Inclusion, Cognitive Diversity, and the Link to Culture
Inclusion, cognitive diversity, and a culture that embraces both are critical factors for organisations across sectors. In the financial services industry, regulatory requirements highlight the need for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) emphasizes the importance of diversity within management teams and creating an environment where individuals from all backgrounds feel empowered to speak up.
Evaluation process
Why It Matters:
​
Regulatory Imperative: The FCA is working towards incorporating EDI into the conduct risk framework, emphasising the need for diverse management teams and inclusive cultures.
Improved Risk Management: Research indicates that greater diversity improves risk management culture and reduces the frequency of fines.
Understanding Customer Needs: Lack of diversity at the top hinders firms' ability to understand diverse communities and respond effectively to their needs, requiring a diverse range of perspectives to overcome biases and blind spots.
Enhancing Decision Making: Cognitive diversity, resulting from employees' diverse backgrounds and experiences, enables organisations to evaluate issues from multiple angles and make better decisions.
Moving Beyond Quotas: Genuine diversity and inclusion cannot be achieved solely through quotas; the focus should be on fostering a culture that nurtures diverse talent organically.
How to Foster Inclusion and Cognitive Diversity:
​
Assessing Lived Experience: Obtain diversity statistics and evaluate the lived experiences of diverse individuals within the organisation, along with assessing the overall inclusiveness of the environment.
Pulse Surveys: Conduct pulse surveys with specific questions to gauge whether staff feel comfortable expressing dissenting views and how these views are received by managers and the broader team. Gather both quantitative and qualitative data.
Reviewing Existing Data: Analyse data collected for other purposes, such as board minutes (to identify groupthink tendencies), appraisals (to assess career progression and biases), and staff turnover.
Focus on Inclusion: Once challenges are identified, prioritise creating conditions for diversity to thrive by examining necessary changes within the organisation, rather than expecting diverse individuals to confirm to existing culture and practices.
Senior Leadership Involvement: Senior leaders should actively participate in inclusion initiatives, providing visible leadership to drive change and signal the organisation's commitment to the work.
At AVS Culture Consulting, we understand the importance of fostering inclusion and cognitive diversity within organisations. Our expertise lies in helping companies navigate this journey, from assessing current environments to implementing strategies that create an inclusive culture where diversity can thrive. Contact us to learn how we can support your organisation in achieving its diversity and inclusion goals.