Sunny Johal, Director at Detail, took part in a panel discussion on the importance of diversity and inclusion.
Sunny Johal is a Director at West Midland’s-based end-to-end property and construction company, Detail. He is a real estate professional with 20 years’ experience in Construction, Development and Real Estate Investment. Sunny is British-Indian Sikh and lives in Birmingham, a hub of culture and diversity in the UK.
Sunny, and the rest of the Detail team, work across the West Midlands, using their expertise in innovation and design to create a new standard for development in the region. This year, Detail has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic by creating the Black Country’s first residential development that delivers a bespoke co-working space for residents. Metro Loft’s, in West Bromwich Town Centre has created a new sort of differentiation between working and living.
Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of Detail’s ethos. They mean more than words on a piece of paper. The businesses ethos is underpinned by the notion that having an open mind and understanding that no great thing was ever produced within a vacuum. Workplace diversity and inclusion is paramount in ensuring new perspectives and beliefs are brought to the table.
Token diversity is not enough; workplaces must also be inclusive. Inclusivity means everyone within a diverse mix of people feels involved, respected, treated fairly, and embedded in an organisation’s culture. At Detail, all employees are empowered, and their individual talents are recognised and valued.
During the panel discussion, Sunny said: “Diversity and inclusion in business is not a one-off training session which is rolled out to all employees, it is not about hiring goals where you need to ensure you take someone who is from a diverse background and it’s not a one size fits all approach.”
“Diversity and inclusion initiatives must be continual. Whether that is by creating a fear-free forum where there is encouragement to contribute, reviewing the leadership team and the message they portray within the organisation, or frequent check-ins where stories are shared so people become educated and conscious.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly shaken up many organisations, but does this mean diversity and inclusion should take a back seat?
As part of the discussion, Sunny said: “If companies deprioritize D&I during the crisis, the impact will be felt not just on the bottom line but in people’s lives. Research and experience warn that diverse talent can be at risk during a downturn for several reasons—for example, downsizing can have a disproportionate impact on the roles typically held by diverse talent.
“As companies send staff home to work, this could reinforce existing exclusive behaviours and unconscious biases and undermine inclusion. In addition, inequality regarding shared childcare and home-schooling responsibilities, as well as the quality of home workspace (including broadband access), could put women and minorities at a disadvantage during this time of working remotely.”
Companies have a much higher chance of coming up with fresh ideas with a more diverse group involved in decision making. In a Harvard Business Review study, the most diverse enterprises—in terms of migration, industry, career path, gender, education, age—were also the most innovative, as measured by their revenue mix.
Sunny concluded: “With work from home here to stay, a shift to technology-enabled remote working presents an opportunity for companies to accelerate building inclusive and agile cultures – further challenging existing management routines.
“To ensure diversity and inclusion remains a priority in businesses, we must continue to build the confidence to speak up. Continue to look within ourselves and question what judgements we are making of others. We must keep in mind that there is no right or wrong, only opinion, which everyone has of their own. The more we encourage that mix of opinions to come together, the better placed we are to solve the problems ahead.”
