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Ensuring Diversity & Inclusion from Top to Bottom


Keeping the company vision alive, and the workforce focused on the individual and business objectives, despite uncertainty and ambiguity, is imperative. Equally critical is the ability to create trust and belief to build a strong, diverse, and committed team, with a team-first mentality aligning the goals of the individual with the goals of the organization in an inclusive, culture-forward approach.

HR leaders today need to attract, develop, engage, and leverage an organization’s talent as the business, customer needs and our society all evolve and bring new diverse skill sets to the company. This is where the CHRO must take D&I execution to a higher level of the talent management process, and that includes how we become more diverse and inclusive and create an equitable environment at the same time.

The dated definition of diversity which emphasized only gender and race must continue to evolve to a commitment to leveraging the life experiences and perspectives from people who bring different events and touchpoints, resulting in a competitive advantage in the markets we serve,” says Bala Sathyanarayanan, CHRO of Greif, Inc.
The CHRO is someone who has the capability to facilitate that growth as one of the business leaders. The pandemic has reinforced the need for Human Resources to be an integral part of the decision-making process and leading the pivot to achieving these goals through a virtual engagement process,” he comments.

Such definitions result in an evolving role within the human resources function, paving the way for leaders in charge of D&I who are equally responsible for facilitating business growth as a leader of the firm. Businesses are witnessing a more strategic, agile, and tech-enabled CHRO with a primary focus on people. The new leaders must be an integral part of the decision-making process, constantly evaluating the various lenses attached with diversity and inclusion, ensuring organizations pivot to a virtual engagement process seamlessly across all hierarchies.

Today we have four generations working together. In a matter of five to 10 years we will have five generations working together, and with that comes an added challenge of diversity, equity, and inclusion. What do these concepts mean for a global company? How do you define DE&I in a global landscape where it means different things in different markets and cultures? All this needs to be addressed without compromising on the foundations of HR, which is delivering a global workforce that is truly engaged and building a culture of execution to deliver business outcomes. That becomes key! adds Bala.