COMMENT To monitor and drive improvement in Savills we have set out in our D&I strategy how we aim to create an inclusive environment where everyone can be the best that they can be. We have done this by structuring activity around six core themes (age, gender, disability, social-economic background, LGBTQ+, and ethnicity). But the truth is that true diversity is the embracement of many facets of human identity that have multiple touch points with these main pillars or go beyond them. These facets may be anything from being cognitively diverse, to having caring responsibilities, to simply aspects of personality that a person senses they need to suppress or hide in order to “fit in” at work, be accepted and progress.
People can’t deliver 100% in the workplace if they feel that only 50% of their self is “allowed” to be seen. If, as an industry, we want our people to be the difference, be innovative, dynamic and entrepreneurial, then we must have a culture that encourages employees to bring their whole selves to work.
It is proven that workplaces benefit from diverse thinking and encouraging our people to share their experiences enables us to ultimately create a better service for our clients.
How to facilitate new ideas
Innovation happens when everyone can contribute insights from their unique and personal experience. If anyone feels like they have to hide or diminish any aspect of their identity, business will suffer. This is because actively suppressing oneself or dealing with feelings of being judged is exhausting and individuals could be otherwise channelling that energy positively into developing new ideas, serving clients better or coming up with new entrepreneurial strategies.
This sounds just like common sense, but for years people have been told to leave their personal lives at the door – that emotions are not professional – to not talk about personal issues or feelings and to focus on work.
The last decade or so has seen people make a conscious effort to dismantle the type of culture where people couldn’t be open. Initiatives such as “Time to Change”, which we have supported since 2017, have focused on making it OK to talk about mental health. Other initiatives such as actively showcasing more D&I role models, and the reverse mentoring of senior management by younger members of staff, giving insight into the real life experience of a greater range of people, has helped contribute to a more honest and accepting working environment and changed attitudes towards what is and what is not acceptable to talk about at work.
In addition, one of the few benefits of Covid-19 and of working from home is that it’s become impossible to hide one’s personal life from work, accelerating further changes. When colleagues can see directly into your home, and likewise you can into theirs on Zoom, barriers between your “business self” and your “personal self” evaporate and it’s near on impossible to prevent some of the “messiness” of your personal life from creeping into the workplace and for facades to slip.
Foster an open culture
I would argue that we’re all the better for it. The huge emotional and psychological impact of the past 12 months has also encouraged a higher level of openness among colleagues than ever before. As everyone, whatever their personal circumstances, is living through the same situation, and given no one can realistically be expected to be truly OK with it, there’s a new level of emotional honesty among teams that wasn’t there before. While we hope that we can return to the office and see the back of Covid-19 as quickly as possible, this new transparency between colleagues and managers is one after-effect that should be retained and encouraged.
Today, more and more team leaders are realising that employees bringing their whole self to work isn’t a corporate programme, it’s a mindset that permeates culture. Of course this doesn’t mean forcing employees into revealing their innermost secrets, and certainly not letting less desirable characteristics pass unchecked (for instance, aggression and bullying behaviour can never be tolerated), but creating a culture that ensures that they can be open about who they are, and what they’re feeling, without facing judgement or sanction. It is about enabling people to feel that they can be genuine and authentic about who and what they are. That way we will build a fully inclusive business.
Noel McGonigle is HR director UK, Europe and Middle East, at Savills
