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Inclusion and diversity a must to build an innovative workforce

Abu Dhabi - Etisalat is paving the way by building an inclusive workforce with the talent and ability to evolve, learn and contribute to the digital transformation vital to the company’s strategy and vision

Companies creating an innovative and productive workforce have to consider new approaches to talent management, says top executives of etisalat.

“Etisalat is paving the way by building an inclusive workforce with the talent and ability to evolve, learn and contribute to the digital transformation vital to the company’s strategy and vision. It is about making their work purposeful and encouraging a culture that fits their values and continuously inspires them, highlighted senior etisalat executives at the board summit.

The summit held under the patronage of Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa al Nahyan and hosted by Aurora50 set the stage for chairpersons, boards, aspiring directors, and their corporates to come together and discuss the future of boards.⁠⁠

This unique event was dedicated to getting the attention of companies supporting and looking for women to join their board, enabling ecosystems to break down barriers and driving change in succession planning and leadership in the boardroom.

Hatem Dowidar, group CEO, Dena Almansoori; Group chief human resources officer; and Maha Muraish, senior vice-president, Transformation-B2B from Etisalat, participated at the three-day hybrid event.

During the CEO panel discussion focusing on ‘The future of work- building inclusive workplaces’, Dowidar highlighted the importance of diversity as a critical driver of innovation and a crucial component for etisalat to attain success on a global scale.

He also shared insights on the company’s transformation across 16 countries by embarking on an exciting new chapter, with everyone internally working towards a common goal to drive a digital future and company ethos ‘Together Matters’.

A diverse workforce with inclusion at its core means more access to different points of view, skillsets, creative visions, approaches, and experience, which is more likely to result in a technology company producing more innovative products and services for consumers and businesses.

Meanwhile, Almansoori emphasised the importance of striking a balance between diversity and inclusion during her presentation ‘Inclusion: The secret to an organisation’s success’, highlighting the importance of inclusion to business success and employee engagement. In addition, she stressed the relevance of leveraging data analytics during the hiring process to ensure a diverse candidate pool with the right experience and skillsets for the future.

An inclusive culture is not only the right thing to do but also makes business sense, she shared while highlighting some interesting research on the direct relationship between business success and inclusion. An organisation with an inclusive culture is twice as likely to exceed financial targets, three times as likely to be high performing, six times more agile and innovative, and finally eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes.

Etisalat has also launched various initiatives for customers from all walks of life to access services easily, highlighted Almansoori. These included training employees with basic Emirati sign language to elevate the customer experience and to help senior citizens and residents at home to conduct transactions on their smart devices. Another noteworthy cause was the launch of a first of its kind web extension to simplify the World Wide Web and make it autistic-friendly to support people with autism. These are a few examples of inclusivity to the customers that Etisalat serves to enable and empower them.

The importance of alignment in managing evolving investor and stakeholder expectations in building inclusive workforces was one of the key takeaways during Muraish’s panel discussion, which also focused on CHROs creating meaningful change, succession planning and the board’s role in supporting the corporate strategy and company executives.

-- business@khaleejtimes.com