Community Forum – Tell us about your DE&I Innovation efforts

A group of IRI members is working together to understand if there are organizations that have deployed training in a specific or unique way to highlight how diversity and inclusion impacts innovation and innovation teams.  

Over the past several years, there has been recognition given to the impact diversity and inclusion have on how teams perform, and ultimately on how the company performs.  Companies are also deploying training for employees to increase awareness of diversity topics and provide tools to enable inclusive workplaces.  General diversity training topics, such as, Unconscious Bias, Microaggressions and Triggers, and Racial and Cultural Sensitivities, are critical foundational training that many companies have deployed enterprise wide. We believe that there are additional considerations to be made to ensure innovation teams are truly diverse and inclusive.  Results below: 

1. Is your organization working on a project where the team has been created based on DE&I principles?

• Yes – enterprise wide initiative with ongoing meetings
• Yes – A global team is formed and R&D is involved at the highest level. A couple of new specific DE&I goals define as part of innovation targets.
• Yes – DE&I is used as a guiding principle in hiring as well as in selection of team members for projects
• Yes – Company is working more broadly than just at the team level. Teams are being assigned with staff that certainly involves elements to diversify the make up.
• No – two responses

2. Do you feel that your organization’s DE&I efforts are impacting innovation?

• Yes – starting to impact in positive ways
• Yes – by creating more diverse teams
• Yes – better connection to outside stakeholders (customers, partners)
• Yes
• Yes – we are emphasizing the importance of DE&I to innovation
• No – not yet
• No – not yet.  We are in the early stages of DE&I efforts at our company in general.

3. Which of the following is being used by your organization to build DE&I algorithms?

• Training, Modelling
• Two responses – Recruiting for market research

4. What DE&I training, tools, practices, has your organization done/applied that are specifically focused on the impact on innovation? 

• Focus groups, open communications groups, skip level meetings with leaders
• Online trainings, high level/regional targets to increase number of women and underrepresented groups at management level.
• Unconscious bias training to ensure everyone are included at the table, leading to better and broader ideas. Diverse hiring, focus on retention.
• We have made DE&I training courses for all group leaders and now that training is being rolled out to the broader organization. We also conduct a diversity moment at the beginning of some meetings in place of safety moments.
• Neuroscience leadership institute training on cognitive inclusion
• None – two responses

5. What group(s), if any, is your organization working with in the general community to impact change outside of your company?

• ACS

Relevant IRI resources:  

• Cultivating High Performing Talent in Innovation Teams On-Demand Module
• 2021 Annual Conference Keynote: Diversity & Inclusion as a Driver for Innovation
• Community Forum – How is your organization making underrepresented employees a priority?

• IRI’s Women’s Leadership Panel

Do you have a question for the IRI Community Forum? Email Us Today!