By: Mary L Bennett, CEC, CIA, MBA The accounting, consulting and legal professions, as well as many other financial services professions, have been working on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) challenges and opportunities for decades. Many organizations led the way beginning with a focus on improving gender diversity. Increasingly organizations have moved or are moving to a broader definition of diversity and inclusion defined by gender, ethnicity, age, generation, religion, sexual orientation and many more aspects of our differences and similarities as human beings. The business focus on inclusion is driven by the perfect storm of increased demand for professionals which is outpacing the supply. Societal shifts are also pushing DEI change. Some reasons for the perfect storm gap in the supply of accountants and other professionals: 1-Unprecedented retirement numbers 2-High turnover and a shortage of talent in the marketplace 3-Changing demographics in the US not mirrored in the profession; risking increasing irrelevance of the profession 4-Ambiguity or outright lack of attractiveness of traditional long term career paths in the profession What are the firms of the future doing to prepare for this storm through their diversity and inclusion strategies? 1- Effective firms deeply understand, document and communicate their firm's customized business case for investing resources in the attraction, retention and advancement of those who bring elements of diversity to the firm. All levels of the firm should be considered especially the leadership ranks. A more inclusive culture includes diversity of thought at the leadership level in order to accomplish truly effective DEI and its associated benefits. 2-Successful firms use their customized business case as a starting point to accurately diagnose their firm and its evolution toward building a more diverse equitable, and inclusive organization. Often getting clear on commonly used terms and definitions is a starting point in the diagnostic process. Diversity is a reflection of the actual ranks of the organization along the dimensions of diversity such as gender, ethnicity, age, etc. Equity is not about treading everyone the same but about ensuring everyone has equitable access to opportunity within the culture. Inclusiveness is the degree to which the organization successfully integrates and leverages the uniqueness of its employees, hearing all voices, tapping into the diversity of thought they bring. Inclusiveness is also measured by a sense of belonging and the perception of equitable access among those employees. Understanding where the organization is in terms of maturity, and therefore readiness for strategy implementation, is essential to avoid significant mis steps. A common example of such a mis step is the attempted implementation of educational programming before the business case and strategic context is solidly in place. In this situation it is very difficult to obtain buy in from the leadership level and down through the entire organization. The firm may be moving towards outcomes that are not in alignment with where they most need to go from an DEI perspective. Understanding where you want to go, why you want to go there and where you are starting from is essential. 3-Firms effective in building greater diversity, equity and inclusion have a defined and targeted set of strategies that align with the evolutionary readiness of their organization. This always begin with effective business case formation, communication plans and tangible diagnostic preparedness. There are many strategies that can be employed, the firm must understand the foundational elements noted above before selecting strategies. There are always resource challenges, it is critical to engage in the strategies that will most effectively move the firm towards it's vision of success relative to DEI. The diagnostic process will help to avoid pitfalls that can take years to recover from, while moving the firm towards tangible progress. Do not hesitate to contact us at mlbennettconsulting.com for more information. Comments are closed.
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AuthorWelcome to my blog. Thank you for joining me! I am Mary, founder of MLBennett Consulting. The thirty years I have spent working with clients, developing consulting practices, leaders and organizations have led me to strategic outcomes and consistent passions. I am well known in the accounting industry, but also work with professional services firms and corporate clients. I founded the MLBC organization because I am deeply experienced and passionate about the inclusive development of individuals and organizations. I believe our success and sustainability begins with our people and the strategic processes and programs that support their development. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are critical in building a sustainable organization. I hold an MBA, CIA and multiple coaching certifications. Archives
February 2022
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