Just the mention of a diversity training can bring up a sense of dread in employees, executives, and DEI professionals alike.
As a never ending journey, the mission behind diversity, equity, and inclusion requires persistence. Ensuring that all individuals have a seat at the table is vital, but the constant need for adaptation and learning can become seemingly insurmountable at times.
Diversity fatigue is experienced when individuals become disengaged with this journey towards inclusion. Whether they have been a DEI advocate for most of their career or they’ve only attended a handful of DEI programs, it can be easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of change that needs to occur, especially when it’s hard to see results right away.
This disconnect, or stuck feeling, can happen to anyone. DEI professionals can feel helpless when they have a lack of resources to grow and educate others. People of color can grow weary of being on guard when expressing their personal experiences or frustrations. And employees may grow tired of being required to attend required DEI programs when they don’t see program’s true value.
Back to the Bottom Line
No matter the reason, diversity fatigue is a major issue plaguing countless organizations and professionals, and it’s hurting your business’s bottom line, too.
It’s no secret that companies with greater diversity are more successful. In profits, productivity, employee retention, and more, companies that implement effective DEI strategies are dominating their markets. If your team is experiencing DEI fatigue, you could be missing out on its powerful benefits.
So how can business leaders take matters into their own hands and banish diversity fatigue for good? By mastering change management.
Using Change Management to Your Advantage
Change management is the concept of focusing on the people-side of business and providing adequate processes, tools, and techniques to facilitate a transition. The framework of change management verifies that any changes permeate all levels of an organization and shows how each member of the team can get on board.
Have you ever seen a company that preaches its values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but its employees rarely follow suit? While company executives may have good intentions, they often fail to provide their team with the adequate resources they need to live out those values.
Change management makes it easy to transform the never-ending journey into bite-sized pieces. By breaking new DEI solutions into smaller chunks, change management clearly explains what each individual can do to help bring those solutions to reality. By providing the right tools, examples, and concrete steps to get there, change management reminds us that the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.
Where to Begin
Learn more about how you can implement change management and discover other diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies at the Grand Rapids Chamber’s Diversity & Talent Summit! Join us Tuesday, November 16 for a DEI deep dive into the latest diversity, equity, and inclusion solutions. Featuring success stories from local leaders, the latest community DEI metrics, and a session on the intersection between DEI and change management, this is an event you won’t want to miss! Register today at https://www.grandrapids.org/event/diversity-talent-summit/.
Have more questions about change management and how to get started? Contact the Chamber’s Director of Inclusion, Andre Daley, at andre@grandrapids.org.
