I don’t know about you, but age is one aspect of DEI that I hardly ever hear anything about. Yet, the impact of ageist policies on older workers is profound.

Are you thinking something like “but it’s time for those boomers to get out the way so I have a chance!”? Well, I asked Laura Tamblyn Watts, the CEO of CanAge about that. CanAge is Canada’s Seniors Advocacy organization and, she says while a few older workers have a ton of privilege, many are shockingly disadvantaged. With 25 years of experience, Laura brings a wealth of knowledge about ageism and its impact in the workplace and to aging people. We discussed:

The shocking statistics on ageism and why it’s the most prevalent form of discrimination globally;

How ageism manifests in the workplace – from overt policies to hidden biases;

The benefits of multi-generational workforces – from increased productivity to reduced churn;

Practical steps to make your workplace more age-inclusive starting with your DEI policy; and

The risks of doing nothing.

This episode was eye-opening and will broaden your understanding of ageism and equip you with practical tools to foster a more inclusive work environment.

Find Laura on LinkedIn.

Check out CanAge at canage.ca.

Learn more about Living, Learning, and Earning Longer here.

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Instead of telling you how to do DEI better, this week’s guest tells us how SHE learned to do DEI better and ended up adding the B (belonging)!

I had a great conversation with Carla Yudhishthu. Carla is humble and sincere in the DEIB journey she has been on as the Chief People Officer with Mineral. While she tells her (their) story, she also share some great ideas! Like:

We may not see the evidence in the data that change is still necessary because often only the negative shows up. But we must persist! See the video below.

We need to anchor ourselves in the ‘why’ of what we are doing. Otherwise we are likely to spin our wheels.

Her purpose became ‘belonging’, but it took a while to realize it.

Conversations for Understanding was one of the ideas that I loved most from this!

Find Carla through LinkedIn or her organization, Mineral: trustmineral.com.

Find me for consulting in Western Canada at thehrhub.ca.

The post DEI – A Story About Belonging appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

This episode on decolonizing HR and indigenous inclusion was by request! I was totally on board. I recently took the Indigenous Canada MOOC (massive open online course) and it was fascinating and inspiring.

So I reached out to Gillian Hynes who works for Rise, an indigenous-owned consulting group advancing reconciliation and indigenous inclusion. Here are a few highlights:

– Decolonization is about inclusion and truth through reconciliation and relationships.

– It starts with the individual.

– There are many colonial practices in HR. For example, many benefits are based on Western medicine, and our definition of “family” for bereavement leave is often narrow.

– A lot of the changes will benefit all employees – especially as we get more diverse overall.

– HR has the power to make a difference by helping decide what the problem is and what the solution might be.

It’s fascinating and challenging stuff. But I didn’t find it overwhelming – hopefully you don’t either.

Find Gillian at www.riseconsultingltd.ca.

Find Andrea at www.thehrhub.ca.

The post Decolonization For HRM: Where To Start appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

We all have biases and you might not be aware of yours. It’s part of our most primitive brains so we aren’t going to get rid of it. The only thing we can do is be aware and manage it.

In this video I speak with Dr. Helen Turnbull CSP. She has been digging into the topic for a long time – long before it (and DEI) became such a key HR issue. She did a TEDx on inclusion in 2013. So props to her! Here are some of the things she shared:

If you’ve ever been rude to an overseas call centre representative because they aren’t on your continent, check your bias. Are you REALLY that open-minded and unbiased?

2⃣ Confirmation bias and pattern recognition bias are two of the most prevalent examples of unconscious bias in the workplace. Unchecked, either will lead to poor decision-making, missed opportunities and sub-par business performance.

The only way to minimize the impact of unconscious bias is to bring it to our conscious awareness. She suggests saying “Let’s not make that decision until we check our biases.”

Find Helen at https://drhelenturnbull.com/.

Andrea is an HR consultant and can be found through www.thehrhub.ca

The post Understanding Unconscious Bias appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.