Gareth Whalley of The Coca-Cola Company on the link between D&I and employee wellbeing

Filmed earlier this year, Whalley, a former reward specialist, explains why he moved across to a D&I role and how the two disciplines are interlinked.

“As I was researching the evolution of our recognition strategy, I got my ears pricked up to the fact that people who feel like their employer is a place for people like them are much more likely to feel inspired by their work, committed to the organisation and more likely to stay at the organisation,” says Whalley.

In turn, he began to think about the crossovers between reward, wellbeing and inclusion, which was the start of his move to D&I.

In the current climate, where coronavirus is disrupting business as usual, Whalley argues that we should not lose sight of the importance of D&I.

“Right now, D&I work might feel important but not urgent to business leaders and even HR professionals, and that’s absolutely understandable,” he says. “But we simply must make sure in this time of crisis that we don’t inadvertently slip backwards on diversity, and even more importantly on inclusion. Inclusive leadership – especially with remote teams – is a game changer for the health, wellbeing and productivity of employees everywhere. And this applies as much in ‘normal life’ as it does in a crisis.”

Whalley was also one of REBA’s judges for the Employee Wellbeing Awards 2020, he notes in his video how several entrants to this year’s Awards considered D&I in their wider wellbeing strategies, highlighting just how important diversity and inclusion is becoming to wellbeing.