Disaster Recovery Journal Winter 2024

n Profitability : McKinsey Research concluded that companies in the top 25% for ethnic and cultural diversity were 36% more profitable than those in the bottom quarter, and when women are well represented in the C-suite, profits can be almost 50% higher. n Productivity : The Academy of Management Journal research concludes that “racial diversity in upper and lower management results in greater employee productivity.” In addition, according to Forbes, inclusive teams “make better business decisions up to 87% of the time, and they make those decisions twice as fast within half as many meetings.” n Employee recruitment and retention : Glassdoor statistics reference that 76% of employees and jobseekers say diversity “is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers.” n Job performance : A report from Forrester states when employees feel a sense of belonging at work, it leads to a 56% increase in job performance. That sense of belonging, feeling represented, and feeling respected creates a sense of satisfaction and improves performance – 91 % of employees who feel they belong are engaged, compared to 20% of those who feel they don’t. n Innovation : Forbes research concluded that 85% of business leaders believe that “a diverse and inclusive workforce is crucial to encouraging different perspectives and ideas that drive innovation.” Another study found that people need to feel safe and supported to contribute innovative, creative ideas. And companies with higher diversity levels see 19% higher innovation revenues. Based on those statistics, I am not sure why these three letters continue to make some people uncomfortable. However, the lack of these three letters in an orga nization makes a larger population even more uncomfortable, feel more under valued, and even more unseen. It allows for the potential of unequal and unfair treatment. In a crisis scenario, this could develop into an internal, cultural crisis situation due to a lack of DEI support.

information and resources have not been fairly and equitably dispersed among all human beings on the Earth. DEI, at its core, includes all gender rights and fair ness, cultural norms (what other countries consider right and normal), and disabili ties (whether visible and invisible). I have worked in the government and for global companies for many years. By no fault of my own, I have been faced with the reality of American social norms and the biases some are taught at an early age at home, in school, and their com munity settings. At times, these biases could become detrimental during a crisis. Some organizations set “representation targets” as a way to satisfy “diversity hire” requirements and not have a lawsuit brought against them. However, some leaders never intend to utilize the gifts of those diverse employees. They hired them, to check a box for HR and legal purposes. This is unfortunate because most of the time, the diverse genius they hired could potentially excel the organiza tion and their teams into record numbers, if given the opportunity. It does not matter your religious preferences, political affiliation, whether you are wealthy, poor, vegan, meat lover, pescatarian, gray, yellow, brown, blue, purple, female, male, have a cat, have a dog, have a ferret or a parakeet. When you have diversity in your organization, you are privileged to have diversity of thoughts, diversity of cultural norms, diversity of backgrounds, diversity of opportunities to grow, mature, and improve your operational resilience. Global research shows that diverse companies are more innovative and profitable. Having a mixture of employ ees of varying backgrounds and maturity will give you an advantage on growth opportunities. The newer generation will bring the latest and most innovative ideas. The seasoned generation will have the institutional knowledge with the tried and-true best practices. An organization that has a combined diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce wins! In case you need more convincing, here are some winning stats:

Don’t shy away from diversity, equity, and inclusion. Don’t try to drop one of the letters to make others feel warm and fuzzy. If an organization does not embrace DEI, then it will unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) be left behind. That organization will not grow and mature as rapidly as other organizations. They will miss out on opportunities to hire some of the sharpest minds with the most intriguing, innovative ideas that are going to be the leading subject matter experts of the next century. If you are okay with being on the sideline in the next 10 years (or even out of business), continue to try and “re-define” and elimi nate letters in this extraordinary and very much vital movement. My recommendation is to embrace DEI. Find opportunities within your orga nizations and in your BC/DR programs, operations, and recovery processes, to highlight, mature, and include DEI efforts. During a crisis, it is “all hands on-deck” and it definitely helps if all employees can collaborate and commu nicate in an efficient manner. That may need to be in their preferred methods and cultural norms. v management, and risk management. She has lived and worked in many different regions of the country, which has allowed her to support companies in various industries, including global operations. Through this eclectic array of experiences, Scott has been able to work with diverse teams and has cultivated a unique perspective that helps her build mature, holistic, and successful programs and operationalize industry best practices. Scott has worked with organizations such as PNC Bank, NASA, the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Microsoft, and NTT DATA. She is the founder and CEO of Devine Direction, LLC, a business strategy and consulting firm specializing in governance, business strategies, program management, technical solutions, business continuity, disaster recovery, and risk management. Scott excels in building vigorous, diverse, highly productive, and dynamic global teams. She enjoys fostering collaborative relationships and believes that true success comes from having a diverse group of people from various backgrounds and experiences interested in a common goal – achieving success. Scott is active in the BC/DR community and a member of the Disaster Recovery Journal Editorial Advisory Board. S. Nicole Scott, CSSGB, MBCI, PMP, is a thought leader with more than 20 years of experience in strategic planning, gov ernance, business resiliency, disaster recovery, program management, change

22 DISASTER RECOVERY JOURNAL | WINTER 2024