In the United States, COVID-19 has led to what’s been dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’: millions of people voluntarily exiting their roles and jobs. And, according to recent research by Microsoft, more than 40 percent of the global workforce are considering leaving their employers in the next year.
The exodus has company leaders bracing for a seismic shift in the workforce—and the trend is likely heading to Australia.
Although the Great Resignation can be attributed to a number of factors, developing an inclusive organizational culture may positively benefit your company and, in turn, your employees’ satisfaction.
The development of this diverse and inclusive approach is no small feat. It requires an ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion by leadership at all levels to address inequalities in organizational systems, policies, processes, and practices, as well as people’s conscious and unconscious biases and behaviors.
To help guide organizations every step of the way, ISO has published a new standard, ISO 30415, “Human resource management—Diversity and inclusion.”
The standard has been deliberately built to service both small and large organizations. It provides a framework on diversity and inclusion, with a focus on intersectionality.
The framework can be implemented across the lifecycle of the HR process, including procurement, supplier diversity, recruitment, and offboarding.
Additionally, it includes references, advice on implementation, activities, roles and responsibilities, and metrics to measure the success of the framework in action.
Ruth McPhail, professor of human resource management and head of the Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources at Griffith University, has worked on the development of the standard with ISO for the past three years.
“I’m terribly proud of this standard,” McPhail says. “This area is a huge passion point for me and, hopefully, the standard can positively impact the leadership and culture of workplaces across Australia.
“Standards are often thought of as technical guides for construction and building. However, this standard could really help businesses better support and understand their staff,” she concludes.
“Organizations and their people will greatly benefit from the effective management of inclusivity and diversity in the workplace,” says Adrian O’Connell, Chief Executive Office of Standards Australia. “Australia’s ability to actively collaborate internationally on such an important standard speaks volumes. It’s an absolute pleasure to have representation on an international scale when supporting the development of such a valued standard.”
To view the standard please see here.