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8 Best Practices for DEI at Your Company
Some believe diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is about fairness—about evening the playing field for all involved. Others view it as a driver of innovation and performance since diverse companies see 2.5 times higher cash flow per employee, higher revenues, increased employee engagement, and better retention numbers.
The truth is, it’s both.
DEI are crucial elements of a thriving workplace for the ways that they give companies a competitive advantage while creating a more inclusive, collaborative, and respectful workplace (at the same time).
Framework for a Successful DEI Program
The best DEI programs are transparent, accountable, and powered by participation from all levels of the company. They create an environment where everyone feels welcome—despite their race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, age, and abilities—and generate a space where everyone can contribute their ideas and talents.
Below are best practices for setting up a quality DEI program at your organization that does just that.
Audit the Current State of DEI at Your Company
Measure and analyze your current efforts so you can gather data about what’s working, what’s not, and what should be next in your DEI roadmap. This assessment should include a review of the company’s demographics, policies, practices, and culture (i.e. a closer look at salary differences between different demographics at the company).
A good place to start: survey your employees to understand the current state of your initiatives and identify gaps or areas of improvement. Gather feedback from employees through surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one conversations—and be sure to share the results to foster a culture of transparency and accountability around DEI.
Establish Measurable Goals and Metrics
Data and findings from that initial audit can help you establish clear, measurable goals and metrics—to zero in on where you will get the most return on your DEI investments and have the biggest effect on your efforts.
For example, if you find that you have a low percentage of diverse employees in leadership positions, you can set the goal to increase that percentage within a certain time frame and take meaningful actions towards that goal (i.e. change recruiting tactics for senior-level positions).
DEI metrics should be regularly tracked and analyzed to ensure progress is made—and consistently shared to improve transparency, inclusion, and accountability.
Get Commitment and Buy-In From Leadership
Those goals and metrics can also be used to get buy-in from the C-suite. Having a clear path forward will make it easier for leaders to model inclusive behavior and sign off on investments that will improve the employee experience for all involved. Company culture is top-down, so getting senior leaders onboard and encouraging them to be ambassadors for change will help your DEI efforts go further. Ultimately, it will make getting buy-in from the rest of the organization easier.
Prioritize Training and Education
But, getting C-suite buy-in isn’t enough. In order to build a safe and equitable workplace for all employees, your entire workforce needs to be operating from the same playbook—a playbook that is culturally respectful, fair, and inclusive. Consistent training, conversations, and content around DEI are a great way to get everyone up to speed—and overcome social barriers and biased thinking among employees.
All employees should receive training on topics like unconscious bias, microaggression, and cultural competency. The training should be ongoing, interactive, and tailored directly to your DEI goals and metrics. Additionally, managers should receive specialized training on how to create an inclusive work environment to effectively manage a diverse team.
Promote Accountability
Discrimination in the workplace still happens. According to Glassdoor, 61% of U.S. employees noted experiencing or witnessing workplace discrimination, and 34% of people that have experienced unresolved harassment issues have left that job.
As such, you should establish a clear process for employees to report incidents of discrimination, harassment, or bias–and establish a process of accountability for those that go against company DEI policy. These reports should be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. Appropriate action should be taken against DEI offenders—including (or especially) leadership—to promote accountability amongst your workforce. Consistently upholding and enforcing your DEI policies in this way will make employees acutely aware of how their actions contribute to a safe and equitable workplace.
Foster Employee Engagement and Participation
To create a successful DEI program, all voices need to be heard, and all levels of the organization need to be engaged. Many employers establish employee resource groups (ERGs) or internal communities of workers with shared identities and interests to elevate the voices of the underserved and encourage participation.
The first official ERG in the United States, the Xerox National Black Employees Caucus, was created in 1970 as a forum for Black employees to advocate for inclusion and change within the company. Since then, ERGs across the United States have connected groups of employees who share interests and identities, making it easier for them to champion change. Today, 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have ERGs.
Beyond ERGs, you should also set up DEI committees, task forces, and other focus groups that make it easy for everyone to get involved (including leadership). Within these groups, everyone should feel comfortable sharing their perspectives and ideas. And, if that’s not enough, some employers are now compensating employees for DEI work to incentivize them to stay involved.
Boost Coaching, Mentoring, and Sponsoring
Giving diverse employees a voice–a platform for voicing their concerns–is not enough. In order to effectively drive toward your most critical DEI goals, diverse employees need coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship to support their advancement and growth within the organization.
Mentorship is a great way to get managers and other leaders involved in your DEI initiatives—it’s about encouraging those with inherent power within the organization to elevate the voices of those who might be less inclined to speak up or advocate for themselves.
In fact, a recent study from Bain found that, on average, mentorship programs boost the representation of Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American women, and Hispanic and Asian-American men in the workplace, by 9% to 24%. Recent research out of Harvard shows that people of color who advance the furthest in their careers share a single attribute: a network of mentors and sponsors who have advocated for them along the way.
Take a Close Look at Your Hiring Practices
One very literal way that employers can improve DEI within an organization is by changing who they bring through the door, especially for senior-level positions (representation matters, after all). Employers should set clear goals for attracting and recruiting diverse talent—and ensure that hiring professionals are adequately trained to do so.
Plus, consider evaluating your employer brand—from the images on your site to the language you use in your job descriptions to the channels or organizations where you source talent—and make the necessary adjustments to be more inclusive. Quick solutions like adding an equity statement to your careers page and gender pronoun options to your interview process can go a long way.
For a closer look into attracting and retaining diverse talent and more insights into building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace, tune in tomorrow for another episode of America Back to Work: Expert Interview Series.
Our very own chief strategy officer (and former U.S. Secret Service agent), Arnette Heintze, sits down with Valeria Edmonds (MBA, Ph/D.), an internal HR consultant with 30 years of experience working on strategic people initiatives as a global business partner in a Fortune 500 corporation.