The Orange Blog

In recent years, the conversation around improving company culture has been focused on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). But critics of DEI suggest that the movement has gone too far, and that companies may be losing out on the best candidates for roles by focusing on hiring individuals from underrepresented groups. The recent backlash against DEI has led to the rise of a new dialogue – MEI (Merit, Excellent, and Intelligence) – that’s all over the news. The Wall Street Journal describes MEI [...]

There’s been plenty of talk about the current generational gap at work, and the truth is, this is nothing new and not likely to go away anytime soon. After all, each generation has historically faced challenges adapting to the attitudes and work styles of those before them. Compared to previous generations, however, the current generational conflict in the workplace certainly presents a unique challenge for leaders. Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who have grown up with smartphones and constant connectivity, are used to [...]

Recently, the spotlight has once again intensified on pay inequities and the importance of pay transparency. There’s been buzz for years about the discrepancy between what women and men are paid, and in fact we have written on this topic in past. The recent surge in lawsuits around the country certainly shows that it’s still a critical and relevant issue in the workplace, and new legislation in different cities and states adds to the importance of understanding this subject.  Currently, women earn [...]

In April 2024, the National Bureau of Economic Research published a revealing paper titled "A Discrimination Report Card," highlighting the prevalence of bias in hiring practices across the United States. Researchers sent 80,000 fake resumes between 2019 and 2021 to about a hundred companies in the United States, featuring candidates that had equal qualifications but different names that would imply a different race or gender. They found significant variations in the levels of discrimination among these organizations depending on factors like industry [...]

Effective and impactful leadership development and manager training programs can offer long-term benefits for organizations. At Orange Grove Consulting, we formulate our programs to offer a collaborative learning environment, where participants grow and challenge themselves in a highly engaging and adaptable format. Whether you are looking to implement a leadership development program and manager training for the first time, or updating your current approach, we suggest you include these three key principles that we use when we are creating programs for our [...]

When measuring an organization’s performance, it’s essential to look at engagement across all types of employees, since engaged employees are more likely to contribute to bottom-line business benefits and refer the company to others. Employee engagement isn’t just about how employees work, but also how they feel while doing their tasks, such as how enthusiastic and involved they are in their work environment. There are three types of employee engagement – behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and emotional engagement – that all play [...]

Over the many years that we’ve been running women in leadership programs for several clients and multiple cohorts, results have been consistently positive with participants reporting continued career successes through applying program skills. They also benefit from access to a strong alumnae network of prior program participants. Since we’ve expanded our leadership development offerings to feature a wide offering of mixed gender programs – we often get the question: Why still run women-only programs?  OGC is a research-based consultancy, and the research [...]

Psychological safety may sound like just a buzzword in the human resources world, but we’ve found that the value of creating a supportive and transparent environment at work is actually one of the key drivers of organizational success. A great environment created by leaders can have great bottom-line effects, and bad leadership decisions can be even more damaging to organizations. Building a psychologically safe environment starts at the top – which means you’ll need to train leaders with the right skillsets. After [...]

The past year has witnessed waves of layoffs, with the tech industry being hit especially hard. The layoffs not only highlight recent economic challenges, but also the bad leadership plaguing many of today’s organizations – and many employees are pushing back publicly. A recent viral TikTok video showcases one example of a poor management decision. Former Cloudfare employee, Brittany Pietsch, filmed a video call where she was fired by two HR representatives. In the 9-minute video, Pietsch repeatedly asks for details on [...]

Creating an engaged and inclusive workplace may be all the trend these days, but with the buzz comes plenty of misconceptions about what that means. Whether you’re planning to kick off 2024 with new talent engagement goals or reevaluate your current strategy, you’ll want to know the most common myths surrounding the creation of a workplace where employees feel a sense of belonging. After all, the assumptions that people have about creating an inclusive organizational culture can hold employees back from advancing [...]

Though 2024 may have just kicked off, there’s already plenty of division brewing across the nation. From culture wars to heated elections, Americans are confronted with a cauldron of conflict that has led to a polarization of political persuasions more than ever. And the one place where people of all backgrounds and beliefs are forced to come together in today’s society? The workplace. Since work has become the most common place where socialization of people from diverse backgrounds occurs, the workplace has [...]

When pursuing your organization’s DEI goals, team functionality is key for employee engagement and effectiveness. Yet many teams struggle with dysfunction due to unresolved conflict, poor communication, and a lack of sustained collaboration. It’s clear that traditional DEI workshops – which attempt to tackle the issue with one-off trainings – haven’t been effective.   That’s why we’re excited to share more about our Team Collaboration Program, which was born out of the need for a more comprehensive approach to fostering inclusivity in the [...]

When measuring an organization’s performance, it’s essential to look at engagement across all types of employees, since engaged employees are more likely to positively contribute to bottom-line business benefits and refer the company to others. We’ve found that engagement surveys are a valuable tool to get a holistic view into your organization's efforts to support employees. Once you’ve got objective insights into what’s going on in your organization, you can help identify areas for growth and tailor your strategies to meet the [...]

The conversation surrounding diversity & inclusion (or DEI & DEIB depending on your preference) in recent years may have some people feeling “diversity fatigue” – or feeling frustrated that equity is too much work to achieve. But organizations shouldn’t be treating strategic management like a passing trend, because the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging are actually a fundamental aspect of effective leadership and management practices.  When managing your team from an inclusive lens, you’ll want to think about DEI from [...]

Laying a strong foundation of strategy work is an essential part of the roadmap to achieve any organizational goals, including talent management, DEI, and engagement goals. Solid strategy preparation helps you set the stage for successful execution so that your organization can reap the long-term benefits of investing in your talent. To build an effective strategy plan, our team at Orange Grove recommends using the following roadmap: Understanding Organizational Objectives and Goals Before beginning strategy work, you’ll want to first understand your [...]

As educators, we’ve noticed a polarity between two distinct groups in the classroom: those advocating for social justice and those resistant to change. Proponents of social justice want people to own their labels and demand for immediate change. On the other hand, resistance to social justice rejects challenges to the current (perceived) meritocracy and doesn’t want any mention of bias at all, as they believe that the entire movement has gone too far. Some even fear that they will be unfairly marginalized [...]

In today's evolving business landscape, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have become urgent priorities for organizations worldwide. Recognizing the need to address DEI challenges, companies are increasingly leveraging data analytics and reporting to gain valuable insights into their workforce and drive meaningful change. Here’s a brief description of how we use DEI analytics and reporting to address systemic biases and build inclusive workplaces. The reason we utilize HR analytics is with the aim of shedding light on critical touchpoints in the talent [...]

The Supreme Court has delivered its long-awaited ruling on the legality of affirmative action in higher education, sparking intense debates and discussions across the nation. The Supreme Court ruled a ban on affirmative action specific to a case in university admissions, however this likely means affirmative action for other institutions will follow suit. Companies that have relied on this policy must consider alternative approaches to achieve diversity and inclusion. So what does that mean for you?    To get started, you’ll need [...]

In today's ever evolving workplace, the power of networks can’t be underestimated. The people we interact with and the communities we engage with often shape our beliefs, perspectives, and understanding of the world. But our social networks can also inadvertently perpetuate bias narratives, leading to echo chambers and limited viewpoints. That’s why we’re excited to announce our “Summer of Networking” initiative here at Orange Grove. The initiative is a collaborative effort to diversify our networks of professionals and thought leaders and highlight [...]

The “back to the office” wars moved to a new level recently when it was leaked that some Google employees have been on the payroll for almost a year without doing any actual work. DEI proponents have responded negatively– rightfully so – since we know the office often caters to the needs of one group (one that rarely has childcare responsibilities, for example) at the expense of diversity and inclusion. Concern about a remote workforce is not unfounded – there are a number [...]

Women's History month may have just passed, but the conversation around the lack of representation of women in leadership roles is an ongoing effort. After all, performative actions for one month are not enough to drive change — so what are you doing to really make a meaningful difference? Women have been historically underrepresented in leadership positions, and despite some progress, there’s still a long way to go. One of the key issues is the lack of representation of women in mid-level [...]

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (D.E.I.) training has been a hot topic in recent years as companies aim to demonstrate their commitment to racial justice. However, a recent opinion piece in the New York Times – “What if Diversity Training is Doing More Harm Than Good?”-- highlights that despite promises of improved intergroup relations, better employee retention, and recruitment, there is little evidence that many of these initiatives work. The article argues that mandatory training without a clear objective may actually have a [...]

The conversation surrounding DEI in the workplace often centers on setting initiatives for the workplace with the assumption that employees will be able to simply adapt to the new processes without any difficulty. But the reality of creating inclusion at work requires a deep understanding of what’s going on in your pipeline development – from hiring to promoting employees – and a willingness to make significant changes to both policy and behavior. That’s because DEI is so much more than recruiting a [...]

2023 has just kicked off, which means now is the perfect time to set your sights on finally achieving your DEI goals in the new year. Resolutions and/or intentions are a way to be proactive about defining your personal or your organizational goals for an equitable workplace before you achieve them strategically. Setting benchmarks for your DEI strategy keeps you aligned with the future you. The team at Orange Grove shared their inclusion-related resolutions/intentions for 2023, which range from keeping yourself accountable for [...]

With the holiday season in full swing, now is an especially important time to encourage a sense of belonging and honor your employee’s diverse identities. After all, how you opt to celebrate holidays in the workplace impacts your culture and employee experience.  Since many holidays are centered around faith-based or cultural beliefs, employees can feel uncomfortable or excluded when some celebrations get more attention than others. Ignoring individuals’ backgrounds and identities can lead to employee disengagement and negatively impact your business performance.  [...]