Flexibility is the new Competitive Advantage for Employers
15th February 2021
We might just have left the 1950s workplace behind as we transition from COVID-19. That’s according to Sandra Healy, Director of the DCU Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion and co-founder of the National Diversity and Inclusion Conference – InclusionWorks2021.
Run by the DCU Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion and the Irish Centre for Diversity, this year’s conference will take place virtually on 15th April. It includes national and international thoughts leaders including Rocki Howard, Chief Diversity Officer, SmartRecruiters and Host of ‘The Voices of Diversity’ podcast along with Karina Govinji, Director of Diversity, Google EMEA region and Matt Elliott, Chief People Officer and Multicultural Network Executive Champion, Bank of Ireland.
Launching the conference Sandra Healy said: “The pressures of the last year have brought about unprecedented challenges and upheaval for many people and organisations. COVID-19 has affected everyone, in particular females and underrepresented groups. However, it has also brought about positive disruption and resulted in real progress in the workplace.
“Our workplaces and work structures, which were designed in the 1950s, have now had disruption forced upon them. This has created an opportunity for employers to recognise and reconcile the importance of our lives outside the workplace. The blending of our home and work lives has transformed how we work and sped up technology adoption right across organisations, from the top down. In some respects, it has advanced flexibility in the workplace by 20 years. Nobody could have predicted this.
As we return to normality, flexibility will become the new competitive advantage. Now the challenge for organisations is how they embrace and adapt to the new world of work.”
Caroline Tyler, Director of the Irish Centre for Diversity and co-founder of InclusionWorks2021, commented: “A major focus of InclusionWorks2021 is on the practical application of diversity and inclusion in the workplace – particularly as organisations adapt to a new post-COVID workplace.
“We learn from one another – and this conference will give attendees access to the very best in terms of thought leadership and best practice approaches. Attendees will gain the knowledge needed to successfully move the diversity and inclusion agenda forward in their organisations.”
The conference will feature a wide range of international senior leaders and diversity and inclusion experts from organisations including Google, Pfizer, Bank of Ireland, Indeed, Neurodiversity Hub and many more. The event will be hosted by the new Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at publicjobs.ie, Siobhan McKenna. Sponsors include Bank of Ireland, publicjobs.ie, Irish Life and Nestlé. Representatives from these companies will share their insights and best-practice approaches to creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace during the conference. Global employment website Indeed are partnering with the event as a panel sponsor.
Tickets to the conference are on sale now and are available to purchase at www.inclusionworks.ie/registration/.
