InterSearch, the Worldwide Organization of Executive Search Firms held its yearly conference in Bruges, Belgium, 2018, June 1-3. The worldwide meeting proved to be an inspirational and excellent place for an exchange of ideas, and an exceptional forum for the more than 60 executive search consultants representing 34 countries.
This meeting was a milestone in the history of IWW. The conference dedicated a special attention to the cause of Diversity and Inclusion.
I was honored to give an overview of the worldwide D&I tendencies and present the next required steps to the conference in the name of our D&I Practice Group. It is more and more recognized that the focus on diversity and inclusion is a unique way to give business a critical competitive advantage. Though there is still a different approach to D&I in the various geographical areas, several international initiatives proved that CEOs recognized their direct positive impact on the economy and corporate performance. ‘The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™’ is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace in North America. Europe has its own resonance with its 21 national Diversity Charters. By signing a diversity charter, the joining organization commits to promoting diversity and equal opportunities for its staff.
The global human capital trends also have interesting novelty. They show that D&I at the workplace are CEO-level issues by now; the global political environment increased employee sensitivity to D&I; it is also a fact that D&I became an important component at work, especially at the global companies; it is proved that D&I teams outperform their peers, and D&I created a significant public attention worldwide nowadays.
Our Diversity & Inclusion Practice Group at InterSearch conducted a survey whose aim was to map the practice of Diversity & Inclusion within the global organization. At the conference, the main lessons of the survey were shared. The questions covered three areas related the general importance of D&I in the country, the IWW partner firm activities with the clients as well as their internal D&I processes and strategies. The answers showed that at this moment our landscape is very diverse regarding the overall importance of D&I but also client and internally focused.
We can be proud that some of our member organizations already have an internal D&I policy and a few of them made concrete steps to make D&I a part of their corporate values, for instance, signing national Diversity Charters. A few member organizations have conducted numerous D&I related searches and they are sought after for their expertise in this area. Others experienced that D&I were important in board-related searches. But we still have a long way to go! The results of the survey force us to continue sharing our best practices on Internet and on our own intranet, having a special focus on D&I particularly regarding cross-border assignments and make D&I a part of our corporate values everywhere.
We all know that bringing D&I to an organization is difficult – at least at first. We need commitment, resilience, and passion. As inclusive leaders, we need to model Diversity and Inclusion making ourselves a part of the diversity and inclusion management process that sets the tone for the rest of the organization.
And what can we do as executive search companies?
- First of all, we have to be sensitive when working with clients on matters related to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation.
- In addition, we have to assist clients with diversity & inclusion.
- And last but not least we have to be committed to practicing this within our own organization as well as to promoting the aim of D&I.
Today, InterSearch operates in over 50 countries and 90 offices around the world. InterSearch prides itself on having the best local firms and consultants committed to excellence and Diversity & Inclusion.
DIVERSITY IS A FACT. INCLUSION IS A CHOICE. OUR CHOICE.
Posted by Judit Hegedus, Sub Leader Diversity & Inclusion Practice Group, Central, and Eastern Europe
