An Inclusive Employee Experience with Jonathan Stutz

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This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions and more:   

1. How can internal culture impact the external customer experience? 
2. How can inclusivity and diversity contribute to creating high-performance teams? 
3. What are SMARTIE goals? 
4. In what ways can leaders focus on inclusion first to build a culture of belonging and positively impact the customer experience? 
5. How can leaders manage difficult conversations in the workplace to promote inclusivity and equity? 

Top Takeaways

• Internal culture and employee experience are the foundation for enhancing customer experience. When employees feel valued and connected to their managers, coworkers, and the organization they work for, it positively impacts the quality of service and engagement with customers. 

• Building an organization’s strong and welcoming culture is about making employees feel understood and valued. When this happens, trust between employees and leaders, managers, supervisors, and fellow employees dramatically increases. Establishing trust lessens employee churn. If you want to keep your customers coming back, you must ensure that your employees also look forward to returning to work.  

• Creating an inclusive and diverse workplace is about building high-performing teams that represent the perspectives and backgrounds of employees and customers. It is not about complying with a quota or hiring diverse employees for the sake of appearing diverse. It is about opening up opportunities for everyone and hiring the best people.  

• The IDE (Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity) approach emphasizes prioritizing inclusion first, followed by diversity and equity. When employees feel safe, welcome, and comfortable being themselves, they set the stage for attracting and retaining a diverse and engaged workforce. 

• We all benefit from a diverse, inclusive environment. It’s not about one person winning and another losing. Instead, it’s about leveraging various perspectives and experiences to benefit the customers, the employees, and the company. 

• Plus, Jonathan shares practical tips that leaders can start doing today to create a culture of belonging. Tune in! 

Quotes:

“Employees that feel connected to their managers and coworkers and feel as if they are seen, heard, and understood, give more of themselves to the organizations and their customers.” 

“When you create a culture and environment where people feel safe and welcome to be themselves, you will have a higher opportunity of attracting and keeping employees.” 

“Diversity in the workplace is not about quotas. It is about casting your nets wide, creating a diverse selection of candidates, and then hiring the best person for the job.” 

“You must have a workforce that mirrors your customers. How will you understand their needs if they don’t have their perspectives represented and heard?”

About:

Jonathan Stutz is the Founder and President of Global Diversity Partners, Inc. He has over 25 years of experience in leadership roles at companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Zulily. His book, Daily Practices of Inclusive Leaders: A Guide to Building a Culture of Belonging, is now available on Amazon. 

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and host of Amazing Business Radio.