Creating belonging: Why DEI is a way of life at ServiceNow

Creating belonging: a group of diverse workers collaborating on sofas

Create belonging is one of our four core values at ServiceNow. Putting it at the heart of our business makes a powerful statement to our people, our global organisation, and the wider tech industry. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are central to everything we do.

To fulfil our purpose to make the world work better for everyone, we know we need to create an environment in which our people can grow. That requires a culture that encourages everyone to bring their authentic self to work every day.

A good business is good for business

According to McKinsey, the business case for DEI is stronger than ever. The research reveals a positive link between maintaining robust financial performance and fostering a culture of transparency and inclusion.

A commitment to DEI can also increase motivation. Research by BCG shows that when employees believe DEI is a leadership priority, the number of employees who feel motivated increases by almost 25 percentage points.

Senior leaders aren’t the only ones who need to espouse DEI. Managers and teams throughout the business should also be equipped with tools that support empathetic leadership. Another article by BCG reports how this can create a psychologically safe team environment in which every individual can thrive.

Balancing global and local focus

All this is particularly important in a global business like ServiceNow’s, with operations in multiple markets and territories, each with its own specific cultural contexts and nuances.

That’s why in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), we have a distinct focus on making sure that our DEI policies and programmes reflect the realities of people in every territory across the region.

Progress starts with data. By using a variety of data sets—including employee voice surveys, demographics, and equity, inclusion, and performance data by region—we’re able to identify where we’re building a truly inclusive workforce and where local issues may need to be addressed.

What constitutes under-representation often varies by country and organisation. Gathering local data on the experience of under-represented groups is essential. By understanding the specific challenges our people face, we can design and implement effective policies that provide support from initial contact to recruitment to promotion and beyond.

Everyone makes a difference

Giving all employees insights and tools is a vital part of our approach. For example, we recently ran our EMEA DEI Learning Fest, a four-week series of learning sessions designed to help people absorb what our ‘create belonging’ value really means at ServiceNow. We started with a focus on self-understanding and how everyone’s identity shapes their worldview and the way they relate to others.

In subsequent sessions, we embraced the experiences of people and communities with different identities—visible and invisible—and learned how to practise effective allyship.

Through our employee belonging group awareness week, we learned and celebrated our collective experiences and showed all employees how they can get involved in building community through our belonging groups.

Then, after demonstrating how microaggressions can get in the way of belonging, we encouraged employees to pledge to apply what they’d learnt to their work.

Feedback from the DEI learning month activities was extremely positive: 95% of participants agreed the sessions were a good use of their time, increased their knowledge, and gave them ways to take action.

Deeds not words

This is just one example of how we’re making our commitment to DEI part of our people’s day-to-day working lives. We’re delighted in the evidence that suggests we’re getting it right.

ServiceNow was recently recognised as number one in the 2024 UK’s Best Workplaces. We’re also consistently named on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For ® list. Other accolades include:

Receiving awards is great, of course, but it’s not why we do what we do. We know that the best way to grow is to make our business as inclusive as possible. We’re always open to learning and prepared to confront issues that may take us out of our comfort zones. It’s all part of the process of creating belonging—and meaning it.

Find out more about career opportunities at ServiceNow.