Dive Brief:
- League, a digital benefits platform, used feedback from LGBTQ research participants as well as recent immigrants to help redesign its written digital sign-up application forms so they're more inclusive and nondiscriminatory — thus providing an example of how small changes can go a long way regarding inclusivity at work.
- Based on input from 12 research participants, League separated gender from identity, giving applicants multiple choices to select from as well as an opportunity to enter a custom option under both categories, eschewing the basic "female, male, other" options most often provided. League also shifted their citizenship question after feedback, making it so forms asked after legal status in a country rather than asking whether someone was a citizen.
- In creating unbiased forms, League said form creators should determine whether they need to collect certain data or if they need to collect more. They should also explain why they need certain information, measure inclusion by testing any input they receive with a variety of cross-cultural names, and work on inclusion through holding regular conversations.
Dive Insight:
Redesigning a form to reflect inclusion is just one way to show all users, or workers in the case of employment, that they're respected and valued. This change may come within an overall effort to flag and eliminate microaggressions. Microaggressions are often subtle, insensitive insults that when left unchecked can deflate diversity and inclusion efforts and drive targeted employees to quit their jobs, according to recent research. Besides causing a D&I setback, microaggressions can fuel turnover, a situation organizations want to avoid in a employee-driven labor market.
Structural shifts, such as adjustments to enrollment forms, can help employers send a message that they take diversity and inclusion seriously. This message is an important one — a Deloitte survey released in June found that 64% of respondents experienced bias in the past year, and 83% of those workers said that the behavior and comments were subtle and indirect in nature. In response, HR may need to educate managers and ensure they understand what not to say and how to manage sticky "grey area" situations, which may require a manager to step in and solve it.
Robust feedback paths also give employees the opportunity to speak up when things go wrong — or when they notice something that could be changed for the betterment of everyone. Google recently announced it would create a website for employee complaints to improve transparency in management on this topic, for example; the company, however, has still found itself in hot water after an internal memo alleging pregnancy discrimination went viral there.