I’ve always been a brown-eyed boy, not blue. In primary school, my teacher did an experiment. She divided the class according to the colour of our eyes. Rounded up with my fellow brown-eyed classmates, I was separated from my buddies who looked like me. I stuck out, and that made me feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.
We want to belong. Naturally, we seek out people who look like us. We also seek out people with similar passion and values. However, that's harder to see.
What if you could co-create a vision that brings together people with shared passion and values?
For Sephora, their vision is to be the largest most loved beauty community on the planet. The diversity of their employees mirrors their customers. When employees look into the stores, they see people just like themselves. They design experiences that they themselves would enjoy, naturally keeping up with customers’ likes and dislikes.
Does the diversity of your employees mirror that of your customers?
Inclusive teams have created bestseller brands and products for Sephora. FENTY BEAUTY by Rihanna was reported to be worth $72 million just one month after launch. The brand offers more shades than any other brand for medium to dark skin tones, and products sold out instantly.
Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, shared that focusing on Diversity, the numbers, is not enough. He shared the best practices for Diversity according to Pat Wadors, a former HR chief of LinkedIn, in an interview.
Jeff calls it the DIB:
Diversity: You have the right representation among your employees that reflects the consumers and customers you serve. You have the right DNA in the company.
Inclusion: They have a seat at the table. They’re invited to the right meetings. They have access to the right information. They are informing important decisions and shaping outcomes.
Belonging: When employees look up, they see and hear other people like them and they feel like they belong. They have peace of mind and they can do their best work.
Are you leveraging the power of Diversity to Drive Innovation & Growth in your organisation?
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