Do you find yourself intellectually understanding the business value of investing in DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) but unsure how to practically start? Overwhelmed and confused?

You are not alone!

As we all know, starting something new requires time, patience, and a lot of headspace. Here are some steps to help you get going:

  1. Establish clear goals and objectives 🎯. They should be based on where you are on the journey (ranging from bringing awareness to the topic to setting aggressive aspirational goals) and ALWAYS embedded in the overall organizational goals. Senior leadership should be vested and fully committed to the strategy – and this is not optional!
  2. Know your demographic data 📊. Knowing your numbers is a must in anything you do, whether it’s losing weight, growing your sales, or deciding if you can go on holiday this year. Understanding your diversity makeup is no different and is key to identifying gaps, monitoring progress, and assessing the effectiveness of your initiatives. Examine your hiring, promotion, and attrition data diligently. Additionally, note that one of the key indicators of successful DEI efforts is the representation of diverse talent in leadership and decision-making positions.
  3. Ask for feedback 📣. Engagement and satisfaction surveys provide valuable insights into the experiences of employees. Including questions related to inclusion, belonging, and perceived fairness will be key in creating your programs and, if needed, reshaping your culture. Because yes, you will have to execute on the feedback afterwards.
  4. Evaluate and adapt as needed! ✅ Have a deep dive into your talent acquisition and management strategies and practices. Examine how you have historically attracted, hired, and promoted people in your organization. Do you follow a standardized process? Are practices fair and unbiased? Are things moving in the direction you want?
  5. Invest in developing your leadership teams 📈. As the famous quote goes, “Knowledge is power,” and your teams will be as good as the opportunities and trust their leaders offer. Being a leader is not easy because human relationships are complicated. Add the diversity of opinions, backgrounds, and life experiences, and it becomes clear why managers fail. Because it is overwhelming! Building inclusion is not an overnight quick fix.

By establishing clear goals, collecting and assessing demographic data, conducting employee surveys, measuring representation at the senior leadership level, and monitoring attraction, promotion, and retention rates, organizations can gain valuable insights and make data-driven decisions to enhance their DEI initiatives.

Why enhance your DEI? Because you want to be successful in business.

“Gender-diverse and inclusive teams outperformed their less inclusive counterparts by 50%.” – Gartner 2020