[Excerpt] Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends study revealing that the number of executives who cited inclusion as a top priority rose 32% since 2014. For this study inclusion is defined as the degree to which an employee perceives that he or she is a valued member of the work group. It’s important to discern that inclusion is not autonomous from belonging, but that both are key elements in company initiatives. Belonging from the employee point of view is, “I can be authentic, I matter, and am essential to my team.” Workgroup diversity is a well-researched topic, but diversity is taken a step further with inclusion. Companies have are starting to reconsider their practices to measure it. Forbes names 2016 as the year of Diversity and Inclusion. Deloitte Australia research shows that inclusive teams outperform peers by 80% in team-based assessments. Deloitte also confirms that companies that embrace diversity and inclusion in all aspects of their business outperform their peers. However, companies acknowledge that, inclusion and belonging are complex constructs to define and measure. With increasing investments, measuring inclusion is vital to understanding if employees feel a sense of inclusion and belonging within their company
