How CHROs Make Inclusion and Diversity a Business Imperative

While companies have long understood that building an inclusive workplace leads to better performance, the current pushback on inclusion and diversity (I&D) work makes it even more important that HR leaders and other executives underpin all of an organization's work with inclusion principles. 

That's according to three executives who discussed the importance of I&D in business growth at SHRM BLUEPRINT 2025 in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 29.  

SHRM Board Chair Betty Thompson, SHRM-SCP, moderated a conversation with Jackson O. Lynch, founder of Talent Sherpa; Rocki Rockingham, CHRO of GE Appliances; and Sean Woodroffe, SHRM-SCP, EVP and chief people, culture, and communications officer at Lincoln Financial, in which they highlighted four approaches to creating more successful businesses through diverse teams.  

Build Inclusion into Existing Channels

All three executives' organizations have changed how they talk about — and in some cases, who leads — I&D. For example, Lincoln Financial is now framing its inclusion efforts under the header of Belonging and Community.  

"The view that I've always taken is if a phrase in and of itself is polarizing, especially the evolution of the phrase ‘DE&I’ … why should we spend a lot of time debating the virtues of the word as opposed to doing the work?" Woodroffe said. 

So much of what used to be considered I&D relates to "other functions we don't feel as personally, like employee engagement," and the link between employee engagement and business performance is clear, Lynch said.  

At GE Appliances, inclusion is now embedded into the company’s people and culture discussions, Rockingham said. "Because it's always been a business driver, we continue to lean into inclusion less as an initiative, but as an operational play," she explained.

Quiz: How Well Is Inclusion Embedded into Your Business Practices?

Making the Business Case

HR and other leaders are now looking for ways to focus on the business imperative of inclusion without abandoning the moral or ethical arguments for it. 

"It's the translation from belief to outcomes that matter," Lynch said. "I don't think people have changed their minds on the fundamental good that comes with D&I … What has changed is, can we clearly make an ROI case on the work?"

When translated into that "business language," it's easier for leadership to understand the value of focusing on creating an inclusive culture, Lynch added. "Find a moment that matters that translates to a specific outcome — ultimately that's how you move the organization forward" and secure funding for inclusion work, he said.

A New Model for Measurement

Determining how to measure the success of inclusion efforts given the associated compliance issues is its own challenge. The executives suggested several factors they measure to determine whether their workforce feels empowered to fully contribute and do their best work. 

At Talent Sherpa, leaders measure clarity as one of the company's first principles, Lynch said. That includes clarity from an employee's supervisor, but also whether the employee is communicating clearly to those both above and below them.  

"If you have clarity, that allows you to get good feedback, and feedback is very important from an inclusion perspective," he said. 

A second metric is participation. Talent Sherpa’s feedback channels include a question for employees that’s meant to "gauge whether people feel like they are participating," Lynch said. "Because access is important, but participation is what drives impact."

Rockingham said GE Appliances has also experimented with a more qualitative approach to measurement that aims to determine the employee experience. "We want the employees to feel like entrepreneurs, empowered to make decisions, and then that the organization sees what they bring to the table," she said. "And some of that is how to help leaders help employees have that better experience." 

Interview Questions: Build Inclusive, High-Performing Teams

What Leaders Need to Focus on Now

What HR needs most from CEOs now is an understanding that diverse teams are more resilient and successful teams, Rockingham said. 

"The CEO has to embrace differences to build a better and more resilient business," she said. "People are different. We have to celebrate the differences that people bring to the organization and build processes around being tolerant of that." 

On the other side of that coin, "organizations should be ruthless around bad behavior," especially if it comes from leaders, Woodroffe said. "If you have a leader who on a recurring basis is mistreating colleagues, an organization has to take decisive yet respectful, constructive action. Because the worst behavior that an organization tolerates, that's your culture."  

Lynch describes the process of building an inclusive culture as one where dissent is encouraged and explored.

"As both HR practitioners and business leaders, we have an obligation to build an environment where everyone can bring an uncomfortable truth to the table and still feel like they belong to the team," he said. "You will get better decisions, maybe not faster, but they can get faster over time."