In January 2021, Netflix released a company-wide inclusion report for the first time. This report offers an idea of where the company is in terms of diversity so that they celebrate improvement as well as identify areas that need work.

Click on the link below for report.

Inclusion Takes Root at Netflix: Our First Report – About Netflix

Here are some of the descriptors for Netflix’s shows: Comedy, Fantasy, Fiction, Sci-Fi, Crime, Action, Drama, Foreign, Adventure, Family, Thriller, Horror, Western, Documentary, Mystery, Animation, Short, Limited Series, Movie, Romance, Biography, Based on True Story, War, History, Reality-TV. We all have our favorites. Thanks to their viewing algorithms Netflix is able to populate a similar type of show to us based on our personal viewing history. This system “gets” me. However, if I watch a show (and review it highly) about blue aliens, just how many blue alien shows do I really want to watch?  Maybe all, maybe I want to see other blue features or maybe other alien features, but the key is staying in touch with me as my preferences change, as I mature physically and mentally, and as possible life changes occur for me. I highly propose we model our businesses with a similar approach.

The key to successfully knowing your audience is understanding the meaning of both “diversity” and “inclusion”.  You will find in Netflix’s report a stronger use of the word “inclusion”. They looked at their audience base, and their large growing audience base as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. I think in any business using the Netflix approach is vital to the success and evolution of your business.

Let’s answer a few questions:

1.      Who is my current clientele?

What gender? Race? Ethnicity? Sexuality?

Does my management team reflect the same % of my clientele with regard to those?

What about an advisory board of “outsiders” to keep your management team in touch with others outside of your organization who can share additional insight?

2.      How satisfied is my current audience with service delivery?

What are they asking for?

How can I give that to them?

Do I understand the culture of my audience enough to adapt?

Is my language current to the times?

3.      How do I grow my current audience?

Do I need to give them more of the same?

At what point do they tire of the same old thing?

How do I keep it fresh and ever-changing for them?

4.      How do I reach new customers?

Do I have the cultural knowledge on my team to “know” what this should look like? Or, do I make assumptions?

5.      Who has experienced or engaged “tokenism”?

Let’s go ahead and define that one: the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality within a workforce.

People overall truly do not embrace change well. Whether they fear it, or they are used to a routine, or unsure of where they fit in, people really do not like change. If we are constantly analyzing the way we are doing business, we can make small changes along the way. It’s not as disruptive, and when we do need to change, our people come to expect and embrace the changes more readily.  If we wait until we need a complete overhaul how many good people or good opportunities did we miss along the way that would have helped us grow in the best of ways?

Netflix added categories to their viewing as well. From specific foreign language offerings, subtitle choices and themes, they have also embraced culture related categories, holiday and celebration categories as well as gender and race. Will every category have the same satisfaction rating? Perhaps, yes, perhaps, no. The key is selecting the tool in your organization that helps you measure success, so you can adapt quickly to a trend, or a disliked practice.

Don’t assume you are doing a good job. If you have a staff turnover rate of 70% or higher, you are most likely not doing as great a job as you think. Ask the 30% of the workforce who is staying what you can do for them. When change is necessary, change for your people. Change should improve services for your clientele, but also improve working conditions. Incorporating teams of inclusive representation of your audience will open new dialogues, stimulate new conversations and open the door to a new level of service delivery that is not only diverse, but inclusive.

Listen to your people. Do you hear “us” and “them”, or do you hear “we”?