On Monday, July 8, RBC I&TS hosted our Diversity Network on strategic anchoring. 25 participants had the opportunity to learn more about some good practices for integratingdiversity management into the organization's overall strategy.
The starting point for a successfuldiversity management policy is a common definition of diversity that corresponds to the culture of the organisation and the conviction and commitment of top management. Indeed, whatever the type of structure, it is necessary to make an inventory of the situation and to identify the objectives to be achieved as well as the means at disposal to achieve them. Integrating these ambitions into the organisation's overall strategy strengthens adherence to the shared vision. The challenge then resides in implementing and monitoring this strategy with the support of top management.
Resource persons are therefore necessary in this process to communicate the message: they are key actors in strategically anchoring diversity within the organization and ensuring the achievement of objectives.
Among the signatories of the Diversity Charter:
- 80% have mobilized their decision-makers around a common vision,
- 45% have created a steering committee,
- 83% have a direct link between the person in charge of diversity management and the management
- 28% have a specific budget
Yves Turi of RBC presented the work of its Diversity Leadership Council, a steering committee that identifiesdiversity management priorities and monitors the implementation of thediversity management strategy. Sing-Loon Cheung from the City of Differdange described how the city has included diversity in the municipality's concept of sustainable development by emphasizing the importance of using a common language, essential to define the scope of actions and objectives.
In the form of sub-groups, participants were able to share their good practices and question themselves on the strategic anchoring within their organizations, as well as the difficulties encountered.
Some elements and points for reflection were discussed in plenary:
- Do not create a separate diversity strategy, but integrate it into the existing corporate strategy
- Use the Business Case to convince decision-makers
- Create a working environment and provide tools to implement the diversity strategy
- Ensure that the interest of the resource persons is maintained so that the dynamic does not run out of steam
- Ensure that the manager is aware and convinced in the case of a change of this person.
Published on 11 July 2019
