Perhaps in part this is because creating a culture of inclusion can feel like an enormous, intangible responsibility for people managers and employees. It can feel downright confusing or scary for some. We need a way to practice inclusion more readily and safely.<\/p>\n
An emerging practice is to employ a method that we at Gartner call culture hacking. We can create a more inclusive culture by approaching culture change like a hacker. Rather than trying to change everything at once, we aim to find a few small access points where the system \u2014 in this case, the culture \u2014 is vulnerable to change, and exploit those.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What is inclusion hacking and how do we do it?<\/h3>\n
Hacking your culture should change \u201cthe behaviors we do repeatedly\u201d in some specific way \u2014 for example, how a meeting is conducted, how a project team is selected or how big decisions are made and who they\u2019re communicated to and why.<\/p>\n
In working with clients on culture hacking, we\u2019ve found that two of the most fertile grounds for hacking are communication mechanisms and meetings. The average employee\u2019s life is made up of lots of meetings and communications, like emails. What happens during these meetings and within the contents of the emails and other communications is a proxy for what your culture is really about.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A culture hack attempts to modify meetings or communications and is:<\/h3>\n\n- Actionable<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the hack is not theoretical and can be practiced or executed as part of an employee\u2019s day-to-day.<\/li>\n
- Low effort<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 it can be completed in less than 48 hours. Don\u2019t confuse \u201clow effort\u201d with \u201clow courage.\u201d Many of the best hacks are simple but require courage, like cancelling a meeting if participants cannot articulate how it advances the strategy.<\/li>\n
- Immediate<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the change doesn\u2019t take months to manifest. Effects of the hack are practically immediate. Transformation works with as much immediate gratification as possible.<\/li>\n
- Visible<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the change has high-signaling power. Even though it\u2019s small, it signals to a large group of people that something has changed.<\/li>\n
- Emotional<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the hack incites a visceral reaction. Emotional reactions are more memorable than analytical ones. They can be positive or negative (e.g., surprise, shock, joy, shame, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
However, hacks are not permanent changes. They are meant to be temporary, but powerful, shifts in how we do work and interact to practice the culture that we want. In this case, it means that we have an opportunity to practice inclusion. If a hack doesn\u2019t deliver the desired outcome or benefits then we can always shift to a new hack.<\/p>\n
The typical roadmap for inclusion hacking would involve: 1) hunting for friction points that are preventing employees from feeling included, 2) designing hacks that can eliminate friction points, 3) communicating and executing the hack and 4) assessing the results (i.e., how did this make the team feel?)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What are some examples of inclusion hacks?<\/h3>\n
As long as an inclusion hack is designed to be actionable, low effort, immediate, visible and emotional, it can be implemented. Get creative in designing your own! But, for inspiration, you can look to the sample inclusion hacks below.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.gartner.com\/power-of-the-profession-blog\/files\/2022\/04\/BLOG-04052022-Power-of-Profession2.png\")
<\/p>\n
Supply chain leaders can improve retention outcomes by focusing on inclusion. But to make inclusion less daunting, we should leverage culture hacks. Just remember that sometimes the biggest, gnarliest problems require the simplest actions.<\/p>\n
\n
However, hacks are not permanent changes. They are meant to be temporary, but powerful, shifts in how we do work and interact to practice the culture that we want. In this case, it means that we have an opportunity to practice inclusion. If a hack doesn\u2019t deliver the desired outcome or benefits then we can always shift to a new hack.<\/p>\n
The typical roadmap for inclusion hacking would involve: 1) hunting for friction points that are preventing employees from feeling included, 2) designing hacks that can eliminate friction points, 3) communicating and executing the hack and 4) assessing the results (i.e., how did this make the team feel?)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What are some examples of inclusion hacks?<\/h3>\n
As long as an inclusion hack is designed to be actionable, low effort, immediate, visible and emotional, it can be implemented. Get creative in designing your own! But, for inspiration, you can look to the sample inclusion hacks below.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Supply chain leaders can improve retention outcomes by focusing on inclusion. But to make inclusion less daunting, we should leverage culture hacks. Just remember that sometimes the biggest, gnarliest problems require the simplest actions.<\/p>\n
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