diversity – Workforce

September 8, 2020October 7, 2021

Diversity training is the opposite of ‘anti-American’

Late last week, Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, issued a memo directing that from this point forward, the federal government will spend zero federal dollars for diversity training for its employees. Why? Because President Trump has concluded that diversity training is “divisive, anti-American propaganda.”

According to the memo, “All agencies are directed to begin to identify all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on ‘critical race theory,’ ‘white privilege,’ or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil.”

It continues, “[A]ll agencies should begin to identify all available avenues within the law to cancel any such contracts and/or to divert Federal dollars away from these un-American propaganda training sessions.”

Diversity training is the opposite of anti-American, and canceling it will only serve to drive us further apart. We need to teach differences, not hide from them.

We as a nation are more divided than we have ever been during my lifetime. In fact, I’d argue that we are more divided than we’ve been since the Civil War.

Race continues to be the line that divides us the most. Ignoring this issue won’t fix the problem, and likely will only make it worse. We will not fix America’s race problem by pretending that it doesn’t exist. Not only does it exist, but it is perhaps that which defines us best as American. Our nation is one with an unnerving history of slavery, which has caused 155 years (and counting) of race relations problems.

Germany, for example, does not pretend that Holocaust never happened. Instead, it reckons with its horrific past by teaching the Holocaust in its schools and making illegal Nazi symbols and language. Yet, some of us Americans still want to whitewash our history and fly Confederate flags. We don’t fix out race problems by pretending they don’t exist or aren’t problems at all.

Employee diversity training is critically important, perhaps now more than ever. We all should be committed to the cause of fair and equal treatment of all Americans. Canceling diversity training, however, is a big step in the wrong direction away from the goal of equality for all.

August 11, 2020June 29, 2023

Unify those far away workplaces with global mobility tools

Expanding from a domestic business to a global entity is an exciting prospect. Yet tapping into new worldwide markets brings a unique set of workforce management challenges.

Success depends on a variety of factors but it ultimately comes down to building a consistent, equitable plan to manage employees at home and abroad. Implementing a workforce management software solution that can track and facilitate the needs of a global workforce is crucial to successfully developing an organization’s worldwide ambitions.

A global workforce balancing act

How executives supervise their workforce in one country may vastly differ in another nation for many reasons. What motivates an employee in Argentina will likely vary from a worker with the same title and responsibilities in Belarus or Pakistan.

Studies also have shown that while a population in one country prefers a particular management style, that same approach probably is not as effective in another country. Other differences can include:

Holiday celebrations.

Social attitudes.

Cultural backgrounds.

Language and currency.

Unifying global employees

Despite the myriad differences that come with managing a global workforce, there are common bonds and responsibilities all employees share.

Also read: Global workforce management is complex but more relevant in the remote workplace

They all work for the same organization. As such, human resources leaders should work with heads of other departments and regional managers to create uniform workforce management precedents, policies and standards that cross all borders and incorporate relevant and useful tools for all employees to use no matter where they are located.

Technology and a global workforce management system

When choosing an automated workforce management solution for a global company, organizations should seek ease of use through mobility tools that can quickly show a return on investment. Workforce management software enables savings by:

Controlling labor costs — Workforce management software cuts costs beginning with the initial clock in by eliminating time theft due to employee fraud. Automating payroll processes also minimizes the need for supervisors to make interpretations and ensures strict compliance with corporate policies.
Boosting employee productivity — Managers can monitor when their employees punch in and when they actually begin work. A mobile solution can help spot an excessive time lag and can immediately investigate the causes no matter where the employee is located.
Minimizing risk — Implementing a global workforce management system can provide key regulatory requirements up front and provide alerts to ensure organizations can comply with regional regulations consistently and with confidence.

Mobile solutions ease the burden

Managers need to know where global staff is at any given moment. Whether it’s due to crisis communications during a natural disaster or monitoring employee safety through their whereabouts on a particular job site, mobile workforce management solutions allow managers to quickly identify and assess staff safety and location through a platform’s photo-verified clock in system.

GPS also plays a key role in global workforce management. Timesheets can automatically sync GPS locations of all employees when they clock in and clock out, so there’s no need to worry about an employee’s whereabouts.

For a number of organizations operating in industries that function globally, pay rates also can get complicated. By implementing the Workforce.com platform, employees’ GPS clock in data automatically assigns pay rates depending on registered location, saving employers valuable time and payroll administrators the headache and complexities of computing pay.

Integrate Workforce.com’s time clock app with payroll and POS systems already in use and have those far-away employees available in an instant via your mobile device.

June 16, 2020June 29, 2023

Everything you need to know about the LGBTQ discrimination decision in 5 quotes

lgbtq, legal, discrimination, diversity and inclusion

June is Pride Month. If you thought the month’s biggest LGBTQ news was Nickelodeon tweeting that SpongeBob was part of the LGBTQ+ community, you have another thing coming.

On June 15, in Bostock v. Clayton County, the United States Supreme Court clearly, decisively and unequivocally held:

An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII.

The Bostock majority opinion is 33 pages long. I’ll break it down for you in five key quotes.

1. “Few facts are needed to appreciate the legal question we face. Each of the three cases before us started the same way: An employer fired a longtime employee shortly after the employee revealed that he or she is homosexual or transgender—and allegedly for no reason other than the employee’s homosexuality or transgender status.”

2. “Today, we must decide whether an employer can fire someone simply for being homosexual or transgender. The answer is clear. An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”

3. “It is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.”

4. “There is simply no escaping the role intent plays here: Just as sex is necessarily a but-for cause when an employer discriminates against homosexual or transgender employees, an employer who discriminates on these grounds inescapably intends to rely on sex in its decisionmaking.”

5. “We agree that homosexuality and transgender status are distinct concepts from sex. But, as we’ve seen, discrimination based on homosexuality or transgender status necessarily entails discrimination based on sex; the first cannot happen without the second. Nor is there any such thing as a ‘canon of donut holes,’ in which Congress’s failure to speak directly to a specific case that falls within a more general statutory rule creates a tacit exception.… ‘Sexual harassment’ is conceptually distinct from sex discrimination, but it can fall within Title VII’s sweep. Same with ‘motherhood discrimination.’ Would the employers have us reverse those cases on the theory that Congress could have spoken to those problems more specifically? Of course not. As enacted, Title VII prohibits all forms of discrimination because of sex, however they may manifest themselves or whatever other labels might attach to them.”

(Bonus wishy-washy quote, from Justice Kavanaugh’s dissent: “Notwithstanding my concern about the Court’s transgression of the Constitution’s separation of powers, it is appropriate to acknowledge the important victory achieved today by gay and lesbian Americans. Millions of gay and lesbian Americans have worked hard for many decades to achieve equal treatment in fact and in law. They have exhibited extraordinary vision, tenacity, and grit—battling often steep odds in the legislative and judicial arenas, not to mention in their daily lives. They have advanced powerful policy arguments and can take pride in today’s result. Under the Constitution’s separation of powers, however, I believe that it was Congress’s role, not this Court’s, to amend Title VII.”)

There has not been a more significant employment law decision in over 22 years. It might be that long or longer before we see another of this import. Bostock is worthy of celebration because it finally puts to rest any open issue that employers can insidiously and intentionally discriminate against their LGBTQ employees.

June 15 is a day worth celebrating because it will forever be the day that our LBGTQ brothers and sisters finally gained their civil rights at work. It was long overdue.

Employers, take heed. If you are still among the group of businesses that discriminate against LGBTQ employees, you are violating the law. This is no longer an open question. Case closed.

January 29, 2020June 29, 2023

Leadership diversity in football, corporate America and beyond

Moving up the chain of command is discouraging in a lot of companies. The further you go, the more white and male it gets.

This disappointing trend of diversity recently was in the news. The Wall Street Journal also reported that “women held more U.S. jobs than men in December for the first time in nearly a decade, a development that likely reflects the future of the American workforce.” Despite this development, we’re still seeing a population of leaders that is mostly male.

The Washington Post recently published an article about the frustration many black coaches have over the National Football League’s hiring process. While nearly 70 percent of NFL players are black, potentially only three head coaches will be after a series of vacancies are filled this year.

Said one black position coach about Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Eric Bieniemy, according to the article: “Watching E.B. get passed over has a big ripple effect because now you have guys who are questioning if there is even a chance to elevate in the NFL. You want the best coaching candidates, regardless of race. And if you’re biased against black coaches, you’re overlooking a lot of talent.”

Other black coaches expressed concerns that they were only interviewed for the position to check a box or that no matter what advocacy or interview rules got adopted, that wouldn’t change the conscious or unconscious biases of the interviewers and decision makers.

I have a few responses to stories like these (none of which are “surprise”). The first is, given how many companies preach their commitment to diversity and how many companies love to showcase their diversity and inclusion initiatives, how aren’t the results there? Why is the group of people with the most power and the highest salaries still mostly homogenous in so many fields? How long will it take for unconscious bias training to have an impact in hiring decisions, especially for jobs higher up the career ladder?

My research department colleague Grey Litaker and I worked on a story about this topic last year. Litaker dug up research on diversity in the pool of MBA graduates versus diversity in leadership positions. The percentage of educated, diverse MBA graduates was not close to matching up the the (very low) percentage of diverse people in leadership positions.

One quote from Molly Brennan, founding partner and executive vice president of executive search firm Koya Leadership Partners, really stuck out to me when creating this story, and I think it applies to non-corporate organizations like the National Basketball Association as well. “This idea that there’s not a lot of qualified candidates [from] underrepresented groups out there is a false one. There’s a whole host of diverse, qualified people who are ready, willing and able to take on leadership roles.”

Also read: The 2010s in Diversity and Inclusion: How Much Progress Did We Make?

We’re in a new decade now, and I’d encourage company leaders to think critically about their D&I strategy and if it’s enough. Forget the marketing speak and the press release-friendly quotes about how much you value diversity. How is that actually translating into which employees get the opportunity to get a promotion, and which employees are held back by the attitudes and assumptions of decision makers? Rather than focusing on brand-speak that sounds good to consumers, focus on making substantial changes that could actually even the playing field.

December 22, 2019June 29, 2023

The Decade in Diversity and Inclusion: How Much Progress Did We Make?

From a diversity and inclusion perspective, this has been a tumultuous decade. There has clearly been an increase in conversation about moving the dial on D&I, but how much has really changed?

It’s easy to feel discouraged when women make up only 17 percent of executives in consulting, 15 percent in financial services, and 11 percent in tech. However, increased advocacy, laws and pressure addressing this problem has begun to make changes. The proportion of women on boards of the FTSE 100 has increased from 12.5 percent in 2010 to 32.4 percent in 2019.

But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. The biggest areas where things have changed are our understanding of bias and discrimination and the way people are thinking about D&I.

Ten years ago, the words “unconscious bias” were only heard in academic circles. Now, they are common parlance. The term “psychological safety” was only used in academic journals in 2010, but now C-suite executives discuss its importance. These examples show an incredible increase in our understanding of why inclusion problems persist in the workplace.

Perhaps the biggest change comes from the very reasons organizations are doing D&I work in the first place. A decade ago, most organizations were approaching D&I from a compliance-driven approach that focused on ensuring the company was meeting all requirements it was legally obligated to. This “Diversity 101” approach was about attaining a minimum, not adding value.

As social consciousness around D&I increased, many organizations moved to a “Diversity 2.0” approach. They recognized that consumer markets look very different than they might have even 10 years ago and that consumers want to respect the values of the organizations they buy from. Putting diversity at the center of a major ad campaign is a good signal to these diverse populations that businesses understand these needs.

But as we close out the decade, some organizations have realized when these ad campaigns are not backed up by concrete action, it can create a feeling of inauthenticity. This can make the dominant group feel good about themselves but make the minority group they are trying to attract even more cynical. That gap in marketing versus reality is stark, and people notice. It causes a credibility gap that can make things worse in the eyes of the public.

As a result, businesses have found real success by using the “Inclusion 3.0” approach. This is where diversity and inclusion initiatives are not something done on the side, but rather are a key aspect of the way they do business.

Inclusive thinking is embedded in all the decisions they make, creating the conditions for a more organic increase in diversity in the company and a more inclusive environment that makes everyone thrive and work together more productively.

This change in perspective is also affecting new technologies. In the last decade, advances in machine learning and AI have caused some problems in the D&I space. Algorithms are created by human programmers, so everything the machine learns is imbued with their biases. One famous example is how object-detection systems in self-driving cars are better at detecting light skin than dark skin, a phenomenon discovered by Georgia Tech researchers in early 2019.

However, this technology has also become much cheaper. Thus, as we become more aware of how bias affects AI, we are more easily able to rectify its problems. In the case of self-driving cars, companies like Tesla and Uber have been able to adapt their platforms to completely change the way their cars detect objects in a short time for a relatively low cost.

Moreover, we are seeing the advent of tech products that actually help mitigate our biases. Textio is one example. It uses machine learning to help us understand what words and phrases in job descriptions are more or less biased toward applicants of different genders.

As tech becomes cheaper and easier to use, and as our awareness of our own biases and how they affect our work and technology increases, we can become increasingly innovative in how to mitigate our biases in day-to-day life. While at times it may seem that little progress has been made when we look at the numbers, in reality the change in consciousness around D&I is a much more substantive change.

We may have backlash to this progress, coming in the forms of political crises around the globe, but the conversation has clearly changed. As such, we can look to the next decade with optimism.

October 25, 2019June 29, 2023

New Study Points to Diversity and Inclusion as Key Driver to Company Success

A recent study focusing on diversity in the workplace found a strong correlation between diversity and inclusion functions and corporate business strategies that if well-aligned will reap a distinct positive impact on the organization’s reputation, employee retention and financial success.

Global communications firm Weber Shandwick and management consultancy United Minds joined forces with KRC Research to conduct a new diversity study that focuses on the best practices of D&I functions that are well-aligned with the overall business strategy of the company, as well as the roles and responsibilities of chief diversity officers and the challenges facing them today.

“Diversity Officers Today: Paving the Way for Diversity & Inclusion Success,” which was released in September, surveyed 500 senior-level corporate D&I professionals employed at high-revenue companies in the United States. Elizabeth Rizzo, Weber Shandwick’s senior vice president of reputation research, said that the survey was about “their role, their attitude about the D&I function that they work for, and how it is integrated with the rest of the company.” The research categorized D&I professionals into three sections — Well-Aligned, Aligned and Misaligned — along a “D&I alignment continuum.”

Tai Wingfield, senior VP of diversity, equity and inclusion, Weber Shandwick.

After reading extensively about increased visibility on the work and investment that companies were making in D&I, researchers noticed a significant gap in the field. “We were surprised to find that there was very little research available that looked at the role of chief diversity officer as a whole,” said Tai Wingfield, Weber Shandwick’s senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion practice. “We thought there was a need to have some sort of research in place to arm chief diversity officers with best practices on what they could do more effectively, and to raise visibility around what this role entails and where it’s headed in the next couple of years.”

Full alignment is achieved when the actions of the D&I function and D&I staff members are integrated with the organization’s planned objectives in order to meet its overall business goals. This alignment has a substantial effect on new hires and resignations. The study shows that D&I activities impact 30 percent of new hires and 13 percent of resignations. Well-aligned companies have a 33 percent rate of position acceptances due to employee satisfaction of D&I at the company, as compared to aligned functions with 28 percent and misaligned functions with 24 percent.

D&I alignment was found to be a key driver of company reputation, as 79 percent of executives in well-aligned functions strongly agreed. This is substantially higher than in aligned D&I functions with 44 percent and misaligned D&I functions with 30 percent.

Financial performance was also positively transformed through D&I. An estimated 66 percent of executives in well-aligned D&I functions strongly agreed with this statement, which was also substantially higher than the 27 percent of executives in aligned D&I functions and the 30 percent in misaligned D&I functions.

“Having an aligned function means that you have a line of sight into the C-suite, that you’re getting the right investment in the space and that you have some sort of partnership with communications and marketing, which is critical in terms of achieving D&I goals and objectives,” Wingfield said. “All of that ladders up to increased reputation benefits, financial performance and better retention and recruitment of diverse talent.”

The biggest challenge that diversity executives face is making the business case for diversity and inclusion, followed by making diversity and inclusion values or outcomes externally visible. “I think that’s why we see the CDOs who are in well-aligned functions with the business note that partnerships between communications and marketing as a best practice, because it’s so important in terms of that external visibility piece,” Wingfield said.

Rizzo said that the most surprising finding within this study was that there are three things standing in the way of achieving full integration and alignment with the business strategy: Not all D&I functions had a dedicated leader (34 percent), many of these positions are only part-time (40 percent), and alignment was not always a top priority for some companies (18 percent).

“That seems to suggest that not every company really realizes the importance of having their D&I function being aligned, or having a seat at the table with the other business strategy goals,” Rizzo said.

As for the future of D&I, the study also found that CDOs are optimistic in their visions for D&I and the expansion of the position in corporate America. Approximately 81 percent have a positive outlook on the future of D&I, and 50 percent predict that most U.S. companies will have chief diversity officer positions in the next five years.

August 19, 2019June 29, 2023

Diversity Consultants Are Healers, Not Magicians

I was on the phone with one of my favorite colleagues debriefing a recent client engagement.

We’d done a series of focus groups for an organizational assessment and we’d gotten some fantastic data and comments.

“They’re such a great client!” my colleague exclaimed. I enthusiastically agreed.

That exchange got me thinking about great clients. What makes them “great” to work with? And what are the consequences when a client isn’t “great”?

Consultants are here to serve clients, yet we are most effective when clients help us help them. Being a “great client” doesn’t just matter when working with diversity consultants — it matters in engaging any external partner for leadership development, organizational strategy or change management. However, sometimes those leaders engaging diversity and inclusion consultants are less experienced in how to work with external professionals.

What makes clients great to work with — and more successful afterwards as a result — are the following three behaviors:

Trust the consultant. Clients who are unable or unwilling to be fully transparent inhibit the consultant’s ability to serve them and do an excellent job. Even pre-contract intake conversations are confidential, and an ethical consultant will ensure their client’s data, documents and personal disclosures are kept private. If you’re wary, have the consultant sign a non-disclosure agreement, but just as full honesty with your physician is critical to receiving the best health care, full transparency with your D&I consultant is critical to properly diagnosing your problem and getting meaningful results. Avoid keeping secrets from your diversity consultant even if they portray your organization in a less-than-flattering light.

Work at least as hard as the consultant. The consultant will eventually leave, and you will stay behind. Ultimately, you are the owner of the problem you have hired the consultant to help solve. Just as it’s up to you to follow your physician’s advice and change your behaviors to improve your health, you are responsible for implementing solutions and creating results that matter for your organization. Involve the right people in meetings with the consulting team, and enlist the right internal people to take on tasks. Follow up on action items by the agreed-upon deadlines. Communicate changes in priorities or key personnel to the consultant, as well as crises that arise during the project. Make it easy for the consultant to do their job well by executing critical functions they can’t, such as internal communications, scheduling and on-site logistics. It’s a waste of time, talent and budget to not ensure proper building access, fill focus groups, or brief stakeholders on the project goals.

Follow the consultant’s advice. Great clients hire excellent consultants because they need expertise they don’t have in-house. The fields of diversity and inclusion, organizational development, coaching and others require years of study and practice. When a consultant uses their expertise to provide recommendations, great clients often ask for clarification or provide necessary pushback. But just as a patient may not get good outcomes if they ignore a health practitioner’s advice, a client who does not heed their consultant’s expertise will not get the best results. Just as in health care, second opinions and questions are welcome, but great clients don’t waste their budget on consultants they plan to ignore or use as a scapegoat.

In short, great clients treat D&I consultants like healers, not magicians. Just like other types of healers, we partner with clients to understand their situation and context, diagnose the problem, co-create a treatment plan and provide support. We can’t do the work for the client just as the physician can’t heal the patient. The patient’s body does that with the right intervention and support. We can’t wave a wand and make the problem vanish, and we cannot fix it for you. Great clients get it, which is one of the reasons they can be so successful after working with great consultants.

July 24, 2019August 3, 2023

Employers Find Strength in Diversity

Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, chief human resource officer for global cybersecurity and defense company Symantec — Amy Cappellanti-Wolf

Amy Cappellanti-Wolf is the chief human resource officer for global cybersecurity and defense company Symantec. Cappellanti-Wolf has extensive experience in the consumer and tech sectors, having worked companies such as Pepsi, Disney and Cisco Systems. Cappellanti-Wolf spoke with Workforce Editorial Associate Bethany Tomasian on diversity as a driving force for a successful business operations model.

Workforce: How does diversity fit into Symantec’s business strategy?

Amy Cappellanti-Wolf: I believe that diversity is an important business driver. Symantec is located in more than 42 countries around the world, and if you’re going to be a global company you need to have an employee population that reflects the different geographies of your customers. You need different ways to operate and go to market and you aren’t going to be able to do that with a homogeneous employee base. You need people that bring different perspectives and experiences into the business. Diversity is a critical enabler for the business to be successful.

Workforce: Can you describe Symantec’s initiatives to overcome diversity barriers regarding women and minorities?

Cappellanti-Wolf: Our first part of our three-pillar approach is centered around amplifying the work that we do and creating a platform for it. That affects our employees and potential employees in the marketplace, as well as our customers and partners. Our CEO Greg Clark signed the diversity pledge for CEOs to show that we are committed to creating a diverse work environment. The second pillar is about taking bias out of the system. We did this when we introduced Textio to our system. Textio allows you to look at job descriptions and ensure that the language is gender-neutralized. We don’t want words of phrases that might not be attractive to a diverse set of candidates. That change allows everyone a level playing field when they look at these jobs. The third pillar surrounds inclusive leadership and that starts at the top. You need a company where people have a voice and they know that what they say counts because different voices bring different solutions. Diversity is an outcome of good inclusion practices.

Also watch Cappellanti-Wolf talk about enterprise transformation at the 2019 Unleash conference in Las Vegas

Workforce: What advice would you offer other companies and startups regarding HR?

Cappellanti-Wolf: I would tell them to start with diversity now. Be clear about the three to four things that you want to do and focus on those, rather than launching 1,000 different ships. Leadership teams have a responsibility as officers of the company to drive this type of strategy so that it becomes a way by which you do business. I would tell startups to plant the mindset early by not to hiring the likely suspects: friends from college or previous colleagues. Bring different perspectives into the room. If you start at the beginning, it will become the operating model of business as it grows.

Other Workforce Q&As:

Gary Pisano on How Managerial Leadership Drives Innovation

Author Jeffrey Pfeffer Addresses Dying for a Paycheck — Literally

July 16, 2019June 29, 2023

A Handy FAQ for Service Animals in the Workplace

A local Subway recently earned itself some bad publicity when an employee denied access to a customer with a service dog.

While this story involved a customer and not an employee, it did get me thinking about employee service dogs at work.

I created this handy FAQ on service dogs at work for your reference.

Q1: What does the ADA say about service animals?

A1: Believe it or not, Title I of the ADA (the part of the law that covers employers and employees) is completely silent on the issue of service dogs. Thus, because Title I does not specifically address service animals, an employer should consider a request from an employee to bring a service animal to work just like any other request for a reasonable accommodation. This means that employers must consider the request, but do not have to automatically allow employees to bring their service animals to work.

Q2: What types of service animals does the ADA cover?

A2: Only two species can ever qualify as service animals under the ADA—dogs and miniature horses. That’s it. Any other animal, even if trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, is not an animal for which the ADA requires the consideration of an accommodation.

Q3: How should employers process requests for service animals by employees?

A3: Because the ADA is silent on this issue, a request to bring a service animal to work is nothing more than a request by an employee for an employer to modify its no-animals-in-the-workplace policy. If you have such a policy, you must consider modifying the policy on a request-by-request, case-by-case basis. If you don’t have such a policy, and generally allow other employees to bring animals to work, then you should allow employees with disabilities to bring service animals.

Q4: Must an employer allow service animals upon request, or can it offer other accommodations?

A4: A disabled employee is entitled to a reasonable accommodation, not his or her preferred accommodation. Thus, if there exists another reasonable accommodation (other than an exception to your no-animals policy) that will enable the employee to perform the essential functions of his or her job, then you can offer that accommodation in lieu of permitting a service animal. That said, because of the personal nature of a service animal, you should be prepared for the possibility that it might be the only reasonable accommodation in many instances.

Q5: What kind of documentation can an employer seek from an employee in support of the request for a service animal at work?

A5: When an employee with a disability requests the use of a service animal at work, the ADA grants the right to an employer to request medical documentation to support the need for the accommodation (if the need is not otherwise obvious; a blind employee should not need to prove the need for a seeing eye dog). Also, an employer has the right to request proof that the service animal is appropriately trained and will not disrupt the workplace.

Q6: Can you require proof of certifications, vaccinations, or insurance coverage?

A6: I would. Before being permitted to bring animals to work, owners (even those with disabilities and service animals) should verify that vaccinations are up to date, that the animal licensed and free of parasites and insects, and on regularly scheduled flea and tick preventatives. An employee should verify, in writing, sufficient homeowners’ or renters’ insurance to cover any damage to person or property caused by the animal. You could also consider indemnification in case your business gets sued, and a written paycheck deduction authorization for any damage caused (but I wonder if this could creep into the realm of discrimination or retaliation if you don’t require the same of other employees in similar circumstances.)

Q7: Can I hold the animal to certain workplace standards?

A7: Absolutely. I have no issues with requiring that all service animals be “office broken.” Animals with any bite history should not be permitted. Moreover, any aggressive behavior, such as growling, barking, chasing, or biting, should result in the animal’s expulsion on the first complaint. Animals should also be house broken, friendly towards people and other animals, and not protective of their owners or their owners’ spaces. Finally, you should define when animals must be leashed or otherwise restrained.

Q8: Can an employer deny a request if certain areas are off limits, or to accommodation other employees with certain animal allergies or phobias?

A8: No. If certain areas are off limits, for example, because of safety or other reasons, you just set rules and limits keeping the animal out of those areas. It’s not a reason to deny a request outright. Similarly, when you have When you have two people with disabilities, you don’t treat one as more important than the other. Instead, you work out a balance between each’s needs and accommodations.

Q9: How you handle a service animal’s bathroom needs?

A9: Designate a specific area outside for animals to go to the bathroom (preferably away from the entrances), and make sure pet owners understand that it is their responsibility (and only their responsibility) to clean up messes outside and accidents inside. You may, however, have to considering altering an employee’s break time(s), or providing additional breaks, to permit the disabled employee to care for the needs of his or her service animal.

Q10: What about emotional support animals, and other animals not classified as “service” animals?

A10: Emotional support animals, comfort animals, and therapy dogs are not service animals under the ADA. Thus, you have no duty to accommodate these requests.

These are not easy issues to work through. My recommendation is that you work with your employment counsel if you receive an accommodation request for a service animal from an employee.

July 9, 2019

Think Differently: 3 Ways to Build Cognitive Diversity in the Workplace

The ability to leverage diversity in experiences, culture and background is a strong driver of innovation and global success, according to a Forbes survey of executives. But there is one key element that can be overlooked as companies seek to become more diverse: cognitive diversity, or the differences in how people think and process information.

Teams that reflect cognitive diversity solve complex problems faster than teams composed of individuals who approach problem-solving in the same way, two researchers have discovered. When faced with new and uncertain situations, teams composed of cognitively diverse individuals deploy different modes of thinking to tackle the challenge at hand. The result is accelerated learning and performance. Meanwhile, teams composed of people who address complex problems in the same way are hampered by a lack of versatility. The findings held true irrespective of differences in gender, age or ethnicity.

Promoting greater cognitive diversity in teams can be challenging when the natural inclination of leaders is often to select people who have a similar approach either to themselves or to whoever filled a role previously. But a culture of innovation depends on diverse thinking and learning styles, and work is changing rapidly. What has worked in the past may not be what will work in the present the future.

Here are a few ways companies can effectively promote cognitive diversity.

Recruit for Cognitive Diversity

Be intentional in seeking team members with diverse thinking styles and approaches. There are very few organizations that aren’t looking to strengthen their workforce skill mix, and that means hiring differently. Challenging assumptions on the criteria for success in a given role is a good place to start.

Often, organizations seek to hire new talent based on their “pedigree” for a specific role, such as the number of years of experience in a similar position, where they went to college or the degree(s) they have obtained. But this hiring style limits an organization’s ability to gain the cognitive diversity needed to solve business challenges in a rapidly changing environment. Instead, leaders should ask, “What are the challenges we need to solve, and what are the capabilities, experiences and backgrounds we must possess to address these challenges in new ways?” While not every role lends itself to this process, applying this technique wherever possible is worth the risk.

It’s also important to look outside your industry sector for talent who could elevate your performance by introducing new ideas cultivated in different fields or work environments. For example, Magellan Health [Editor’s note: the author’s company] has hired tech start-up professionals, digital app developers and hospitality specialists to revamp its approach to patient engagement, improving outreach and outcomes. The higher levels of cognitive diversity gained through these efforts help companies keep pace with changing needs and better position themselves for long-term survival.

Also read: The 4 Myths of Health Care Cost Reduction

Break the Mold for Partnership

The ability to respond nimbly to change is a critical characteristic for innovation and long-term success. Strategic partnerships are one way to leverage the level of cognitive diversity needed to adapt and evolve in a transformative environment. Ecosystems are more fluid now than ever, and that will continue to hold true.

Look for opportunities to collaborate with non-traditional people, groups and companies to explore new ways of addressing the complex challenges your industry faces. Taking a “no lines” approach to solving complex issues strengthens cognitive diversity and better positions companies to both create and survive disruptive innovation in their areas of expertise.

In health care alone, partnerships between care providers, technology and software companies, retail firms and more are bringing new concepts to market that are disrupting traditional approaches to care delivery. The accounting firm PwC suggests the skills needed to respond to evolving business models in health care include proficiency in artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics

And this trend is not limited to just health care. As companies across the world navigate the fourth industrial revolution, the ability to draw from non-traditional areas of expertise — such as artificial intelligence, digital engagement and predictive analytics — and develop new skills in existing talent will differentiate organizations that control their destiny in a transformative environment from those that allow the environment to determine their fate.

Create Space to Innovate

Leaders have to set the tone for an innovative work environment — virtual or physical. At a time when 43 percent of employees spend at least some time working remotely, many of the historic social contracts between employees and employers are changing. Given this, now is a great time to be deliberate about building innovative muscle. Work is being redefined, focus on results is being strengthened, and entirely new ways of collaborating and connecting are emerging.

Also read: The New Employer-Employee Social Contract

Small steps can yield big results. Working with teams to gain clarity on a problem to be solved, for example, can be enough to start a new and different conversation about an old problem. Simply creating time for teams to think together about a shared need or issue without having to force a solution right away can yield a different outcome.

Rethinking what behavior gets rewarded is also important in reshaping a culture of innovation. Celebrating “tries” vs. successes takes courage, but it can be transformative in building innovative capability and attracting cognitively diverse talent.

A Renewed Approach to Breakthrough Performance

Cognitive diversity is an essential ingredient in creating a culture of innovation in any organization, and vice versa. Supporting a cognitively diverse workplace requires strong leadership that’s willing to truly rethink everything — not on their own, but with their teams, their customers and across organizational lines. The power of learning together and cultivating cognitive diversity in designing the work of tomorrow is a strong play for any company competing in today’s fast-changing world.