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Successful with diversity
Diversity and inclusion is part of good corporate governance today. The Vaillant Group also attaches great importance to this topic.
Diversity can take many forms in a company. Whether age, gender, ethnic or socio-economic background or religious affiliation: every person is unique. Appreciating individual differences in everyday work and treating each other with respect are the prerequisite for a motivating corporate culture. Different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives as well as the promotion of diverse talents is a decisive factor for entrepreneurial success at the Vaillant Group. After all, around 15,000 employees from 73 nations come together in the company.
More innovation and greater satisfaction
There are unconscious stereotypes and biases in all of us, known in the technical terminology as “unconscious bias”. This is because our brain simply copes better when confronted with familiar patterns. “We are not responsible for our first thought, but for our first action,” explains Jessica Kirch, Director Group HR Learning & Development at the Vaillant Group. Those who are aware of the fact of the unconscious bias can behave in a deliberately inclusive way in everyday work, says Kirch. Great diversity in the company is of no use if you are not able to accept and integrate differences with inclusive behaviour.
That can be tedious. But it is worth it. Diversity and inclusive cooperation not only foster a good working atmosphere, but also make the company more successful economically. This has been proven by numerous studies: a 2016 survey of German companies by the Page Group HR consultancy, for example, shows that employees in a diverse work environment were more content, felt more connected to the company and experienced less stress. Employees were also less sick and worked more productively.
Moreover, companies that promote diversity are often particularly innovative and interesting as employers for young talent. This is confirmed by a study conducted by the consulting firm Bersin by Deloitte in 2015 with 450 companies worldwide. According to the study, companies that made D&I a core topic of their human resources management were more successful in developing leadership talent than their competitors.
According to a recent study of 1,000 companies in 15 countries by the management consultancy McKinsey, the probability of being more profitable than average increases by 36 per cent for companies with particularly pronounced ethnic diversity, and by 25 per cent for companies with a balanced gender ratio. The comparison with previous studies also shows that the correlation - i.e. the link - between diversity and overall company success has increased in recent years. “Homogeneous leadership teams have a hard time surviving in today’s business world and finding the right answers to current challenges,” Julia Sperling, partner at McKinsey, comments on the study results. A decisive factor in improving diversity and thus also the company’s success sustainably is an inclusive corporate culture: “It’s no use if the women’s quota is right, but women are not invited to the meetings that matter or are not heard,” Sperling explains further. Therefore, companies should specifically make sure that the environment is designed in such a way that diverse talents have the confidence to speak their minds.
Various challenges
So there are good reasons to see diversity and inclusion as an important part of the corporate culture. For the Vaillant Group, the topic therefore plays an important role and is to be given an even higher priority in the future. “We have identified three areas in which we – like many other companies – can become even better,” explains Kirch. For example, the proportion of women and especially of women in management positions is to increase. Currently, women are still significantly underrepresented – typical for technology industries. Only a good quarter of employees are female. Another challenge is a balanced age structure, especially since the average working life will gradually increase. In addition, international mobility within the Vaillant Group is to be further expanded.
Concrete approaches
“We don’t just want to create awareness. Our goal must be to demonstrably improve in the three areas mentioned,” says Kirch. To achieve this, various projects were already initiated last year. Since the beginning of 2020, there has been regular internal communication on the topic of Diversity & Inclusion on company channels. Monthly interviews with employees and managers, useful tips for intercultural cooperation within the Vaillant Group, the introduction of an international D&I calendar and campaigns on various theme days such as “International Diversity Day” and “International Women’s Day” are intended to regularly put the topic on the agenda and raise awareness among employees.
Since last autumn, managers have been receiving training on the topic of “Unconscious Bias”. “Every leading manager who fills a position should ask themselves whether their personnel decision is influenced by unconscious bias. Our goal must be to recruit the most qualified person for a position – regardless of any attributes,” says Kirch. The importance of such awareness and training measures is also emphasised by McKinsey consultant Sperling: “When selecting talent, we tend to choose those who remind us most of ourselves. Therefore, consideration of D&I needs to start very specifically here.” It is then in the culture of promotion and the evaluation of performance that the company shows how serious it is about diversity and inclusion. “Diversity and inclusion must be an integral part of the company’s DNA,” Kirch sums up. In the end, everyone benefits individually and the company as a whole.
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