and discrimination
as it relates to sexual
orientation, but
ASSEMBLING A GROUP OF EMPLOYEES WITH
DIFFERING EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES
IS REALLY JUST THE FIRST STEP. TO DRIVE
INNOVATION, IMPROVE RETENTION AND
REALIZE ALL THE PROMISE OF A DIVERSE
WORKFORCE, IT TAKES SOMETHING MORE.
no specific language
on gender identity
and gender expression,” said Druhan. “This
leaves out a huge part of the community.”
TRAINING FOR ALL
Organization-wide diversity training is
a fundamental step to help educate employees
on the expected code of conduct
within the organization.
“If employees are receiving that message
regularly and consistently, it will get
through, especially if it’s modeled by the
most senior people in the organization,”
said Grenier.
Google, for example, offers Unconscious
Bias at Work training to all Googlers on
their first day of employment – setting
the tone early to create inclusiveness from
day one.
Beyond the organization-wide education,
people managers require specific
training. BMO, for example, runs a multiyear
program called Learn From Difference,
designed to engage the organization’s
people managers and employees in conversations
about inclusion and to take action
against bias.
“It’s a people manager’s responsibility
to make sure they know the organization’s
discrimination and harassment policies,
and also accept their specific role in ensuring
compliance,” said Grenier. People
managers – rather than HR professionals
– are often the first point of contact
when employees have questions about
such things as health benefits, dress code
or which washroom to use for someone
who has just transitioned.
“The thing I hear over and over again is,
‘I don’t want to say the wrong thing, I don’t
want to offend somebody, so I just won’t
talk about it,’” said Druhan. “The more
people who have the tools to actually have
both its members and the organization
as a whole. The group can provide a social
network, offer a place to develop leadership
skills, help foster new recruits and
help acclimate onboarding employees.
Managed effectively, these groups can also
provide valuable direction for business
development.
“Using ERGs to really inform your
practices, making that a two-way dialogue,
can help you find out from the members’
perspectives what doesn’t feel fair or inclusive
about the workplace,” said Grenier.
ERGs can also help an organization
identify the right spokespeople to help
cascade a message to particular areas of
the business.
“If you’re working in a unionized environment,
for
example, we’re seeing
much greater
success when we
pass on material to
the actual union itself
or the union
reps,” said Druhan.
“In some organizations,
there’s a real
hesitancy to take
training that comes
directly from HR,
so sometimes it’s
about finding those people in the organization,
at all levels, who can be champions
for this type of work and can speak to
people in a way that’s gong to make sense
to them.”
NOTE WHO ISN’T REPRESENTED
Within both the ERGs and the company as
whole, HR should consider whether there’s
representation for all of the LGBT community.
Research finds many organizations
have made progress in terms of diversity
and inclusion when it comes to sexual orientation,
but often fall short when it comes
to supporting employees with diverse gender
identities and expressions.
Statistics also show significant unemployment
and underemployment for
trans Canadians, which can compound
the problem.
“If trans people are kept out of the
workforce, they’re not there to be champions
on the issues that challenge them,”
said Druhan.
effective conversations and ask and answer
questions in a thoughtful, confident and
respectful way, the more progress we’ll see
on this.”
Beyond Diversity points out that recruiting
and hiring staff may need special
training, too, with a particular focus on unconscious
bias. Job postings, for example,
may use gendered language or applicants
might be discounted for wearing clothing
not considered “gender appropriate.”
A candidate might be perceived poorly in
a phone interview because their voice or
way of speaking doesn’t match cultural assumptions.
Or a recruiter might not know
how to handle conversations with references
who aren’t aware of a candidate’s
gender transition (and who knew them as
another gender, with another name).
ENGAGE YOUR
RESOURCE GROUPS
An employee resource group (ERG) for
LGBT-identified workers can benefit
18 ❚ MARCH 2017 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL