”“I was shocked by the fact that 4 out of 10 of my staff were highly likely to have been the victim of discrimination in my workplace.”
People and Culture Executive.
In our 30 years of inspiring change, willingly and for good, we often find ourselves breaking new ground when addressing significant challenges. These challenges include: the protection of worker’s retirement savings; water conservation; prevention of violence against women, LGBTQI and older people; the reduction of gambling harm; and tackling climate change.
Along with our clients, we know such issues can never be addressed effectively in isolation and need the best collection of minds. That is why we are constantly collaborating to find better solutions. Our organisation has grown on a culture of collaboration.
Twelve years ago, as part of our journey into the brave new world of Behaviour Change, we founded and to this day co-fund BehaviourWorks at Monash University – arguably Australia’s foremost behavioural science research group.
Today, our collaborative efforts have never been more evident, or even more significant, as through the release of Inclusive Australia’s latest Social Inclusion Index conducted by BehaviourWorks and supported by The Shannon Company and CarSales.com.au. Perhaps, you have seen recent coverage of the Social Inclusion Index on the ABC and SBS, or in The Conversation and The Australian.
Amongst its many findings, the research showed that everyday discrimination was prevalent in Australia’s workplaces. Of those surveyed, 40% say it happens sometimes and a further 15% say it’s common.
Obviously, reducing discrimination in the workforce is critically important for individuals, organisations and society as a whole. Experiencing discrimination has a detrimental impact on an individual’s well-being and sense of belonging, undermining an organisation’s efforts to build a safe, inclusive and high-performance culture.
To assist companies in building a more robust approach to create greater inclusivity in the workplace, The Shannon Company has formed a triumvirate with Inclusive Australia and BehaviourWorks.
Together, the three parties offer an end-to-end program to build Diversity, Equality and Inclusion in the workplace to address critical issues of discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment.
The programs go beyond implementing recommended quotas, as they are simply not enough. The programs encourage a deeper understanding of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion and provide the basis for a comprehensive Behaviour Change program along with communications to drive sustained change for a better workplace in this post-Covid lockdown world.
Each party of the triumvirate brings a distinct skill set:
Inclusive Australia builds on its Australia-wide Social Inclusion index with a diagnostic tool designed to understand workplace Diversity, Equality and Inclusion practices and culture. This tool helps build insights to inform intervention design and provide a benchmark for progress.
BehaviourWorks provides the experienced academic resources and intellectual rigour to analyse data, design interventions and develop measurement frameworks.
The Shannon Company builds the Change Narrative and content for the Behaviour Change communications across the workplace. Our aim is to inspire individuals to embrace more inclusive and equitable workplace behaviours – voluntarily and, wherever possible, permanently. Or, as we like to say, willingly and for good.
We are excited by this next chapter of Behaviour Change at The Shannon Company. Already we are working with leading Australian and international companies to address climate change, equitable hybrid work practices, sexual harassment and bullying, as well as shaping more powerful Change Narratives to retain and attract talent.
If you would like a one-on-one presentation on Inclusive Australia’s 5th Social Inclusion Index as well as an insight into our Change Narrative process, I’d be delighted to meet with you and can be contacted on michael@theshannoncompany.com.au
Michael Daddo