Workforce diversity isn’t just a bumper sticker. It’s about good business. It’s about innovation. And it’s about winning teams and organizational success. Top-tier CEO’s agree: innovation is a product of diverse perspectives and inclusive participation.
DIVERSITY & INNOVATION
Frédéric Rozé, CEO of L’Oréal USA said, “Diversity fosters creativity. We need to generate the best ideas from our people in all levels of the company and incorporate them into our business practices.” Eileen Taylor of Deutsche Bank said, “Diverse teams and companies make better decisions.” And Former Procter & Gamble CEO (and business-savvy Secretary of the Veterans Affairs) once said that at “Proctor and Gamble we believe that diversity isn’t just a strategy, it’s absolutely a necessity. . . . we believe that diversity is absolutely critical to our ability to innovate.”
President Obama’s Executive Order (E0) 13583 of August 18, 2011, advances on that principle of diversity, inclusion, innovation, and organizational success. “Our Nation derives strength from the diversity of its population and from its commitment to equal opportunity for all,” the President begins. “We are at our best when we draw on the talents of all parts of our society, and our greatest accomplishments are achieved when diverse perspectives are brought to bear to overcome our greatest challenges.” EO 13583 directs Federal agencies to “to develop and implement a more comprehensive, integrated, and strategic focus on diversity and inclusion as a key component of their human resources strategies.”
And so they did. And so OPM measured their success.
INCLUSION QUOTIENT
In response to the President’s Executive Order, OPM developed for the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) the New Inclusion Quotient, or New IQ. The New IQ measures organizations’ “behaviors that help create an inclusive environment and is built on the concept that repetition of inclusive behaviors will create positive habits among team members and managers. . . . Workplace inclusion is a contributing factor to both employee engagement and organizational performance.”
FEVS highlights Federal agencies notable for their fair, open, cooperative, supportive, and empowering inclusive environments, and it ties organization success along those lines to the ways managers, leaders, and cultures promote diversity, leverage it for the good of the agency. If you like that idea, look to FEVS when you’re looking for your next job.
HIGH IQs
What do the Departments of the Air Force, Justice, Agriculture, and Treasury have in common? Those Federal very large agencies (>75,000 employees) are at the head of the line when it comes to FEVS New Inclusion Quotient. Some have skyrocketed to the top, increasing their IQ health by 10 points or more. Standing with them are the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (10,000 to 74,999 employees), the Federal Trade Commission (1,000 to 9,999), the Federal Labor Relations Authority (100 to 999), and the Marine Mammal Commission (<100 employees).
And if you’re looking for opportunities to help organizations succeed as they work their way to the top, take a look at Homeland Security, Energy, the Government Services Administration, and the National Archives and Records Administration. The International Boundary and Water Commission jumped by 15 points, and the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission by 16 points.
So if you appreciate the powerful potential of workforce diversity and organizational cultures that promote inclusion as important means to innovation and organizational success, then the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) can help find a place for you among our Federal agencies.
