Inclusive leadership at Volvo Group
Many people work together every day at Volvo Group. That collaboration does not always happen smoothly. Sometimes, tensions arise due to significant differences between people. That’s why Volvo Group wanted to gain more insight into diversity and inclusion. Unia provided a training on inclusive leadership and dealing with diversity.
Tine Van Der Straeten of Volvo Group looks back.
Why did you choose a training on diversity and inclusion?
From time to time, we encounter friction in the workplace due to the significant differences that can exist between people. Such as inappropriate humour or hurtful comments. At Volvo, we highly value Diversity & Inclusion, but we also notice that the diversity in our teams can sometimes cause miscommunication or conflict.
Why did you choose Unia?
We reached out to Unia to get a neutral perspective on the topic of diversity and inclusion. We wanted to give our managers a clear framework for assessing situations and an overview of all forms of discrimination. It was very valuable to receive an objective framework. This will make sure that our managers assess situations in the same way.
Which parts of the training did you find most useful?
Unia offers tailor-made solutions and ensured that the workshops were aligned with our existing leadership model. The trainer is an expert in the field. The structure - gathering input from a focus group (1), workshops with all first-line managers (2), and a debriefing to top management (3) - proved to be very effective. In just 5 days, Marieke gave us the tools we needed to work together in a more inclusive way.
What stood out to Unia during the process?
At Volvo Group, I felt a genuine willingness to create an inclusive work environment. Managers at all levels were involved and didn’t avoid difficult topics. Top management also picked up several structural areas of improvement, which they will continue working on. In this way, Volvo Group keeps taking concrete steps towards more inclusion.