The skill set to influence senior management is a key to success for any HR professional. There are a number of skills that make up the full range of tools that can be used to influence decisions. One the most valuable tools is building the business case for change.

In this month's Instep, we discuss some of the factors that can be used when building the business case for change using Diversity as a case model.

Diversity - the business case

At a recent function held in Melbourne by The Next Step, building the business case for a strong diversity management strategy was discussed.

Clearly, everyone in HR understands the importance of a diverse workforce and management team. The improvements in organisational performance of organisations that have a diverse leadership team versus those that do not are well documented.

Therefore, HR professionals believe that a diverse management team makes sense for sound business reasons, but the evidence still needs to be "packaged" in a way for executives to assimilate it.

A leading practitioner in Human Capital Consulting, Virginia Matthews of consulting firm Diverzita spoke at the function alongside senior executive and board member, Karen Smith-Pomeroy. Both Virginia and Karen have experienced career success and know the true value of a diverse leadership team, but they dealt with resistance along the way.

Virginia has extensive experience in positioning the business case for a strong Diversity strategy through her prior career in financial services and now across all industries in her consulting role.

The 10 factors to consider

Virginia proposed 10 clear factors to consider when influencing the case for a strong Diversity strategy;

  1. Staff turnover - cost of turnover ($$, knowledge, reputation) - retention is a key issue for most businesses. Providing an engaging and motivating workplace for all employees, not just the dominant culture, is a key to retention.
  2. Personalised performance measures - if it's important enough to the organisation, it needs to be in individuals' performance plans - if leaders are assessed and remunerated on the basis of demonstrating the right behaviours, there will be a heightened focus on changing their approach to building a supportive workplace for diverse employees.
  3. Peer pressure - sometimes leaders get to where they are because they thrive on competition, don't be afraid to use a bit of healthy internal competition (or marketplace competition) to get leaders taking ownership for activities relating to diversity.
  4. Personal impact and brand - some leaders will be keen to build their reputation and may be eager to take the lead in this space to enhance their reputation.
  5. Compliance/legal - at times a 'carrot and stick' approach is required, sometimes the threat of the stick - ie legal action due to bullying and harassment claims - will be enough for organisations or individuals to take action.
  6. Policy/ Practices & systems - get the basics right, and ensure your processes, policies and systems are supportive of the diverse community - don't let minor issues become a major blockage for people entering or moving through the organisation.
  7. Revenue - value of different markets - understanding the market in which your organisation operates and then ensuring you are supportive of those markets is key. Differentiate yourself from your competitors to get competitive advantage by the way you treat your diverse employees and customers.
  8. Brand management - building not only an employment brand, but an organisational brand
    that is supportive of our diverse community is going to help you not only attract but retain both employees and customers.
  9. Technology - flexible work arrangements are a key component of a modern organisation - social media and technology are now a cheap and relatively easy enabler of flexibility.
  10. Future success - organisations will need to consider whether their current paradigm of what it takes to be successful in an organisation is going to be sustainable into the future ... if organisations don't open up their doors to a broader range of people and a broader range of thought, they will find it more and more difficult to sustain a viable employee group.

The Final Word

Whilst these factors that Virginia has distilled can be used to build and influence the business case for a strong Diversity strategy, they can also be used as a basis to influence a wider range of HR initiatives.

The development of a tool kit that can use factors like these to build a business case is a key skill for intermediate HR professionals looking to build their careers. They are also a good reminder and checklist for senior HR professionals. Virginia can be contacted via her website - www.diverzitaconsulting.com