While remote work became a new norm due to Covid-19, much of the workforce has welcomed this shift with excitement. With the many benefits that remote work offers, one downside has been the detachment of many organizations’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Over the past few years, the country has been in the midst of a time of heightened awareness and a fight for equality, inclusion, and justice.
Many organizations have been pushed to invest heavily in DEI efforts to become more socially aware. Still, the shift to a virtual workplace has threatened to derail much of these efforts. To ensure progression and success, follow this crucial strategy consisting of three elements: intention, communication, and flexibility.
The Three-Part Strategy for DEI Success While Working Remotely
Intention
It is easy to get lost in the daily workloads and task juggling of the office, let alone with the increased hurdles and demands of a virtual team. You must be intentional about your DEI efforts. That means that whatever you were doing before, you have to be extra mindful of now, and you may have to double those efforts.
Ways to be intentional:
- Follow up with your virtual team and ask what they need, considering the many different needs of a diverse group. Once you have those needs, be empathetic to any concerns and do what you can to actively address them.
- Encourage participation in meetings.
- Make time for a personal connection.
Communication
The first part of communication is setting clear expectations and standards to ensure everyone is on the same page. Without a doubt, a lot can get lost in translation (or transition) in virtual teams. The second part of communication is connection. Much of what keeps a workforce connected are those 5 to 10 minutes in the break rooms at the coffee station or water cooler or walking around the office between tasks saying “hi” to one another. Those small intermittent conversations provide levity, small breaks, foster connection, and keep a pulse of sanity running through usually hectic workdays. These moments may seem minor, but they have a significant impact on team dynamics. So you have to intentionally maintain the small moments of social connection, even when working remotely.
Flexibility
Remember that we were thrown into the virtual workspace due to Covid. Many people have young children, babies, elderly that they may be caring for, so there’s a good chance these employees will have a lot to juggle through the day – and the critical point to remember is that this is out of their control. Take this as an opportunity to be flexible when possible and embody a new style of management. Free yourself from the need to micromanage or report every minute unless it is necessary. Studies show that people work better when given freedom. In a Harvard Business Review report on hybrid and remote work, they discussed the disparities that can occur with micromanaging.
This monitoring may actually lower productivity (not to mention erode employee trust and engagement). And precisely because we know that both employee surveillance and pressure to prove to a manager that an employee is “at work” varies by race and gender. Obviously, we should be concerned about how these practices affect the productivity and inclusivity of a hybrid workforce.
Transitioning from the physical office to the virtual world has been challenging for everyone. Still, with an open mind, we can make the most of these circumstances and use it as an opportunity to “think outside the box.” It may not be easy, but we can maintain progress in our DEI efforts, stay productive, and keep growing and moving forward through intention, good communication, and flexibility.