Today's guest is Prof. Jojanneke van der Toorn, professor of social and organizational psychology. Jojanneke was previously a guest on the Work Professor Podcast titled: How to create an inclusive workplace. Then we spoke to her about creating an inclusive workplace. In this episode, Jojanneke talks about her new handout, exit interviews a wealth of information. About the value of exit interviews for deepening diversity and inclusion policies. Organizations are still not paying enough attention to the reasons why employees leave, even though these may indicate a lack of inclusion and social safety in the workplace. By not asking about this in exit interviews, they miss opportunities to gain crucial knowledge on this theme, according to new research by Utrecht University, SER Diversiteit in Bedrijf and the InclusieNL Foundation.
Jojanneke is Professor of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Workplace Inclusion at Leiden University, and Associate Professor of Social and Organizational Psychology at Utrecht University. She studies diversity and inclusion in the workplace, particularly in relation to LGBT+ workers. On the one hand, she focuses on organizational programs and practices: what are blindspots in diversity and inclusion policies, how do they affect job seekers, employees and organizations as a whole, and in what ways can these patterns be broken? On the other hand, I examine the psychological processes by which members of majority and minority groups contribute to the maintenance of group inequalities at work and in society.
The study
The impetus for the study was a larger study of diversity and inclusiveness in Dutch organizations. It looked at how diversity takes shape in organizations. How do organizations keep people from different backgrounds in, how do organizations bring people in, how do they retain employees and how do they ensure that employees feel that they belong and can be themselves in the workplace.
We all know this is important. Yet we see a difference in what we say and what we actually do.
"You see a lot of organizations are set up for a certain type of person. In a lot of context those are men, white men, straight sexual white men. The diversity in that who works where and how do we make sure we utilize all the talent is still a challenge for organizations. Often that really requires policy adjustments. Something really needs to change how an organization is set up and not just that people are aware that it's important for everyone to belong."
Additional information
Many organizations are aware of the importance of creating a diverse and inclusive organization in which all employees belong and can be themselves, regardless of their differences or similarities. However, achieving a diverse and inclusive organization is not an easy task. Research shows that D&I measures do not always lead to the desired results and suggests that there are important boundary conditions that determine whether D&I policies are successful.
Specifically, there is reason to assume that the extent to which the D&I policy pursued: (A) is coherent, (B) is systematically developed and implemented, and (C) is scientifically based, determines its effectiveness. The project "It has to work," made possible by the Goldschmeding Foundation, therefore tests practice against scientific insights and answers the question: what is needed for an efficient and successful diversity and inclusion policy? This multi-year project to achieve a more inclusive labor market is a collaboration between Utrecht University, Stichting Nederlandse InclusiviteitsMonitor (NIM) and SER Diversiteit in Bedrijf.
Three guides have now been published as part of this project, the most recent of which is the guide Exit interviews: a wealth of information . This guide shows how the information that companies gather from exit interviews can add value to D&I policy and how you can manage this effectively as an organization.
Links
Previous podcast with Jojanneke van der Toorn 'This is how to create an inclusive workplace'
'It has to work' project page
Exit interviews guide
SER Diversity in Business and the Diversity Charter.
More about the Working Professor
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Thanks
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