New international diversity and inclusion standard: a perspective from a professional I&D consultant

Sue Johnson is the Managing Partner of the Inclusion & Diversity Consulting Practice at a leading global executive search company, Odgers Berndtson, where she helps clients become demonstrably more inclusive.

We asked her to offer a perspective on BS ISO 30415:2021 Human resource management. Diversity and inclusion.
What does she see as the key points of the standard? And what are her insights on becoming a truly inclusive organisation?

The new standard

“The new international standard on instilling diversity and inclusion in organisations provides a structured, yet flexible framework to enable organisations to achieve real inclusion and diversity. Regardless of their size, geographical reach, sector, or maturity.
“Of particular note, is the robust focus on the following key points.”

Business case for I&D 

“Many clients we work with focus all I&D efforts within “the 4 walls” of their organisation, i.e. their workforce. To truly reap the benefits of I&D, organisations need to engage partners up and down their value chain, from suppliers through to the end users of products and services.

“Importantly, this standard clearly outlines how to ensure the holistic business and societal benefits of I&D are realised, with clear guidance on the need to actively engage and empower individuals to act at every touch point within the organisation.”

Holding leaders accountable

“Recent research from McKinsey and LeanIn makes it clear that for those companies that hold leaders accountable for I&D, there is a stark difference between the roles and responsibilities of their leaders and managers.

“For example, 71% of leaders are expected to share diversity results within their organisation compared to 31% of managers. An inclusive culture starts with the “tone at the top”. However, the majority of hiring decisions and the working culture of a team is set by the manager. A key highlight of the standard is section 6.4, everyone is responsible for I&D.” 

Holistic employee lifecycle 

“Many I&D initiatives focus on recruitment. This is key as it is one of the fastest ways to shift the demographics of an organisation.

“Research has shown how we as human beings are implicitly biased to want to work with people similar to us (affinity bias). So, it is crucial to ensure interventions are in place to mitigate behavioural and systemic bias. Organisations are also increasingly focussing on performance management, the outcome of which has an impact on who is promoted and reward levels. 

Moments that matter

“The ISO standard expands these key “moments that matter” to the full suite of nine points of the employee lifecycle. This attention to detail ensures that the unwritten rules of the game are not hampering the progress of employees. For example, by assessing the learning and development strategy to ensure that access is fair and equitable to all.

“We all know there are certain training courses that are a rite of passage to senior leadership – the steps laid out in section 8.6 ensure potential bias is mitigated through participant selection. “

Constant communication 

“Often, organisations have a very big launch at the start of their I&D journey. The CEO introduces the topic in the town hall sessions, posters are placed on all noticeboards, screensavers are shared, and energy is palpable through the organisation. Over time, without constant reinforcement and reminders, we can’t help but go back to our day job, assuming HR will be responsible for achieving the targets that were mentioned.

"Becoming a truly inclusive organisation takes time and commitment, and this needs to be reinforced through a structured omni-channel communication plan, not a “one and done” launch. This approach is covered through clear internal and external communication and commitment, e.g. including I&D in the company’s annual report.” 

Taking a structured approach 

“A structured approach to preparing for this robust assessment is key – i.e. starting with an understanding of the facts today (section 7.3 of the standard).

“It is important to assess the current situation regarding the level of I&D in your workforce, from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. The process is like “peeling the onion” of an organisation’s workforce demographics to understand where the leaks and blockages are in specific groups of talent.  Where extensive data is available, it is important to look at the intersectionality impact. For example, many organisations have a “broken rung” within their career ladder - the step from individual contributor to manager.”

Are there demographic inequalities?

“It is vital to address demographic inequalities. For example, are women and men being promoted at the same rate, are they spending the same amount of time in feeder roles? Or, are black African men being promoted at the same rate as men from India? This enables organisations to assess whether they are providing equal opportunities for all. 

“It is also essential to review the lived experience of an organisation’s workforce to assess the level of its inclusive culture (section 7 of the standard) through a structured methodology of focus groups and leadership interviews. This identifies the “Powerful truths” from a workforce, including what is working well and what needs to change.” 

Tackling unconscious bias

“HR policies and practices are designed to be inclusive to all. However, we know unconscious bias can be hard to see if everyone is looking at a policy through the same lens.

“For example, we’ve worked with a client who stipulated that to be identified as a high potential group talent, they had to have a minimum of five years’ work experience and so set an age minimum of 30. When we pointed out the different life cycles of men and women at that age, they couldn’t believe that they had unintentionally excluded women. This was the complete opposite of what they were focussed on achieving i.e. increasing the representation of women in senior leadership!

“With that in mind, it is important to carry out a review of your HR policies and practices through an I&D lens to ensure equality for all the nine employee life stages. 

“And finally, inclusion is a conscious choice. However, all the good people we work with are not going to be more inclusive tomorrow unless they are provided with the knowledge, skills, and frameworks to foster a working environment where everyone can bring their whole selves to work.

“In our experience, it requires high-impact, memorable, and fun training, tailored to different levels of the organisation and industry. That will have the effect of ensuring that your workforce is comfortable with I&D, your people leaders are confident with I&D topics, and your change ambassadors become true knowledge experts.

“All of this can be effectively aligned with BS ISO 30415:2021 to put your organization in a position to approach accreditation with confidence. “

Read more about BS ISO 30415:2021, and diversity and inclusion:

• Eight steps in developing a diversity and inclusion strategy for your small business.
• “Being inclusive opens up new opportunities.” We talk to diversity and inclusion expert, Kevin Bowsher

For any questions about standards to support your approach to Diversity and Inclusion, BSI members can get in touch with the Knowledge Centre’s information experts. Just one of the benefits of BSI Membership.