Resilience is often considered an individual trait and sometimes a team characteristic. But not often do we look at it as an essential quality in initiatives or programs within the organization. DEI initiatives in the organization, especially in the post-pandemic scenario, require resilience to sustain the momentum.
In many organizations, the key drivers and participants in DEI initiatives belong to the underrepresented groups. Pre-pandemic, many of these employees were involved in creating DEI programming to help one another in the face of workplace barriers and setbacks. As a result, responsibility for DEI activities often falls squarely on the shoulders of the individuals who experience the most marginalization. Therefore, organizations must spread the responsibility for D&I activities among more than just a few change agents to avoid weakening the initiatives. Distributing responsibility will help retain valuable talent and provide accountability across the organization.
The aim of any DEI initiative is to bring about a change. And this change must go deeper than talk— it must alter the day-to-day business and experience of employees. That level of change requires managers to get involved. In order to integrate DEI initiatives throughout the organization, leaders must hold their direct reports accountable for D&I goals and devote financial resources toward achieving those goals. These actions send a message to the rest of the organization about what is essential and what isn’t, and they move DEI beyond the “nice to have” and into a business imperative so that DEI programs will be resilient in the face of challenges.
The next step in inculcating resilience into the DEI programs would be for the organizations to measure and reward team successes rather than solely focusing on individual achievements. When DEI programs are seen as individual projects and efforts that belong primarily to marginalized groups advocating for themselves rather than as a shared organizational priority and mission, key change agents are likely to experience burnout and turnover.
There is no denying that creating organizational change takes time, and a small wins-approach is another dimension of facilitating resilience in the DEI initiatives. Focusing on small successes that bring momentum for major change can propel organizations forward without overburdening key change agents.
By taking steps to foster employee resilience, recognizing, and focusing on collaborative efforts towards improving workplace culture, and building sustainable DEI initiatives, organizations can create workforces ready to tackle the uneasy road to post-pandemic recovery.
