Black History Month may have ended a few days ago, but the work to level the playing field must continue. If businesses genuinely want to improve racial diversity, they need to build a pipeline of Black talent who feel they can grow and build their career at your organisation, advises Accenture UK’s Managing Director, Andrew Pearce. Here he provides some actions that will help to ignite meaningful outcomes which will help companies retain more Black talent and diversify their leadership ranks.
Many people take for granted that feeling of safety and acceptance when experiencing a true sense of belonging. Much of my childhood and career was spent being the only Black person in the room, having grown up in a world where I was forced to fit in. This is often the case for Black talent in the workplace.
While I have overcome many personal obstacles, and society has progressed so much since my youth, I feel a duty to embrace positive change and build a more inclusive environment for future Black talent. As businesses become increasingly focused on racial inequality and tackle any bias in their systems and processes, they must ensure their current and future employees feel seen, safe, connected and courageous.
WHAT IS MEASURED GETS MANAGED
The challenge of tackling racial inequality in the workplace too often falls on the shoulders of HR and Inclusion and Diversity leaders; but it’s an endeavour the whole company must share. All leaders must become advocates of inclusion to ensure real accountability across the company.
Leaders must start by looking at data. What do the statistics in your organisation tell you about Black representation at all levels? We must be honest with ourselves. Even if we aren’t actively perpetuating the issue, it doesn’t mean historic and systemic inequalities will go away. This is how we move from being ‘non-racist’ to being ‘anti-racist’.
The first step is admitting the problem exists, then establishing how to respond and act. Setting targets is a good starting point for a business to ensure they are accountable to really becoming more diverse. The cultural shift to becoming more inclusive is the tougher challenge; and it takes time and commitment.
A SENSE OF BELONGING
As businesses battle to attract the best talent, they cannot ignore the demands of the current generation for an inclusive workplace. In fact, employees are 167% more likely to recommend working for a company if they feel a sense of belonging. Businesses therefore stand to lose out in the war for talent if they aren’t putting measures in place to make their ethnic minority employees feel genuinely included.
It’s about taking the time to understand the issues, concerns, and challenges of their people. Failure to do so will result in poor employee retention and missed opportunities of having a truly a diverse workforce.
The challenge with creating a sense of belonging is that diversity alone is not enough. You can invite someone to the party without asking them to dance. I believe the objective is building an inclusive environment where employees can feel safe to be themselves. Only then can you increase retention and secure more interest from prospective talent from all backgrounds; particularly at a time when employers are at a war for talent. With many people making huge decisions on their lives and work in the economic recovery, a company’s reputation on inclusion and responsible business is table stakes.
STANDING WITH, NOT STANDING BY
It’s hard to feel confident and brave in a room where no one looks like you; and it’s even harder to believe in your own career path if there is no Black representation at leadership level. If businesses want to genuinely reach their aims to improve racial diversity, they need to build a pipeline of Black talent who feel they can grow and build their career at the organisation.
One of the most important actions is to listen. Ask your Black employees if they feel they can progress whilst being respected for who they are, and truly listen to the answer. Then, respond with real action to truly change the game and drive the culture shift.
ENGAGING TALENT
At Accenture, we have launched an initiative called ‘Engage’. We are supporting a journey on which Black talent, their line managers and senior sponsors have embarked on together to understand the challenges faced by Black employees. Though it’s more than just understanding the challenges; it’s also to learn about the individual’s experiences, then supporting them through mentorship and sponsorship. It’s through advocacy that Black talent will truly see that we are actively standing with them, rather than passively standing by them; all of which would not be possible without an open dialogue.
Everyone has a story, and everyone should feel as though they belong. As business leaders, we still have an incredibly long way to go. Everyone in an organisation has a role to play in creating that sense of belonging, building the talent pipeline and giving Black talent a voice. Only then will we see those positive intentions turn into meaningful impact.
MORE ABOUT ANDREW PEARCE
Andrew Pearce is a Managing Director in Accenture’s Operations business. Passionate about Inclusion and Diversity, he is the Executive Sponsor of Accenture’s African and Caribbean network and is the UK Chair and Vice Chair of the Global Expansion Committee of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC). As a committed leader and an advocate for equality, Pearce was recognised on the Green Park list as one of the top 100 BAME leaders in Business 2018, and was most recently ranked by the Empower List 2020 as being a top 15 minority ethnic leader across the UK, US, Ireland Canada.
Check out our other interview with Pearce, where he not only provides insights into why organisations are struggling to find and promote Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic leaders, but also offers solid, practical advice on how to build a strong BAME leadership pipeline.
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