Have you ever tried to get internal support for a program or initiative and failed?

Ever struggled to get your board, senior leaders, hiring managers, or staff to get on board with an important initiative?

You either can't find the message that works, or you can't get the message to the right person to make a decision. If you can't get support for an initiative, how can you expect it to succeed?

And when we're talking about Aboriginal employment, there is almost always going to be pockets of resistance within the organisation. It might be senior staff who don't instantly support the strategy and want the resources to go to their business unit. It might be hiring managers who always find a reason why they can't hire an Aboriginal person. It might be team members that are not as friendly or welcoming to new Aboriginal staff members. Or it could be much worse.

Any of these kinds of resistance can derail Aboriginal employment efforts - if allowed to continue. And resistance always exists to some level when you're starting out.

If you're struggling to get traction with Aboriginal employment initiatives or eliminate resistance in your organisation, it could be that your rationale isn't cutting it. Maybe your reasons aren't clear. Maybe it's not getting through to the right people. Maybe it's not resonating. Maybe people think (or know) it's not supported at the highest levels of the organisation so they can get away with poor behaviour.

So, let's look at why you need a strong rationale, three kinds of arguments you could use, and the most effective to bring staff on board.

As I've said you'll need a strong rationale to succeed with Aboriginal employment. It's one of the key tools needed for organisational change.

What's a rationale?

A rationale sets out your fundamental reasons for doing something. Any employer can say 'we're committed to diversity and inclusion'. That's great, but it's a position statement. It's not a rationale. The rationale needs to answer the question 'why are we committed?'

What's your fundamental reason for supporting Aboriginal employment?

Why should every board member, staff member and community member support your plans to employ more Aboriginal people?

In short, why should your people care?

What’s the strongest rationale?

A strong rationale is one that brings people on board. It motivates your people to be involved in the initiative. It gives them a reason to support it, and garner further support.

There's generally three types of arguments you can make within an organisation.

1. Business case

2. Moral argument

3. Purpose-based argument

All of these arguments have their place, but one is more effective at bringing staff on board.

1. Business case

The business case for diversity, and Aboriginal employment specifically, has been made time and again. The value to organisations and society of the inclusion of Aboriginal people in the workplace, in leadership teams, and on your board is clear. Greater diversity of experience and thought, leads to more robust discussions, better decision making, and a stronger organisation. A stronger organisation will be a more profitable one. Of course, this is only true if the opinions of everyone are welcomed and allowed to contribute to decision making, so the organisation can learn and therefore change. Where Aboriginal employment is an exercise of assimilation, as is too often the case, the benefits are lost.

A business case pits costs against benefits. More often than not, these cost and benefits are measured (or translated) into dollars. But, if you measure things in dollars, they'll be judged on dollars.

When financial gains are the primary reason for Aboriginal employment, but fail to be realised - which can happen in the early days - you can lose support of senior managers and board members who review budgets and prioritise short-term financial performance over longer-term impact.

Where a business case can be useful is when comparing one approach to another. If you're comparing paths to the same outcome, a business case is invaluable. What's the most cost-effective way of getting where we want to go?

But, a business case is hardly inspiring to your staff. Your staff, with a few exceptions, are not motivated primarily by money. This is particularly true if you work in the service industry or the not-for-profit sector. People don't work for a not-for-profit for the money - there are easier ways to make a buck.

People work for meaning. Meaning for their themselves, their team, their clients or customers, and their families. They want their work to mean something to their community even in small ways. They want to see themselves as good people.

Which brings me to the next kind of argument that you could make.

2. Moral argument

This kind of argument gets a good run with Aboriginal employment.

A moral argument refers to our values - such as the feeling of unfairness and injustice we experience when we are treated poorly, and others treated better, for no good reason.

A moral argument often sounds something like, "It's the right thing to do." There's an assumption that there's a 'right' and 'wrong'. But, right and wrong only exist in context.

It's important to remember that a moral argument is still an argument. One that needs to be made for everyone.

In the case of Aboriginal employment in an Australian workplace, you're relying on the feeling of unfairness felt by someone else - Aboriginal people - to change people's hearts and minds. This argument can be made. It can be effective. But you need to build it from the ground up without assumptions of previous knowledge. So, it takes time. Sometimes a long time.

And, here's the thing about a moral argument - if people agree, they agree. But, if they don't, it can be hard to get them to change their mind. It's not always helpful to tell someone they're wrong - morally. You can have your opinion, and they'll have theirs.

This could be a sticky situation. How, in a workplace, can you tell someone what their morals should be?

Answer: you can't.

The more you try to rush it, the less effective the argument becomes. The more resistance you encounter. Not only from those you haven't yet convinced, but also from those who readily agreed and are eager to move forward. This sets up not just resistance to Aboriginal employment, but tension within the group.

So, it's unlikely that a moral argument alone will do the job of bringing your staff cohort on board with anything. It's more likely to cause a rift between those who are on board, and those who are not. This is not a recipe for success.

So, this brings us to the third kind of argument.

3. Purpose-based argument

This kind of argument is based on your organisation's purpose, mission and values. And, has been shown to be more effective at bringing staff on board.

It is unique to each organisation insomuch as your vision, purpose, mission and values are unique, which of course they will be if you're clear on your strategy.

The purpose-based argument says 'this is who we are and what we aim to do, and by acting on Aboriginal employment we are furthering our purpose and living our values.' It's saying we are being closer to our ideal, and doing better work by working to improve Aboriginal employment.

This kind of argument calls on your staff's alignment with the organisation. It highlights their own role in the organisation's purpose, and asks them if they truly believe in the work the organisation is doing.

The purpose-based argument is, therefore, the most effective argument to make to bring people on board. It's the strongest rationale you can make internally.

This is one of the first pieces of work my Respectful Workplaces and Fast Track clients complete.

Without a purposed-based argument in place, you'll always come up against resistance within the organisation.

What's the impact of a strong rationale?

When you have a strong rationale for why you're introducing Aboriginal employment initiatives, people will be clear. Clear about what you're doing and why you're doing it. This clarity is helpful in two ways.

Firstly, if the rationale resonates with them, that is, it sits well with their values and how they see themselves, their job, their workplace, and their organisation, then people will be aligned and willingly participate.

Secondly, if the rationale grates against their values or who they think they are, they work out pretty quickly that they either need to find a way to get on board, or get out.

Where people can't find their way to support a priority for the organisation, they soon find the door.

This idea may make you uncomfortable.

But, if you're committed to stamping out racism and supporting Aboriginal people - within your organisation - this attrition makes space for people who are aligned to your values and just as skilled.

And, this is a great outcome for your organisation and its Aboriginal employment initiatives. This kind of clarity of rationale closes the gap between the organisation you want to be, and the organisation you really are.

If you find yourself thinking that there's staff you couldn't lose even if they weren't on board, then I'd challenge your commitment to Aboriginal employment.

You're either committed. Or you're not.

You believe your rationale - or you don't. And, if you don't, why would anyone else? Your rationale can't be expected to be effective in your organisation if its not effective in your own mind.

So, would you be willing to let staff go if they weren't on board with Aboriginal employment?

This could be a real decision you face, and another reason that you'll need a strong rationale.

Conversations with staff members that are not giving their full-throated support to Aboriginal employment will be much easier if you have a well thought-out rationale for why it's in the best interests of the organisation - and the staff member - to support Aboriginal employment.

This rationale can serve as a coaching resource and a stick (where necessary) with reluctant staff.

Being able to work through the rationale with staff and teams will be critical to the success of your Aboriginal employment plans. So, it'd better be strong.

In summary

If you want your organisation to have success with any organisational change, you need everyone to be on board.

Aboriginal employment is no different.

Resistance against change, particularly this kind of change, is more than likely when you first begin.

Your leaders and managers need to have the tools to deal with it effectively.

A strong rationale will give your people the clarity they need to get on with the job.

Your staff need clarity about why you're pursuing Aboriginal employment initiatives if you're to build a workplace where Aboriginal people are welcomed and respected.

Your staff need to be equipped to explain the change to others.

This is why developing a strong rationale is one of the first projects in my Respectful Workplaces program.

It's critical to your success, and it's best to have it in place earlier, rather than later.

Questions for you

How is resistance showing up in your organisation?

What are your fundamental reasons for supporting Aboriginal employment? Are those reasons clearly articulated in a rationale available to all staff?

How effective do you think your rationale is at bringing everyone on board?

If a staff member (or board member) asked you today, "Why do we have Aboriginal employment initiatives here?" What would you say?

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