In this session that I delivered at the 2014 Louisiana SHRM Conference on Human Resources on April 7th I merged my own personal story of a person living with a severe hearing disability and speech impediment and workplace diversity & inclusion strategy. Diversity & inclusion is no longer just a legislative requirement, it also significantly contributes to employee engagement and top and bottom line business results. Further, the definition of diversity has broadened during the past 10-15 years, and is not limited to sex, race, nationality and persons with disabilities. I talked about my own personal story --- the good, the bad and the ugly, the business case for workplace diversity and inclusion, how diversity and inclusion plays into the employee experience, and how organizations can create a real diversity and inclusion strategy that truly works.

1. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
GOOD.
Let’s Talk Diversity,
Inclusion & the
Employee Experience.
#LASHRM14
#inclusion

2. WE ALL
HAVE A STORY
TO TELL

3. WHAT’S
YOUR
UNIQUE
STORY?

4. HERE’S MINE.

5. I WAS BORN
HEARING IMPAIRED

6. AND WASN’T
DIAGNOSED
UNTIL I WAS
ALMOST 3…

7. I COULDN’T SPEAK A WORD OF
ENGLISH UNTIL MY 3RD BIRTHDAY…

10. AND I WEAR 2
HEARING AIDS…

11. IT GETS BETTER…

12. …I ALSO HAVE A
SEVERE STUTTER

13. IT WASN’T EASY
GROWING UP!

14. I HAD ZERO
CONFIDENCE

15. I WAS ALWAYS
EXHAUSTED

16. MY LOWEST MOMENTEarly February 1990

17. WHAT DID I DO?

19. “I LEARNED THAT COURAGE WAS NOT THE ABSENCE
OF FEAR, BUT THE TRIUMPH OVER IT.
THE BRAVE MAN IS NOT HE WHO DOES NOT FEEL
AFRAID, BUT HE WHO CONQUERS THAT FEAR.”
NELSON MANDELA

20. I DECIDED TO FIGHT

21. COURAGE
HARD WORK
CONFIDENCE
PERSEVERANCE
PERSPECTIVE

22. DO IT ALONE
I COULDN’T

23. SPORTS

24. CLOSE FRIENDS
FAMILY &

25. UNIQUE INTANGIBLE

26. I HAVE SUCCEEDED…
BUT EVERY DAY IS A STRUGGLE!

27. I GREW UP…

28. WHY SHOULD WE CARE
ABOUT WORKPLACE
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION?

29. “TO BEST SERVE THE MARKET ONE
MUST EMPLOY THE MARKET”

30. A DIFFERENT ANGLE
GENDER
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
RELIGION
SEX
DISABILITY
SKILLS
FAMILY STATUS
THOUGHT
EDUCATION
EXPERIENCE
COLOR
ETHNICITY
WORK/LIFE BLENDING
POLITICAL VIEWS DECISION-MAKING
TECHNOLOGY
AGE

31. POSITIVE CORRELATION
BETWEEN DIVERSE & INCLUSIVE
ORGANIZATIONS & BUSINESS SUCCESS

32. 77%
40%
20%
12%
Source: www.workforce.com
of Executives strongly
support diversity initiatives
of employees
believe their
organization
is diverse
and inclusive
When employees feel that they have a
more diverse and inclusive workforce…
in employee turnover
in employee effort

33. “Organizations understand investing in diversity &
inclusion will likely enhance employee engagement,
better serve customers and increase their
organization’s innovation and agility”.
Stacia Sherman Garr
VP, Talent Management Research, Bersin by Deloitte,
Deloitte Consulting
DIGGING DEEPER

34. Attract Integrate Perform Retain Transition
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
“Taking a Holistic Approach”

35. WARREN

36. HOW?

37. Values Based
Workplace Culture
Senior Leadership
Commitment—
“Walk the Talk”
Focus on Constant &
Consistent Communication
Real Business
Measures &
Metrics
Broaden Your Definition of
Diversity—”Serve the Market”
Empower
Employees—
Educate
HR Business Practice Re-
Engineering
SECRET SAUCE

38. Source: www.diversityinc.com

39. SO, WHAT’S
YOUR STORY?

40. HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT
SOMEONE ELSES STORY?

41. THE BUSINESS CASE
IS CLEAR

42. INSIDE-OUT APPROACH
“NOT A CHECK-BOX EXERCISE”

43. DELIVER ON PROMISES
“WALK THE TALK”

44. EDUCATE, EDUCATE…
AND EDUCATE SOME MORE!

45. @JeffWaldmanHR
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www.jeffwaldman.ca
JeffWaldman1
jeff@stratify.co
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