Pat contemplates the fact that the company has brought in a diversity consultant and created employee resource groups (ERGs) and a DEI program. These initiatives have been in place for months now.

“Why are some employees still feeling like they don’t belong?” Pat wonders aloud. “What else could we be doing to strengthen the foundation of cultural competency where employees feel they can speak up, share opinions and engage with one another?”

“Happy hour. Hmm,” Pat continues to ponder. “These after work events have always been well attended but maybe there’s a bigger opportunity here.”

“We haven’t had any complaints about drinks after work before,” Pat reflected aloud to the view outside the office window. “No one has asked that instead of happy hour, we do something else. But maybe happy hour isn’t the only or best way to bring everyone together.”

Pat considers Aisha’s email again and thinks about Amy – a manager who has made incredible strides in her leadership and personal development over the past few months. Pat and Amy have been sharing HR thought leadership with each other over the past few months, especially while working from home during the pandemic. (Dear Reader, feel free to check out our stories series #1 to learn more about Amy’s journey) Amy received the invitation to the Happy Hour.

Pat and Dylan walked over to Amy’s neighboring office and Pat asked, “Do you think employees are showing up to this SVP’s happy hours because they feel like they have to make an appearance? That they must code-switch💡 to get ahead in the workplace?”

Amy looked up as if fully aware of the situation. “Aisha forwarded the email she sent to you and Dylan. As you know, she and I are good friends and she wanted my opinion about If she did the right thing by emailing you.”

Pat was somewhat relieved.

Amy went on “I don’t know. There are clearly some employees who feel that way,” Amy replied. “It’s hard to say ‘no’ to a senior leader’s request that you come to an event without thinking you’re going to get some flak for it. I wonder if anyone even thought about whether someone might have a personal reason for not attending a happy hour. I certainly don’t think the SVP’s actions were intended to be a way to exclude Aisha because she is a Muslim (Islamophobia💡) or even representative of an implicit bias💡 - I really think folks aren’t considering that decision through a DEI lens.”

Pat thought for a moment and then added, “Our workforce has expanded so much over the past couple of years—we have such a terrific group of people from vastly different backgrounds. Let’s talk about other things we can do to bring employees together in a comfortable way that doesn’t make certain employees feel left out.”

Dylan added, “And also let senior leadership know that while happy hour isn’t on the chopping block, adding in other activities will help to build trust and a level of comfort for all employees across the company.”

“An easy thing to do is to have lunch together,” Amy responded. “During lunch, there could be a structured icebreaker. Yes, those are awkward, but at least it’s a planned discussion in a safe place and doesn’t require people to share more than they want to.”

“Something as simple as changing the way a question is asked can help employees feel like they belong and can be part of the conversation,” Dylan said. “Open and curious questions are central to a learning orientation, which helps employees feel like they belong.”

Pat nodded in agreement. “Sure, ice breakers could lead a discussion and include every voice. Questions could be: Where’s your dream vacation? What accomplishment are you most proud of in the past three years? What’s your favorite thing to do on a weekend? These don’t single out anyone. They’re personal questions that aren’t intrusive.”

Amy replied, “That’s right. These small steps are ways to make all employees’ voices heard.”

Dylan nodded, “Another area to focus on is the company’s culture and narrative. These should highlight differences and positive experiences our employees bring here. Creating a culture of curiosity—where we are always learning about ourselves and others—also helps to foster a sense of belonging💡”, he said. “Training management is key here. Managers should be accustomed to regularly asking their team members what they need. There should be regular check-ins with team members. This helps to build trust and identifies things that may not be working early on, so they can be adjusted.”

Pat chimed in, “And it seems like this would extend to discussions particularly about diversity and inclusion. There needs to be an environment where all employees feel their concerns are heard, instead of singling out minorities for just their voices or expecting them to take the lead on diversity questions.”

“Ask everyone,” Amy said. “Give everyone who wants to speak a chance to be heard. This can help employees feel valued, supported and respected, which is critical to creating a culture of belonging.”

Pat thought about it more. "That all sounds good, team. But what about Aisha and this particular situation?"

Dylan looked up and said, “Well it seems like we have the beginnings of a case study we can bring to leadership to identify how we want to formalize some of the high-level ideas we just talked about.”

Pat chimed in, “And we should also think about publicly celebrating birthdays. Not every person is comfortable with that and we often share during team meetings without regard to if the person actually wants us to.” Dylan nodded with affirmation.

They all agreed and started writing down how to best articulate their recommendations to senior leadership to help better communication and employee engagement.

Key Considerations:

What would you do next?

Want additional resources to learn more about topics discussed in this path?

⚙ Are you a TriNet customer? Learn about DEI Training, click here

📖 Learn why it’s important for employees to be their authentic selves in the workplace here: Diversity and Authenticity

📖 Learn more about why employees want to feel like they belong at your company. Why Belonging is Such A Big Issue In Business Today and Are Your DE&I Efforts Helping Employees Feel Like They Belong?

📖 Find out how your company can meaningfully support diversity and inclusion. Woke Washing Your Company Won't Cut It

📖 Read about how inclusion is equally important in the DEI equation. To Retain Employees, Focus on Inclusion - Not Just Diversity and Diversity Doesn't Stick Without Inclusion

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