The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
Organizational leaders often mention that workplace flexibility policies must be iterative. We could not agree more – workplace flexibility policies and practices improve over time from lessons learned. However, for workplace flexibility policies to be truly iterative, organizations must be intentional and systematic. Iterative improvement does not occur without processes and systems in place to understand, measure and implement changes to combat challenges and replicate successes. Here is the Alliance’s 5-Step Process to make sure your workplace flexibility policies/practices are iterative:
Create a Committee on the Future of Work: Many organizations have created a Task Force on the Future of Work, charged with rolling out and implementing new workplace flexibility policies as the pandemic has greatly transformed the landscape on how we work and how we want to work. However, we urge organizations to create this committee to operate for the long-term, meaning at least five years, as opposed to dissolving after the short-term goal of rolling out a new flexibility policy. An important role of this committee should be to continuously develop and revamp workplace flexibility, by rolling out a new policy, systematically gathering and implementing feedback, and changing necessary infrastructure to make workplace flexibility succeed at the organization. We also recommend that this committee be diverse, consisting of professionals of different functions, levels and demographics, and also including powerful leadership who can (and will) champion change.
https://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DFA-Action-Steps.jpg596800dfalliancehttps://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DFA-Humanizing-Work-Cultures-scaled.pngdfalliance2021-12-30 10:48:102021-12-30 10:48:27Action Step – TO BE ITERATIVE WITH WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY MEANS TO BE INTENTIONAL
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
As we emerge from the pandemic, the Great Resignation has been taking hold and impacting organizations around the globe. Many employees have faced stress and burn-out over the past year, trying to balance personal, family and work obligations around the clock without necessary support structures in place. Simultaneously, many employees gained more work-life control than they ever had during the pandemic, experiencing more regular dinners with family, being able to live in new places and have new adventures while working remotely, and spending more time with children and aging parents than ever before. These seemingly dichotomous experiences, stress/burn-out and increased work-life autonomy, has led many workers to leave their jobs, which has been coined the Great Resignation. However, every coin has two sides – resignations at one organization will lead to retention/recruiting benefits at another. To have the upper hand, organizations need to focus now more than ever on talent development, diversity, inclusion and flexibility. Here are the Alliance’s recommendations:
Offer More Flexibility: Recent research studies during the pandemic have shown that employees have an increased desire for flexibility. A study in Harvard Business Review[1] sheds light on the desire for flexibility and autonomy – 59% indicated that flexibility is more important than salary/benefits and mentioned that they would not work for a company requiring them to be full-time onsite. Organizations need to revamp workplace flexibility policies and programs in order to recruit and retain the best talent.
https://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DFA-Action-Steps.jpg596800dfalliancehttps://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DFA-Humanizing-Work-Cultures-scaled.pngdfalliance2021-11-30 12:43:492021-11-30 12:43:49Action Step – GREAT RESIGNATION OR GREAT RETENTION: HOW YOUR POLICIES, PRACTICES & INFRASTRUCTURE CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
Many organizations are in the process of designing hybrid work environments. While different organizations will need different hybrid work structures to support their unique needs, all organizations need to consider new ways to effectively onboard new employees and make them feel a part of their new organization. Based on our numerous conversations with leaders and employees, we have heard feedback regarding difficulty with integrating new employees during the pandemic. Therefore, organizations need to make sure to carefully think through their pre-arrival and onboarding processes, as well as modifications and additional infrastructure to support successful onboarding and intentional integration.
Pre-Arrival and Orientation – Outreach to new hires prior to their arrival to let them know the timing of orientation and what to expect makes for a more comfortable introduction to the firm. Organizations should provide all new employees with an orientation (in-person, virtual, or a combination) on their first day. At a minimum, this orientation should include a message from the CEO/Chair, messages from group leaders, introduction and contacts from all support departments (i.e. IT; Human Resources; Word Processing; Marketing), and any specific organizational processes/procedures (i.e. billing codes; necessary contacts). Subsequently, each new employee should have a lunch/coffee (in-person or virtual) set up with a department leader/supervisor and peer employee.
https://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DFA-Action-Steps.jpg596800dfalliancehttps://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DFA-Humanizing-Work-Cultures-scaled.pngdfalliance2021-09-29 11:15:332021-09-29 11:15:33Action Step – Creating a Successful Onboarding & Integration Program for Your Hybrid Work Environment
Action Step – TO BE ITERATIVE WITH WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY MEANS TO BE INTENTIONAL
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
Organizational leaders often mention that workplace flexibility policies must be iterative. We could not agree more – workplace flexibility policies and practices improve over time from lessons learned. However, for workplace flexibility policies to be truly iterative, organizations must be intentional and systematic. Iterative improvement does not occur without processes and systems in place to understand, measure and implement changes to combat challenges and replicate successes. Here is the Alliance’s 5-Step Process to make sure your workplace flexibility policies/practices are iterative:
Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center
To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity &
Action Step – GREAT RESIGNATION OR GREAT RETENTION: HOW YOUR POLICIES, PRACTICES & INFRASTRUCTURE CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
As we emerge from the pandemic, the Great Resignation has been taking hold and impacting organizations around the globe. Many employees have faced stress and burn-out over the past year, trying to balance personal, family and work obligations around the clock without necessary support structures in place. Simultaneously, many employees gained more work-life control than they ever had during the pandemic, experiencing more regular dinners with family, being able to live in new places and have new adventures while working remotely, and spending more time with children and aging parents than ever before. These seemingly dichotomous experiences, stress/burn-out and increased work-life autonomy, has led many workers to leave their jobs, which has been coined the Great Resignation. However, every coin has two sides – resignations at one organization will lead to retention/recruiting benefits at another. To have the upper hand, organizations need to focus now more than ever on talent development, diversity, inclusion and flexibility. Here are the Alliance’s recommendations:
[1] Reisinger, Holger and Fetterer, Dane, “Forget Flexibility.
Action Step – Creating a Successful Onboarding & Integration Program for Your Hybrid Work Environment
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
Many organizations are in the process of designing hybrid work environments. While different organizations will need different hybrid work structures to support their unique needs, all organizations need to consider new ways to effectively onboard new employees and make them feel a part of their new organization. Based on our numerous conversations with leaders and employees, we have heard feedback regarding difficulty with integrating new employees during the pandemic. Therefore, organizations need to make sure to carefully think through their pre-arrival and onboarding processes, as well as modifications and additional infrastructure to support successful onboarding and intentional integration.
Members: continue reading this Action Step in the Member Resource Center
To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity &