Trompenaars Hampden Turner Consulting
Empowering Leaders to Facilitate Diversity and Inclusion

From varied skill sets to innovative problem-solving capabilities, the benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for a workforce cannot be understated. Numerous studies have demonstrated the merits of these three traits within a company, often highlighting how people from different ethnicities, genders, and cultural demographics bring various competencies and specialisations to their workplaces. Yet progress in most sectors remains hindered as these programs designed to increase diversity often fail, owing to the lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion – without these components success may not be sustainable. As a result, the perfect synergy between diversity, equity, and inclusion invariably serves as the foundation for iterative success.

That being said, Business and HR leaders need to develop a clearer understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion, and how these concepts fit together to maintain talent continuity, which broadens their appeal in various market segments. We see the inherent dilemmas we face in balancing diversity, equity, and inclusion as a set of dilemmas we want to reconcile. For example, our work helps businesses and talent leaders navigate through the process of reconciling cultural dilemmas. Trompenaars Hampden-Turner (THT)—a world-class research-driven consulting firm—works closely with clients from different cultures with diverse viewpoints, by enabling them to create a sustainable and efficient business model. THT also collaborates with Toni Wilson, a U.S. based DEI consultant, to support the firm’s goal of helping organisations develop a shared understanding of workplace issues and business potential. This partnership is enhancing THT’s approach to DEI while integrating the strategic objectives of a company, irrespective of diverse culture or value orientations. This partnership is a unique feature of THT’s practice of collaborating with thought leaders in bringing diverse, innovative thinking to its consulting processes.

THT provides training and consulting services to companies in the areas of globalisation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate identity and sustainability, as well as leadership development which enables them to leverage diversity and cultural awareness to gain a competitive advantage. The firm has a unique combination of rigorous research and intellectual capital captured through diagnostic tools that support reconciling values for a more effective business process rather than merely a focus on individual differences. Consultants at THT help clients identify the key organisational challenges and provide tailored solutions to overcome tensions resulting from competing viewpoints and priorities. Furthermore, the firm offers an interactive workshop at all levels of an organisation covering the full spectrum of building and managing multi-cultural teams with charters of effective behaviours. THT also offers e-learning at an inter-personal level for remote self-paced learning combined with workshops tailored to the specific needs and corporate values of each client’ organisation.

“Organizations seek stability and growth, long-term and short-term decisions, tradition and innovation, rational planning and imagination. The challenge is to reconcile dilemmas with key business processes, and resist selecting one at the expense of the other,” says Fons Trompenaars, Owner. THT’s unique approach focuses on respecting and reinforcing diverse stakeholders who drive change and culture in the context of reaching business objectives and solving operational inefficacies, effectively resulting in enhanced overall performance. To illustrate the effectiveness of THT’s solutions, Trompenaars narrates an incident where, Linde, a German gas company merged with British Oxygen Company. With over 40,000 employees, the client witnessed a vast and contradicting corporate culture gap. THT conducted consultative workshops in large groups, to work on reconciling dilemmas and develop leadership at every level of the organisation. Besides, the firm worked in collaboration with Booz Allen—a consultant for the technical processes— to harmonise business goals with the diverse cultural aspects of the organisation.

Founded in 1985 by Fons Trompenaars, in the Netherlands, THT has since, carved a niche in systematically reconciling the cultural differences within companies to their advantage and help them find opportunities in diversity, be it gender, functional, national or corporate regimes. As diversity and inclusion (D&I) dominate boardroom meetings around the world, building a thriving and dynamic workplace environment—both region by region and globally can be a daunting task. “Our key message is the importance of behaviours and actions of leaders and managers that create and sustain a supportive climate, one which empowers diversity, creates equity and inspires innovation through inclusion,” concludes Trompenaars.