Inclusive Culture Alignment

Exude Human Capital understands that embarking on or reapproaching a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) journey can be daunting and overwhelming, and many organizations are not sure where or how to begin. As the social landscape of the workplace has changed, it’s often overlooked that belongingness and the feeling of inclusion drive measurable results. A recent Harvard Business Review study showed that high belonging drove 56% better job performance, 50% less turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days, where feelings of exclusion caused employees to give significantly less effort to their team. In addition to being the right thing to do, it’s also a measurable cost to the bottom line.

Why ICA?

Belongingness is realized when inclusive practices are integrated throughout the culture and infrastructure of the organization without having to identify them as DEIB.

We have been working in the DEIB space for several years, and the one common theme our clients share is that they don’t know how to measure where they’re at or how to create a plan for progress. It all feels very overwhelming, and there’s a lot of pressure to do it the right way. The simple fact is that everyone wants to feel included and like they belong. When your team feels inclusion and belongingness, they tend to be happier and more productive. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming plan, though. We believe there is a way to identify where an organization is in its inclusion journey and help them come up with an action plan for real, measurable progress. So, we created our Inclusive Culture Alignment offering.

Our Inclusive Culture Alignment:

• Provides a safe space for meaningful dialogue toward a common understanding and vision.​
• Acknowledges efforts already made.​
• Highlights inconsistencies in experience and perspectives. ​
• Illustrates what integration of inclusion and belonging can look like.

Exude Human Capital’s Inclusive Culture Alignment

Exude Human Capital has designed a self-assessment tool that evaluates the current state of fifteen dimensions of organizational culture and the degree to which inclusivity is integrated into each area. The assessment results are analyzed and presented to participants in a facilitated conversation to help align the various perceptions of phased progress and collectively identify three dimensions to prioritize and establish action plans toward becoming a more inclusive and equitable organization.

• Complete self-assessment of 15 dimensions of the organization.
• Participate in the facilitated conversation and alignment session.
• Receive a measured score of where the organization is in its DEIB journey.
• Discuss potential starting points on how to action the next steps.
• This assessment can be repeated to measure progress.
• Additional advisory services are available to further momentum.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who should participate in this?

Organizational stakeholders who influence the design and reinforcement of the structures that support an inclusive culture. Our consultants will support our clients in identifying the appropriate stakeholders for participation in ICA.​

What about the employee perspective? 

ICA is an assessment of the structures and processes, shaped by leaders, that live across the organization. An understanding of how employees are experiencing these structures can be gathered through an employee survey and may be identified as a follow-up to the ICA process.

What is the average timeline for this?

Scheduling the stakeholders to come together for a couple of hours at once is often the most challenging part of the timeline. Once that’s scheduled, this can be around a 2-week project.

What should we be prepared for?

This topic can come with a lot of feelings and emotions. We encourage everyone to come into this with an open mind, honesty, and no judgment. The goal is to move the organization toward a more integrated inclusive culture. The questions will sometimes feel challenging to know how to answer, and that’s okay. That will be something that becomes part of the discussion. Often, people come to the facilitated conversation with a lot of different opinions and perspectives. The goal of the session is to talk through the differences and come out with an alignment together.

What happens after the session?

At the completion of the facilitated session, our consultant will have a debrief with the main contact and share some quick wins and action plans around potential next steps. That person can then work with their team internally to decide what they would like to tackle internally versus what they may want to explore external options for.

What is the consultant’s background?

Our Exude Human Capital ICA consultants have spent time developing this product while working with clients in many different industries, levels, and sizes of companies. They’ve worked in the DEIB and HR spaces for several years, bringing with them expertise and experience that allows them to share best practices with clients. Our consultants will create a safe environment to best engage and empower the stakeholders to have honest and transparent conversations about where the organization is today and all the potential it has for the future to create an integrated, inclusive culture.

What types of companies will Exude support?

Any industry including but not limited to professional services, social services, education, bio/pharma, technology, healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, communications, manufacturing, associations, finance, construction. We are experienced across any industry in both for-profit and non-profit sectors in the US, regardless of size.

What Our Clients Are Saying:

“They made us comfortable talking about some uncomfortable topics.”

“They helped us see some of the things we were overlooking.”

“It led us to better see the big picture, and helped our leadership turn strategy into tactical, actionable, and sustainable steps on our inclusive culture journey.”