Practical Advice for Diversity and Inclusion by Gergo Safar

Diversity & Inclusion is a popular topic these days across many organisations. However, only a few of them manage to ‘walk the talk’. Intentions are genuine, there is a consensus in the urgency to do something, in many cases ambitions (eventually targets) are set, but little progress is seen. Why is that?

The presentation offers 5 pieces of practical advice on how to increase diversity in your organisation in an inclusive manner.

1 – Define what ‘good looks like’ for the organisation and work on those strands of diversity. The ability to articulate what the organisation wants to achieve makes the ambitions tangible. The ambition level should be genuine and should aim to represent the target audience of the organisation and the society they operate in.
2 – Begin the journey. ‘Lip service only’ causes bigger harm to the organisation than doing nothing. In some cases, organisations can adventure bold steps, in other cases, small steps after each other will take them further.
3 – Equal level of support does not equal with equal opportunity. It is absolutely the right thing to do to provide different level of support to different groups as long as it promotes and improves equality.
4 – Involve employees in the improvement of diversity and inclusion in your organisation. Create it with them, not for them. The best way is to support employee network groups.
5 – Educate the organisation. Differences can take people out of the comfort zone. They are not necessary non-inclusive, they might feel just uncomfortable about the unknown. Awareness and understanding increase their comfort zone.

It is likely that you will make mistakes along your D&I journey, but with genuine intentions, you will be able to make a difference for many. A rewarding experience guaranteed.

Bio
Gergo Safar currently works as a Learning & Development manager in Vodafone Group, leading the Marketing Academy. Prior to joining Vodafone, Gergo worked in various HR Business Partnering, OD/OE, M&A, talent and project management roles for BP, Unilever and McKinsey, based in Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands and most recently in the UK.
He holds a MSc from the Corvinus University of Budapest and a Master in International Management via the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS) and obtained CIPD qualification in the UK.

Gergo has taken leadership positions in the LGBT network groups in the companies he worked for. He is a firm believer that companies can achieve better results and become a better place to work for if they manage to increase the diversity of their workforce and create an inclusive culture.