When considering how to create and implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) initiatives, many organizations may feel intimidated by the sheer number of program possibilities out there. Here’s a measured and structured method for implementing (or evaluating already established) DEI&B programs within an organization.
Step 1: Identify the overall purpose of a DEI&B program
Is the organization considering a DEI&B program in order to remain on par with its market competitors? Is the ultimate objective to establish and nurture an inclusive culture? Is a DEI&B program on management’s radar because the organization lacks the diversity it would like to have (particularly in comparison to the surrounding community)? The impetus for a program could include any or all of those reasons (or even completely different ones!). Whatever the reasons, though, they should inform the organization's DEI&B program objectives.
Step 2: Define strategic objectives
Before an organization can effectively build a plan for where it wants to go, it must first understand the makeup of the workforce it has now. The company can achieve this by analyzing employee data from its HR information system (HRIS) and payroll system as well as by conducting confidential employee surveys to gather honest feedback on its current DEI&B landscape.
With this data in hand, the organization should then establish a SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timebound) goal to drive its strategic objectives. This goal should be expressed in a succinct statement, such as “In order to accurately reflect the diversity of our community and to position ourselves as an employer of choice, we want to increase our organization’s ethnic diversity by 20 percent over the next three years.”
Step 3: Create a cultural DEI&B roadmap
The company must then define the strategic objectives that it will use to achieve its SMART goal. Four key pillars each support a different aspect of a comprehensive DEI&B plan:
- Attract: Recruiting a diverse workforce, talent acquisition management
- Belong: Employee engagement, belonging, and retention
- Promote: Career pathing, career progression, learning and development, succession planning
- Influence: How the organization operates within its community and within the world at large (e.g., community relations, volunteer opportunities relationships with DEI-focused vendors)
If the company’s cultural DEI&B roadmap does not include all four pillars, its DEI&B efforts will fail. Each pillar encompasses various initiatives that will help the company achieve its DEI&B goals over the course of its multiyear plan.
Attract
If the goal is to increase workforce diversity, the organization obviously needs to attract a more diverse pool of talent. An excellent place to start is by reviewing job descriptions and scrutinizing whether any of their current requirements detract diverse candidates from applying. For example, are the education, background, and day-to-day requirements absolute “must haves,” or can the company be flexible about any of them? Could the organization be open to considering a candidate’s experience in lieu of formal education? Must an application have a driver’s license, or is confirmation of reliable transportation to and from work sufficient?
Belong
Belonging is one of the newer concepts to enter the diversity, equity, and inclusion conversation, but it requires no less attention. Appropriately creating and opening paths for promotion for all team members allows employees of any background to see their own potential to occupy roles they may not have had access to before.
Seeing someone who looks, thinks, and lives like them in a high-achieving role can have an incredible impact. Or, if a high-level role isn’t attractive to some individuals, a sense of belonging can still be achieved by engaging mentors and advisors to help guide and educate teams. When people with similarities (e.g., cultural, physical, spiritual) share professional spaces, it can be a lot easier for them to be motivated and incentivized to engage and remain with the organization.
Promote
How can an organization promote diverse candidates internally if it already lacks diversity? Minority individuals and groups who have had less access to opportunities may already be at a disadvantage when pursuing growth opportunities. In order to provide access to training or education to enable these groups to grow within and through the company, the organization must promote from within. This strategy requires a longer timeline in comparison to attracting outside diverse talent (years versus months), but it will set the organization up for success in the long run. A truly successful promotion-from-within strategy can take five to ten years to reach its full capability and can include tactics such as career pathing and building lines of succession. Taking smaller steps toward inclusion under the “promote” pillar creates an even more inclusive environment that will retain the diverse talent that the organization worked so hard to attract.
Influence
Influence often refers to shaping an organization through decision making, culture, and inclusive conversations. Although internal inclusivity is an important area of DEI&B, creating a DEI&B roadmap also includes influencing outside the organization. It involves asking (and answering) one key question: “How can we show our local community that we promote and encourage and support particular minority groups?” This support might take the form of engaging in local forms of awareness and support campaigns (e.g., Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, Native American Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, LGBT Pride Month)—not only during their designated “official” time periods but perhaps even year round. This external “influencing” goes hand in hand with attracting diverse team members: by getting involved and having a positive impact on community groups, an organization positions itself as an employer of choice.
The Payoff
The creation and implementation of a successful DEI&B roadmap takes time, effort, planning, and funds. Whether an organization is still in the foundational stages of building a DEI&B program or reevaluating previously made goals for its current program, a roadmap can help guide the key players toward success in achieving the strategic level goals.