Of all the different specialisms with the wider arena of workplace culture and employee health and wellbeing, DEI has arguably found itself in the eye of a cultural and/or media storm most. And that means the people leading on DEI, or with a remit that touches on inclusion, have often found themselves – very suddenly – the one in the organisation that everyone is looking at to ‘fix’ a cultural problem.
Obviously, this is a lot of pressure and can be extremely stressful. In this podcast Annisha Taylor, who is group head of equality, diversity and inclusion at Ofcom, talks candidly about this pressure she experienced in former roles and – crucially – how she responded to it.
Listen to the new episode here, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts
While undoubtedly stressful at the time, she reflects on these moments in this podcast and actually concludes that they have been pivotal in her career progression because she learnt so much from them. She generously shares exactly what in this chat.
The wide array of topics touched on include:
- Lack of engagement from senior management
- Lack of resource given to DEI, which made dealing with the ‘storm’ even more stressful
- What to do when you aren’t set up for a media / cultural storm, & how to ensure you are in future
- The importance of creating toolkits and frameworks
- How difficult moments are opportunities to build credibility in DEI
- Why some companies need to experience some ‘storminess’ before they take action
- Helping senior leadership get more comfortable with discomfort
- Why it’s problematic the way some companies look at a new DEI appointee as the ‘fixer’ of cultural issues
- ‘We all have a role to play for EDI to become part of the fabric of an organisation’
The conversation also delves into practical as well as strategic advice for HR and DEI professionals and highlights the critical role of cultivating a supportive workplace culture. As always, it concludes by getting the guest’s pitch answer to the ‘alien question’!
Full timeline of conversation:
00:00 Introduction to the Leaders Podcast
00:35 This Week’s Challenge: Navigating DEI Crises
01:37 Guest Introduction: Annisha Taylor
01:58 Facing the DEI Challenge: Annisha’s Experience
04:58 Lessons Learned and Advice for DEI Professionals
09:00 Implementing Lasting Changes in DEI
11:25 The Need for Proper Resourcing in DEI
12:35 The Challenge of Communication in Organisations
12:50 The Role of DEI Leaders, and those whose remit touches on inclusion
13:16 Understanding Different Perspectives
13:38 Navigating Senior Management
15:31 Building Relationships with Senior Leaders
16:55 Embedding DEI and sense of belonging into Organisational Fabric
18:58 The Alien Question: Pitching for Wellbeing
21:25 Final Thoughts and Takeaways
If you are a Leader in Workplace Culture and Employee Health and Wellbeing, and have a challenge you are willing to talk through honestly on the podcast, please get in touch: suzy@makeadifference.media
