A recent study by the London Business School found that the business case for diversity 'backfires if the goal is for this rhetoric to signal inclusion to members of groups underrepresented in the organisation'.
The study included people who identify as LGBTQ+, Women and African American and it investigated which justifications organisations use to explain their commitment to diversity, and how these justifications affect members of underrepresented groups.
Results displayed that respondents wanted to be judged on their actual skills and experience and not on what they can contribute on the basis of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or other identities.
The latter approach was seen as 'depersonalised' and respondents don't wish to be treated as the “Black Engineer”, but just as "the engineer" on the team.
So, the study suggests that the business case for diversity seems to work against organisations’ stated diversity goals and that letting go of the business case for diversity and, instead, simply stating their commitment to diversity, is the more inclusive approach.
How mojo benefits approaches to EDI
Organisations do benefit from having people from different backgrounds, who have different thoughts, and have different skills. And these employees want to feel valued and to add value. Mojo doesn't care where someone comes from, where they were educated, what their gender is, or their sexual preference. It's about treating the employee as an individual and, importantly, with the team mapping, allowing colleagues to embrace each other's motivation preferences. Ideally, in a team you would want employees to have a mixture of top motivators.
Mojo can be used in recruitment to ascertain if candidates have the desired motivations for the role. For example, if it were a sales role, you would want candidates who are motivated by money, achievements, and goal setting (the Builder) or in care roles you would want someone who seeks to find purpose in their work, wants to make a difference, and to do worthwhile things (the Searcher). Recruiting on someone's intrinsic motivations is far more inclusive than recruiting from where someone went to university, the town they're from, or their gender, for example.
Mojo certainly personalises the Employee Experience and will boost your inclusion efforts.
