Employing a workforce that is truly representative of the communities a company touches through its products and services may benefit the bottom line. In fact, research reveals a strong for DE&I initiatives that can positively impact employee culture, and resilience, and even deliver tangible business benefits margins and cashflow per employee.

Addressing unconscious bias

Unconscious biases, also known as implicit biases, are the underlying attitudes and stereotypes that people unconsciously attribute to another person or group of people, affecting how they understand and engage with a person or group. These stereotypes in our subconscious impact decision-making processes company-wide, and can lead to unequal and non-inclusive workplaces. For example, the universal lack of females in senior positions globally, regardless of industry and the gender pay gap, is largely attributed to unconscious bias.

Each step of the employee life cycle has the potential for unconscious bias, negating the most well intentioned DE&I targets. The talent acquisition process, for example, is the most critical in securing a diverse workforce, beginning with the job role definition. Inconsistent definition of job roles and the inclusion of non-essential requirements limits the candidates who will apply. People may self-select themselves out of the candidate pool because the language doesn’t encourage them to apply. To attract a gender balanced talent pool, make sure the position description has gender neutral language and the career site reflects inclusive messages and images.

For example, , a global manufacturer in the industrial machinery and components industry, has put diversity and inclusion at the heart of its global talent strategy, using technology to bring more women, veterans, and other under-represented communities into their traditionally-male dominated workforce. The company created a dedicated landing page on its career site to showcase its Women@Terex initiative. Similarly, , displays the various awards and recognition they have received for their DEI initiatives on its career site.

Prevent talent bias at the point of decision

Core HR and recruitment technology solutions, including AI such as machine learning, can address DE&I issues. AI-based software platforms that are both data-driven and taught to ignore traditional prejudices rely on algorithms that prevent historical patterns of underrepresentation. These platforms can support the full range of talent processes, including who to hire, and how to manage them, as well as development, rewards, and promotions. The objective is to detect and mitigate bias at the decision-making step. For example, SAP’s Business Beyond Bias initiative helps customers use 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors to eliminate inherent biases around age, race and ethnicity, as well as differently-abled individuals, and LGBTQ+ communities.

, an international food company committed to conserving the goodness of nature, relies on the creativity and imagination of its people to stay ahead of competitors. The Hero Group attributes the deployment of technology to support its performance and goals process as having “enabled us to establish an open culture that feeds our employees’ ambitions and supports their development– and ultimately drives our success.”

When it comes to compensation, team salary overviews can spotlight inequities and bias alerts with a calibration tool that analyses historical data, surfacing important information to managers, such as when an employee has not been promoted in over three years despite consistently high performance ratings.

Gaining actionable insights from analytics and metrics

As with any other organisational imperative, DE&I requires a structured approach and regular monitoring and refinement. Analytics reveal meaningful data that we might not otherwise detect. For example, it’s not enough to understand the composition of your workforce. A dashboard that brings together analytics can help managers visualize and forecast diversity trends, highlighting critical diversity metrics and the impact of leadership programs. Companies can create diversity scorecards to benchmark internal trends against external metrics such as industry, location, or other parameters. Pushing diversity data out to managers’ desktops, and providing data relevant to their daily activities at the point of decision through embedded analytics provides transparency and supports actionable insights down the management line.

HR technology is already helping organisations live and work by DE&I practices. Diversity is a reality, but equity and inclusion is a choice, giving business and HR leaders an important role in changing workplace norms for individuals, the company, and the entire community.

Find out more about DE&I strategies at the virtual .

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According to the report, “”, the vast majority of Australian HR executives surveyed claim their organisation effectively found new ways of working in response to the pandemic (80%) and believe they are well prepared to address the changing work environment (78%).

HR challenges and opportunities in 2021

However, other findings indicate Australian HR executives may be underestimating upcoming people challenges as changes to the workplace continue to accelerate. ĚýAlmost half of Australian leaders (47%) see increased employee demand for remote work as one of the top long-term impacts of the pandemic, with 64 per cent saying they expect flexible work policies will be more important to an organisation’s ability to attract or retain talent going forward. Yet less than a quarter (23%) agree the majority of their workers can work remotely and have the necessary technology and environment to do so effectively.

Only 14 per cent of Australian HR executives surveyed plan to invest in return-to-work technologies over the next 12 months, including test and tracing and remote worker management technologies, despite almost half (49%) expecting that maintaining productivity in the new dispersed work environment is going to be an ongoing challenge.

Australian leaders are also not viewing reskilling talent as a top priority, with only a third (34%) claiming they expect to invest in learning programs for reskilling and upskilling over the next year. Among the top countries to invest in reskilling are Mexico (50%), India (46%) and Spain (40%).

“Modernising HR is a critical piece of any organisation’s digital transformation journey, and it’s become even more important as we continue to adjust in the wake of the pandemic,” says Angela Colantuono, VP and head of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors ANZ, which partnered with Oxford Economics and the Society of Human Resource Management to conduct the study.

Preparing for the future of Work

“There has been a huge amount of resilience and agility demonstrated in recent months as workplaces have adapted, but driving ongoing business results demands a continued focus on agile processes, learning and reskilling, and a culture that embraces every individual and values their feedback.”

Staying on top of employee sentiment is another area where executives’ feedback points to a mismatch between expectations and intentions. While more than 44 per cent of global respondents said that establishing a culture that supports remote employees will be a challenge going forward, and most acknowledge that their workers have had very different experiences depending on if they are salaried, hourly, office or field workers, Australian leaders are significantly less likely than other countries to be conducting regular pulse surveys to gather employee feedback (25%). Many may be left in the dark about employee sentiment as the workplace continues to evolve.

“ surveyed HR leaders in 10 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The data in this press release represents more than 300 HR leaders in Australia.

Download the . To find out more about 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Human Experience Management solutions, visit the .Ěý

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Debbie Rigger, Head of HR, 51ˇçÁ÷Australia and New Zealand, said:

“The recognition is a win for all of us at SAP, because every employee is responsible for building and maintaining our exceptional culture. More than ever, the health, happiness and wellbeing of employees across the country is under enormous pressure as a result of the pandemic, so it’s particularly rewarding to be recognised and to see our position increase.”

“I’m tremendously proud of the HR and GPTW teams at 51ˇçÁ÷who have kept our staff connected and supported through this year, with inventive and thoughtful programs from virtual workouts to ‘quarantunes’ playlists,” continued Ms Rigger.

Below are some of the initiatives which have helped to foster the awesome culture at 51ˇçÁ÷Australia.

Our commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce

SAP’s Respect@51ˇçÁ÷programme is all about reminding each employee that everyone plays a part in creating positive experiences, healthy relationships and an inclusive workplace.

Together, we can create a culture where people feel welcome, belonging and the ability to thrive. As an organisation, we are committed to providing a safe work environment for employees – one that is free from bullying, harassment and discrimination.

Each of our Great Place to Work teams across all our offices continually play a key part to keeping us all connected and engaged.Ěý From virtual drinks with trivia to virtual kids and adult yoga to virtual bootcamps and a virtual bake-off, there is something for everyone.

ĚýOur engagement with the community

Our collaboration with our social partners, including The Smith Family, The Australia Indigenous Education Foundation, The Graeme Dingle Foundation, and The Akina Foundation have all provided our employees opportunities to positively impact our communities through volunteering, mentoring, and operation support.

In 2019, our employees volunteered 4,529 hours of their time to purpose-led activities, and 51ˇçÁ÷impacted a total of 18,991 lives. This included training 11,577 youths, and delivering a phenomenal AUD$870,553 of in kind-contributions and funds raised. More than 139 customers and external parties participated in employee led events.

Creating an inclusive, strong and healthy culture is an ongoing commitment – a never-ending journey, not a destination. Winning an award that’s based on our employees lived experiences at SAP, validates the ongoing effort we have put into cultivating a workplace that lives and breathes our core values.

We believe a strong culture lays the foundation for a strong business. It’s our key to attract and retain the best employees, partner with the world’s leading brands, and drive change in our community.

To apply for a role at SAP, visit:

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