Accenture Survey 2019: diversity and equal workplace culture – powerful drivers of an innovation mindset

Accenture Survey 2019: diversity and equal workplace culture – powerful drivers of an innovation mindset

(PRESS RELEASE) NEW YORK, 7-Mar-2019 — /EuropaWire/ — Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has conducted an online and phone survey, as part of its “Getting to Equal 2019” research, interviewing more than 18,000 professionals in 27 countries, including 150 C-level executives during November and December 2018. Released today, the survey, found that the workplace culture of equality is a powerful multiplier of innovation and growth.

Furthermore, willingness and ability to innovate, in U.S., employees in particular, is is nearly five times higher in companies with a robust culture of equality, where everyone can advance and thrive, than in companies with least-equal environment.

Continuous innovation is essential, vital to competitiveness and business viability according to the vast majority of executives questioned around the world.

When it comes to the factors important to innovations, culture of equality comes on top among the things that differentiate organizations, such as industry, country or workforce demographics. According to the research, when put in more equal workplace cultures, people across all genders, sexual identities, ages and ethnicities show a stronger innovation mindset.

Accenture’s research is based on and combines data from 18,000 professionals (1,400 in the U.S.), 27 countries, 150 C-suite executives, employee survey results and published labor force data.

The current survey is built on Accenture’s 2018 research, which identified 40 workplace factors that contribute to a culture of equality, and grouped them into three actionable categories: Bold Leadership, Comprehensive Action and Empowering Environment.

According to this year’s research, the empowering environment is found to be the most important among the three culture-of-equality categories in increasing an innovation mindset. The empowering environment has six elements: purpose, autonomy, resources, inspiration, collaboration and experimentation.

Hence, the more empowering the workplace environment, the higher the innovation mindset score. U.S. employees put to work in robust cultures of equality, according to the research, are seven times more likely to say that nothing holds them back from innovating (44 percent in most equal cultures vs. 6 percent in least equal cultures).

The research, however, discovered a gap between C-suite executives and employees when it comes to innovation. While the vast majority (76 percent) of executives surveyed globally responded that they support and empower employees to innovate, less than half (42 percent) of  the employees agree. To illustrate, executives seem to be overestimating the financial rewards, and underestimating the purpose, as motivators for employees to innovate.

Providing relevant skills training, flexible working arrangements and respect for work life balance appear to be the strongest factors underpinning an innovation mindset in a more equal workplace culture.

Further in the research, diverse leadership team and a gender-balanced workforce are alone significantly impacting the innovation mindset, however, culture of equality is found to be the essential multiplier to help companies maximize innovation.

According to the survey, U.S. employees’ innovation mindset is nearly eight times greater when diversity is combined with a culture of equality, compared to companies where these are least common.

Another key finding in the research is the fact that innovation mindset seems to be stronger in fast-growing economies and in countries with high labor-productivity growth.

Accenture estimates that global GDP (gross domestic product) would likely increase by US$8 trillion in the course of the next 10 years if the innovation mindset in all countries were raised by just 10 percent.

Julie Sweet, Accenture’s chief executive officer — North America:

“In this era of widespread disruption, businesses and organizations need to respond with continuous innovation to succeed. Our research makes it clear that tapping the power of workplace culture is essential to unleashing innovation across the company.”

Ellyn Shook, Accenture’s chief leadership & human resources officer:

“Accelerating equality in the workplace has never been more critical for driving innovation, If people feel a sense of belonging and are valued by their employers for their unique contributions, perspectives and circumstances, they are more likely to advance and feel empowered to innovate.”

The survey can be read over the following publicly available page:

https://www.accenture.com/…/gender-equality-innovation-research

SOURCE: Accenture