The Drinks Association's Embrace Difference Council has developed a toolkit and scorecard to help the drinks industry achieve its diversity and inclusion goals.
A diverse and inclusive workplace culture is integral to improved business performance, profit and productivity. Data from the Australian Government Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) shows that companies with a diverse and inclusive workplace outperform their competitors, achieve greater profits and can better attract and retain high performers.
While there is a consensus among industry leaders that a diverse and inclusive culture is intrinsic to better performance, it is not always clear how to achieve that objective.
The Embrace Difference Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit and Scorecard have been presented to the Drinks Association Board of Directors and members of the HR Directors Forum and will be launched within weeks.
Based on WGEA data, the scorecard is intended to raise awareness of D&I within the drinks industry and invoke action. The toolkit is a practical resource created to help businesses improve their D&I practices and will be made available to the industry via the Drinks Association’s website.
We know that businesses in the liquor industry come in various shapes and sizes and recognise that we are all at different points on our mission. The toolkit and scorecard have been developed by the See Difference – Diversity Steer Co, led by Madelyn Ring, Vice President People, CUB and the Leverage Difference – Inclusion Steer Co, led by Nicole Stanners, Marketing Director, Campari.
Madelyn Ring says: “These tools are built to enable organisations to hold up the mirror and ask, ‘Hey, how are we going? How do we compare with our peers?’ The tools are not intended to be a criticism but a checkpoint and a call to action.”
Successful D&I programs share several main drivers: robust metrics, leadership engagement and alignment, integrated talent processes and a business-focused strategy.
Using the Embrace Difference Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit and Scorecard enables businesses to assess where your business is on the journey and plot the next steps to be taken on the way to transforming your workplace culture.
The Embrace Difference Council believes the delivery of these resources is timely and that businesses will find these tools especially useful as they review and rewrite D&I practices, rebuilding our workplaces for a COVID-safe world.
The toolkit includes many resources which can be practically implemented into your business. For example, take ownership of the toolkit’s generic D&I policies and brand them your own, incorporate D&I into training and development sessions for your senior leaders and build a committee of champions for diversity and inclusion from all levels of your organisation.
As Simon Durrant, Chair of Embrace Difference Council, said earlier this year: “There is a huge desire for change and a lot of energy and enthusiasm from people in the industry. Organisations thinking about taking their first steps, the time now is ripe for change.”