Without standards, we would not have assurances that a product or service is safe, of high quality and reliable. Standards exist for many products and services, including human resources. It can be challenging to write standards that are applicable across industries, company types, and countries. This is especially true when it comes to human resource management, with linguistic, social and cultural norms varying across geographic regions, not to mention the significant differences in employment regulations.

That's why the process of developing HR Standards through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee (TC) 260 HR Management has to be truly global. And it is: As they draft standards, the committee's working groups collect feedback from HR experts in participating countries across the globe.

"By the time the standard is launched, a lot of people from across the world of expertise have had their arguments and disagreements, and they've come to a final agreement," says Cristina Schwenke, a registered expert of Workgroup 8.

Here's how Workgroup 8, a team of international HR experts from 14 countries, received global input to develop ISO 30415:2021 Human resource management — Diversity and inclusion.

Align HR Standards With Sustainable Development Goals

Inclusive workplace cultures support fundamental human rights. ISO’s standards are aligned to support the UN's sustainable development goals from its ambitious 15-year plan. "The sustainable development goals are identified specifically in the standard," says Lorelei Carobolante, a global HR expert and Project Leader of ISO 30415 who led Workgroup 8. "We have incorporated some fundamental human rights into 30415."

ISO 30415 contributes to four of the UN’s sustainable development goals:

• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

These goals, mentioned specifically in the standard’s introduction and bibliography, are interwoven throughout the text of ISO 30415.

The UN’s sustainable development goals, aligned within ISO 30415, provide direction for HR professionals to engage in good practices and foster an inclusive workplace. “It’s a model to assist HR practitioners to undertake our role as business leaders, solution providers, trusted advisors and ethical stewards,” says Tom Hogan, a registered expert of Workgroup 8.

Hear and Incorporate Diverse Perspectives

Developing HR standards takes time. The process of drafting ISO 30415 began in February 2016. The draft was open to comments from global HR professionals at each stage. These comments had to be accepted, rejected, noted or accepted with modifications.

"ISO 30415 was enhanced by the involvement of many people from around the world. By going through the unique ISO consensus-based process of developing drafts, feedback through commenting disposition, and balloting across the ISO stages, the proposed international standard was constantly revised to incorporate perspectives of many countries and cultures," Carobolante says.

Workgroup 8 received comments on the drafts of ISO 30415 from 33 Participating Countries and 26 Observing Countries, as well as comments from Liaison organizations to TC 260. Their perspectives directed changes to the document.

"WG8 would review and respond to comments that other TC260 stakeholders submitted during the stages of development, and that would inform our revision of the document," Carobolante says. "We also restructured it a few times before it became what it is today."

Reach Consensus through Reconciliation

The DIS, or draft international standard, is the last stage where participating professionals can leave substantive comments before it moves into the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) stage. ISO 30415 received over a thousand comments during the DIS stage. The team needed more than six months of meeting three times a week for two or more hours each time to reconcile them all.

After the DIS stage is the FDIS stage, which addresses grammar and word choice. Workgroup 8’s work on the standard was so comprehensive that minimal changes were required at this stage.

At last it was complete. The hard work paid dividends, as it found overwhelming acceptance from Participating Members, Observing Countries, and non-TC 260 countries.

"We had a practically unanimous consensus on the Final Draft International Standard, which is quite rare, especially when you consider this particular topic across multiple countries and cultures," Carobolante says.

“The expertise that went into developing it comes from multiple nations, viewpoints and perspectives,” says Kevin Bowsher, a registered expert of Workgroup 8. Receiving feedback on the document throughout its development helped shape what it is today: A standard that is clear, actionable and relevant for HR professionals across the globe.