Diversity How making DE&I an


inherent part of our culture brings positive results


Miguel Rodriguez, managing director, Synaxon Hub, explains how the organisation’s heterarchical and virtual structure helps to make it inherently equitable and diverse, and a hotbed for ideas and innovation.


D


iversity, equity and inclusion form the basis of our core values at Synaxon. For us, there is simply no question about this and there


never has been. We are a multicultural, diverse and secular company and extremism of any kind is unacceptable. We believe in treating everyone fairly. Rather than a hierarchy, we are organised as a true heterarchy. Everyone is involved in decision-making processes and in formulating our strategy. We are also a completely virtual organisation


and while our teams do meet face to face on a regular basis, all our staff work remotely. Tis keeps everyone on an equal footing. When we meet online, everyone’s video is the same size, everyone has the same access rights, and everyone knows that if they speak, their views will be listened to, respected and considered. In this way, we make diversity and inclusion integral to our


everyday working practices and that’s something that brings positive results for us, for our people, and for our partners. Indeed, we regard this structure as being central to our success as an organisation.


The right approach We are convinced that having what is basically a “flat” management structure is founded on our experience and observations of large organisations that operate on a hierarchical basis. In these businesses, decisions are made either by senior management in isolation, or on the basis of the majority opinion. Tis means staff are rarely consulted and that anyone with a truly alternative – and possibly innovative – perspective is not heard. Minority views are oſten simply set aside. While breaking away from this more traditional approach may


seem risky, it’s something we are quite happy to leave behind. In our view, it’s not the right approach for a modern business that claims to be equitable and fair to every one of its employees. Many people working within such a hierarchical structure may feel leſt out or that their views are not valued. Tis could ultimately lead to poor


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morale and productivity. It could also result in good ideas – that could make a real difference – being missed. We believe that our approach makes


us stronger as an organisation and helps us to uncover more and better ideas. Our heterarchical structure allows our employees, regardless of background, experience or belief system, to have an effect on shaping every aspect of our business policy and future strategy. Many of them will see things very differently to those who would take a more risk-averse or guarded approach. From our perspective, this leads to better, more


divergent and innovative thoughts and ideas being brought to light.


Building trust It’s important to emphasise the value that being a virtual organisation plays in making us a diverse and equitable business. With everyone having the same space and equal billing during meetings, they can genuinely feel that their voice is just as loud as anyone else’s. Tis creates an open, transparent and honest environment in which all staff can express themselves freely. Tis in turn fosters trust between our people and frees them to come forward with thoughts and ideas that might help us improve our processes and services. Certain individuals do have responsibility for specific roles within Synaxon or for managing a particular area of our business, but we are essentially a non-hierarchical organisation. Tis structure creates a breeding ground for innovation. It


allows everyone to play their part – from the most risk-averse to the most iconoclastic and whatever their background and beliefs. Tis means we are never short of new ideas and that’s great because in our industry, we always need to be moving forward, challenging accepted wisdom, trying something different, and looking for ways to achieve more and do a better job for our customers.


September/October 2024 | 19


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