The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance is a think tank dedicated to creating work environments centered on inclusion and innovative thought leadership. The Alliance empowers organizations with the tools necessary for advancing women, fostering flexibility, and retaining top talent.
To learn how we can help your organization, please get in touch.
Action Step – Communication is Key: Spread the Word About Your Leave Policies & Resources
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.
Organizations are expanding parental leave policies and offering additional resources for new parents. A common challenge, however, is the utilization of the expanded policies. Similarly, employees and new hires often comment about their lack of knowledge of the parental leave policies and resources available to them. Even though more organizations are starting to pay closer attention to their parental leave policies, it’s equally important how they are communicated and publicized. By using our multi-step “EMAIL” communication strategy, you can increase recruiting and retention by highlighting your parental leave policies and resources.
EDUCATE YOUR LEADERS: Leaders at the organizational, office, and practice group levels should be familiar and aware of parental leave policies; this can be done through new leader training and orientation. Enlist champions among your leaders who will host office/organizational meetings that specifically communicate parental leave policies to employees. Not only does this help with communication efforts, it also increases utilization and reduces bias.
To learn more about effectively communicating about your organization’s leave policies and becoming a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, contact Eliza Musallam, Director of Membership. Members can access the complete Action Step in the Member Resource Center.
Action Step -Making it “RAIN” With Your Organization’s Flex Needs & Benefits
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.
A common barrier to launching new and expanded flexible work programs/policies is convincing organizational leaders of the long-term business benefits with recruiting, retention and productivity. Common questions include: What are peer organizations doing? Do our employees really care about flex? Is the cost really worth the benefit? Is the benefit too tenuous to measure? The Alliance can show you how to make it “RAIN” with your organizational leaders by demonstrating the business benefits of holistic flex.I
REVIEW EXTERNAL TRENDS: Company leaders may ask what peer organizations are doing in the area of flex. It’s important to review detailed industry surveys and current data such as the Alliance’s annual New Partner Report and our Law Firm Flexibility Benchmarking Survey, which contains data, trends, and statistics. When reviewing external surveys, look for trends in the types of programs peer organizations are launching. Make note of statistics and data to support your pitch with leaders. It’s also important to look at common challenges in your industry. Is there a glass ceiling for women at top leadership levels? Are employees commonly leaving traditional jobs for more flexible or alternative employers? Are there any niche areas losing traction in your industry? By thinking through common industry challenges and creating policies/programs to address them, you can be a trailblazer and gain recruitment and retention benefits.
Action Step -Structuring Affinity Groups for Optimal Success
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.
Organizations utilize affinity groups to build community among employees with shared identities, interests, and/or experiences. While fostering a sense of community is an important element of affinity groups, they can also lead to additional far-reaching organizational benefits. For example, affinity groups can provide training, push for new policies, and serve as a focus group to uncover challenges and bright spots to support the advancement of underrepresented groups. According to our 2017 Law Firm Flexibility Benchmarking Survey, one-third of our survey participants have a working parents affinity group and over 20% have a flex affinity group in place. While it’s a step in the right direction for more organizations to utilize affinity groups, it’s important to strategically think through the structure of the group and its roll-out in order to reap the most benefits.
CLARIFY FOCUS: Our action step, It Takes a Community, explains that all affinity groups should focus on three overarching pillars – promoting community, fostering training and development, and monitoring the progress and challenges. Think through the specific goals within each of these pillars you hope to achieve; this way the group will have a targeted mission and clear milestones to measure success. We recommend conducting a quick survey before launching any new group to better understand your employees’ specific interests, needs, and challenges in this area.