Insights from across the hallway

Across the hallway from the Marketing Department, but seemingly a world away, Human Resource Officers have been asking almost parallel questions about employee experiences. Questions like: Is the organisation attracting the best employees? Who is staying and leaving and why? Who is getting ahead? Do employees speak positively about the organisation?

But there is a critical difference.

HR has become acutely aware that employee experiences are often inconsistent. Decisions about who gets selected, developed, promoted or let go are more prone to bias than previously recognised. A plethora of catchy phrases has emerged to describe the outcomes including the Glass Ceiling, the Rainbow Ceiling and the Bamboo Ceiling. Recognising the tangible impact on the bottom line, a wave of energy has been devoted to exploring why some groups have better experiences than others. In a nutshell, HR has been concentrating on a critical question: what does it mean to be inclusive of employee diversity? HR doesn’t know all the answers, but they are definitely on the scent of something transformational.