Friday, December 17, 2021

D&I and the importance of providing equal opportunities in a banking environment




What is Diversity and inclusion (D&I)?

Figure1: Diversity & Inclusion
(Source: Baron, 2019)

Diversity is described as “a set of conscious practices that involve: Understanding and appreciating interdependence of humanity, cultures, and the natural environment.” (Queensborough Community College, 2021), whereas, Inclusion is known as the involvement of people from a variety of social and cultural origins, as well as people from various genders and sexual orientations. The combination of both these terms has created the concept of diversity and inclusion.

Why it is important to have a diversified workforce and focus on inclusion?

People have become a vital part of the global competitive economy with the globalization. Due to which, “the workforce now comprises more women, minorities, differently abled people, ethnic and multinational groups, intergenerational employees, and people from other cultures” (Poonam and Solkhe, 2021). Poonam and Solkhe (2021) further explains that, in order to realize the full potential of a diverse workforce, organizations have moved their focus from diversity management to inclusive communities. 

Figure2: Comparing Diversity and Inclusion
Across Borders Is Harder Than I Thought
(Source: Kovacs, 2017)

If we have a look at an international banking environment, there are customers who are coming from various ethnicities, cultures, genders, abilities and disabilities. In order to provide an equally better and a quality customer service to all the customers, it is important that the banks are armed with a diversified workforce. As an example, most of the Chinese customers only understand and speak mandarin, due to which, if a frontline staff at a bank who is not able to speak or understand mandarin will not be able to provide a better service to the customer. However, if the bank has already had a diversified workforce, and there are staff who are able to speak and understand mandarin, they will easily be able to handle the customer request and provide a better customer service, which will ultimately help retain happy customers with the bank for a longer period of time.

Figure3: Managing a diverse and inclusive mobile workforce
(Source: Mercer, 2021)

Not only the enhanced customer experience, but also “adequate diversity and inclusive environment may improve employee work satisfaction and job efficiency” (Poonam and Solkhe, 2021). The study of Poonam and Solkhe (2021) has also found out that, the age, gender, and racial diversity have all been established as key features of Diversity and Inclusion strategies across industries. Slowly but steadily, more studies evidence on the emerging acceptance of LGBTQ persons and employees with special needs in modern workplaces, with the goal of projecting varied but inclusive workplaces that strategically promote business branding.

Providing Equality

Figure4: Difference between Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
(Source: Belton, 2021)

A study of Das et al., (2017) has further explained that, the large corporations and institutions are examining their diversity and inclusion policies to see if they are sufficient in achieving pay equity, both in terms of ensuring that workers who perform identical activities are paid equally and that different persons have an equal chance at different professions. Because, it is always essential to keep the employees motivated and satisfied in order to provide a healthy and a better work environment with equal opportunities. Specially in banks which are service oriented organisations, it is essential to provide the opportunities which are equal to help enhance the employee experience, through which the service quality gets improved ultimately. This will then help enhance the customer experience in order to compete will and retain in the banking industry.

Conclusion

In-light of the information gathered above, it is clear that the importance of having diversity and inclusion in a banking environment helps enhance both the employee as well as customer experience. By providing equal opportunities for this diversified workforce, the banks will easily be able to retain happy and motivated workforces within their organisations, that will ultimately uplift the profit gains due to the fact that they are being able to retain happy customers through the quality of the service their motivated employees provide.


References

Bbaron, S., (2019) Diversity & Inclusion. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://blogs.lt.vt.edu/grad5104/diversity-inclusion/ [Accessed 12 December 2021].

Das, J., Joubert, C.J.E. and Tordoir, S.F., 2017. Compensation, diversity and inclusion at the World Bank Group. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, (8058).

Kovacs, S., (2017) Comparing Diversity and Inclusion Across Borders Is Harder Than I Thought. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.invistaperforms.org/comparing-diversity-inclusion-across-borders-harder-thought/ [Accessed 12 December 2021].

Mercer, (2021) Managing a diverse and inclusive mobile workforce. [ONLINE]. Available at: https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/insights/article/managing-a-diverse-and-inclusive-mobile-workforce [Accessed 12 December 2021].

Solkhe, A., 2021. Diversity and Inclusion: An Analysis of Current Status, Dimensions and Methodology through Systematic Review of Literature. Asian Journal of Economics, Finance and Management, pp.7-20.


17 comments:

  1. Valuable blog for the discussion.Both aspects of D&I are important一diversity without inclusion can result in a toxic culture, and inclusion without diversity can make a company stagnant and uncreative. Companies are starting to focus more on diversity, but many disregard the inclusion piece of the puzzle. Without a concerted effort towards both inclusion and diversity, your workforce will feel out of place and unsupported (Wong, 2020).

    ReplyDelete
  2. to promote financial services. Diversity and inclusion Firms should take note of this and consider how they will navigate this new environment. The FCA will use the feedback from the paper to improve its supervisory approach to include D&I. The regulators expressly state in this wide-ranging and significant paper that diversity and inclusion (D&I) will be embedded into existing supervisory practices.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Valuable topic that need to be discussed and this will help organization to manage human capital in effective manner for the success of the organization. Equal Employment Opportunity helps to reduce potential barriers that may prevent certain groups of people from entering and/or progressing in a workplace, and is a fundamental element for diversity to thrive. Very interesting article.

    ReplyDelete
  4. As my thoughts banking sector fives more importance to customers and in order to obtain maximum customer satisfaction the employees must be taken care well and equally diversified. Good explanation on the topic

    ReplyDelete
  5. Employers with EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) rules are more likely to recruit a diverse pool of eligible employees. EEO rules guarantee that eligible most qualified candidates are given equal treatment regardless of non-job-related criteria like race, gender, handicap, ethnicity.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Creating a diverse and inclusive organization is a never-ending process. Every policy, practice, and program implemented moves the organization closer to its objectives.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Diversity and inclusion are two notions that are related but not equal. Diversity refers to an individual's makeup or representation. Inclusion refers to how successfully different groups of people's contributions, presence, and opinions are appreciated and incorporated into an area.Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A diverse workplace allows for the implementation of more ideas and methods.This diversity of talent means that employees have a greater range of talents as well as a diversity of experiences and viewpoints, which boosts the possibility of increased productivity.Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  9. Diversity among employees contributes to brings more genuine solutions and results to organisation. Different people have different talents, creativity and perspectives, which are the invaluable commodity of a perfect solution or outcome.

    ReplyDelete
  10. In my opinion, All employees should be treated with respect, live in an environment free of discrimination, and be allowed to bring their complete selves to work.

    ReplyDelete