Policymaking is a vital organizational method of directing employee behavior.
Policymaking is a vital organizational method of directing employee behavior. Some policies establish expectations of how employees should behave while other policies establish consequences if employees don’t follow the expected behavior. Implementing and maintaining a successful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Policy can be a challenge in today’s workplace, and efforts to promote one may be met with resistance. Because of this, it’s helpful to know the best practices for DEI policymaking, including methods for communicating, mentoring, sponsoring, and educating employees for optimal policy engagement.
In this Promoting a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy course, we’ll explore policymaking and how to communicate and address employee concerns. You’ll learn about mentoring and sponsoring and their roles in inclusive succession planning. We’ll also review three questions that can help inform what educational resources would best support your company in DEI competency. By the end of this course, you will know how to promote an effective DEI policy in your organization.
Learning Objectives
- Learn the difference between mentoring and sponsoring
- Identify resources to best support your company in DEI competency
- Know how to address employee concerns regarding DEI planning
What You'll Learn
- Distinguish between mentoring and sponsoring and their roles in inclusive succession planning
- Identify educational resources that best support your company's DEI competency
- Address employee concerns regarding DEI planning
- Communicate a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Policy effectively to employees
- Apply best practices for DEI policymaking to promote an effective policy in your organization
Key Takeaways
- Policymaking is a vital organizational method of directing employee behavior, with some policies setting behavioral expectations and others establishing consequences.
- Implementing and maintaining a successful DEI Policy can be challenging and efforts to promote one may be met with resistance.
- Best practices for DEI policymaking include communicating, mentoring, sponsoring, and educating employees for optimal policy engagement.
- Mentoring and sponsoring play distinct roles in inclusive succession planning.
- Three questions can help inform what educational resources would best support a company in DEI competency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I learn in this course?
You will learn the difference between mentoring and sponsoring, how to identify resources to best support your company in DEI competency, and how to address employee concerns regarding DEI planning. By the end, you will know how to promote an effective DEI policy in your organization.
What topics does this course cover?
The course covers policymaking, communicating and addressing employee concerns, the roles of sponsoring and mentoring in inclusive succession planning, and reviewing three questions that help inform which educational resources would best support your company in DEI competency.
Who is this course for?
This course is for those responsible for implementing and maintaining a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy who want to know the best practices for DEI policymaking and how to promote an effective DEI policy in their organization.
What lessons are included?
The course includes lessons on Policymaking, Communicating, Sponsoring and Mentoring, Educating, and a Test Your Knowledge assessment.
Transcript
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(bright music) Welcome to promoting a diversity, equity, and inclusion policy. In these lessons, we'll address diversity, equity, and inclusion policymaking and how to proactively communicate and address employee concerns. You'll also learn the difference between mentoring and sponsoring, and their role in inclusive succession planning. We'll also review three questions that can help inform what educational resources would best support your company in DEI competency. Policymaking is an organizational method of directing employee behavior. Some policies establish expectations of how employees should behave. Other policies establish consequences if employees don't follow the expected behavior. For example, a dress code is a policy that defines parameters for what type of appearance is expected. If an employee does not behave in the expected way, there are other policies outlining consequences like an employee accountability process. To understand sound policymaking, consider the psychological equation: Behavior is a function of a person as impacted by their environment or B equals f times the quantity P and E. Kurt Lewin developed this equation from research on human behavior and concluded that someone's behavior is impacted by two things: who they are and where they are. In his definition, P, or person, includes their history, personality, values, and motivations, and E, or environment, includes both physical and social surroundings. For example, you can consider the organizational DEI policies, initiatives, and trainings you may have been resistant to in the past. What was it that made you feel resistant? How did you respond to that resistance? If you were vocal about it, how did your organization respond to your resistance? And how did that response impact your future behavior? In this example, your answers to these questions are an example of B equals F times the quantity of P and E because your behavior of resistance was a function of you as a person impacted by your work environment. Consider a scenario. Killian is a human resources generalist who has just received an email from his director tasking him with research options for a more robust demographic tracking across the employee experience so that the company can assess diversity. He takes a few seconds to think about it, appearing to be frustrated, and then he somewhat aggressively types back. What are some conclusions you drew from Killian's behavior in this example? It's possible that you judge Killian's behavior negatively assuming he is opposed to DEI, or maybe you agreed with him because you disagreed with the policy he's been asked to implement, or feel that you can't question anything related to diversity at your company either, or maybe you assume something completely different as your behavior was influenced by your own personhood and environment. Let's consider what Killian was thinking and how he responded. Killian was thinking, "No one even consulted me about this request. Do they know how busy I am? Of course, they don't. They never ask. How am I going to do this and everything else I have to do? I bet this was just something my boss didn't wanna do, and now I'm stuck with it. It's about diversity, so how I feel doesn't matter anyway. I'll have to get it done if I don't want to get fired." After his inner monologue, Killian simply replies with, "I'll get it done." According to his thoughts, Killian believes that his director will pass off work they don't want to do to their employees. He's not surprised that he wasn't consulted in the development of the initiative or that his workload wasn't considered. He ultimately decides that resisting and questioning are not worth it because questioning diversity initiatives or not completing requests from his supervisor will get him fired. Among other things, Killian's thoughts show us that he doesn't feel valued, included, or that he's being treated fairly. And he especially doesn't feel that he can question anything related to diversity. Whether influenced by his team, department, or company as a whole, Killian's environment is not one of trust and buy-in, and that will likely be reflected in his performance and retention.
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