An agile approach to Diversity & Inclusion in the workplace
The mission of Collaborative Future is to build a more equitable and fulfilling society for everyone by creating more inclusive spaces and supporting diverse groups to collaborate effectively. Whilst the work I do is not solely about Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) in the workplace, I am often approached by companies that simply wish to get someone in to do a talk with their team on the topic or want to provide out of the box D&I training.
But when I respond with probing questions about the challenges they may actually be facing as an organisation, or talk about how becoming a diverse & inclusive workplace often requires an entire shift in culture and mindset, many companies are put-off by the time, money & people investment needed to truly tackle this problem.
When this has happened I’ve often been shocked by the fear or reticence these companies have towards investing in this space. More often than not I’m speaking to Tech or Digital businesses who don’t bat an eyelid at their teams spending weeks on end A/B testing different buttons or layouts that may or may not result in a fractional increase in things like newsletter conversions. And yet they won’t invest the same energy into tackling something that could dramatically improve productivity, innovation and well-being — all of which are vital to the overall commercial success of a business.
After reflecting on this, and my own experiences of working in tech teams, I realised the difference between how many companies approach developing digital products and services versus how they approach diversity & inclusion or people-related problems is the adoption of agile methodology! Tackling problems or opportunities in an agile and iterative way ultimately feels less risky and costly. It also makes things feel more achievable because big problems are broken down into the smallest possible pieces of work.
So through combining my Product Management knowledge and my knowledge around D&I I’ve developed a collaborative approach for developing a more diverse & inclusive workplace based on Design Sprint methodology and other agile development techniques.
I’ll be talking through the “Design sprint for inclusion” approach as part of the Agile in the Ether conference this Friday. And in line with my open approach to consulting I will share all the slides & resources with my mailing list the week after — so sign up here or follow us on twitter if you are interested in finding out how agile approaches can help you create a more diverse & inclusive workplace.
If you’re interested in working with me you can find out more about my work here: https://tessacooper.com/
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