Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

How to create a winning DEI strategy

The talent pool available for organizations has become more diverse than ever. However, creating a truly inclusive work environment for this talent requires a concerted effort. For HR practitioners it has proven to be a complicated issue to solve.

By the end, you will have a clear understanding of how to create a strategy that aligns with your initiatives. The first part of the process is to create a DEI survey. Here are the steps:

1. Gather data. Good data is the foundation of a DEI survey. Ensuring data quality is particularly crucial, because it will provide the organization with a baseline to work from. Low quality data makes it impossible to accurately measure progress.

There are multiple ways to do this correctly. Firstly, gather data in the fairest manner possible. This will minimize bias and improve overall results. Getting feedback from a broad range of employees across the organization will achieve this.

Make the feedback process easy for employees to engage with. Keep questionnaires short; no more than 15-20 questions. This will help ensure completion. Keeping surveys specific is another way to minimize the number of questions needed. Lastly, consider rewards for completion. This motivates participation.

Data from employee feedback is not where it ends. The second type of data is about the employees themselves. Examples of key metrics to be aware of are race, gender, job position, and salary.

2. After gathering data, analyze it. This means looking for trends and patterns. Employee data and feedback will give a clear overview of where the organization needs to focus. The data will find discrepancies across demographics in your company.
3. After gathering and analyzing the data, examine the various parts of your organization. There may be unintentional bias in how the organization runs. There could be issues with the hiring process. There could be cultural differences in benefits, compensation, and work expectations. This research will allow organizations to find better solutions to their problems.
4. Next, create a strategy based on the data gathered and evaluation results. For example, it may be a case of adjusting the salary for certain roles in the company. While providing an immediate result, this is a short-term solution that treats the symptoms, not the causes. Instead, focus on creating strategies and processes that affect the organization more deeply. Transforming those can reduce the likelihood of inequities. An example is ensuring equal access to promotion opportunities. This kind of fix will yield longer-term results.
5. Communicate your findings with the employees. It is important to let them know that their feedback has had an impact. Without reporting back to them, they will be demotivated, and less likely to take part next time.

Reinforce the intentions of the organization to your employees. Show them what has worked and what has not. By showing transparency, you build organizational trust and credibility. This applies both internally and externally.

What organizations can do to boost DEI initiatives

• Mentorship. This is a time-consuming, but effective approach. It comes with the benefit of strengthening the organization's culture.
• Activities, groups, and social events. Promote the celebrations of the various demographics of the workforce. This can build a cohesive organization, appreciative of differences.
• Continual assessment and feedback. While a DEI analysis gives a fantastic framework for how to improve, that is not the end of the work. To keep developing, it is necessary to make the analysis process continual, rather than a singular event. Invite employee feedback and have open communication on an ongoing basis.
• Training. Managers and other key members need to know the importance of DEI to a company’s long-term success. It is important to take responsibility for training them. Let them know the organization’s policies and practices on DEI. Be sure that you have their support for new initiatives.

How technology can improve DEI

There are a broad number of tools that can improve DEI initiatives across a company. Here are the key examples of what they can achieve:

Removing bias. Use artificial intelligence to check and review job descriptions for bias. These tools analyze substantial amounts of data. From this, they can create job descriptions using fairer, more inclusive language. This will avoid alienating someone who would have been a great fit for the job.

Data analytics. Data is the key to achieving more workplace equity. Current tools can give insights significantly greater than were previously possible for HR teams. This data can get deeper insights, resulting in more successful DEI strategies.

More inclusivity. Take recruitment as an example. Remote candidates can now use videoconferencing tools for interviews. This enables companies to hire employees from further afield with less friction.

It further supports remote work through cloud-based tools. This makes sharing documents and information between remote teams easy. As a result, it is now possible for employees to work, even when they cannot get to the office.

Lastly, organizations can now use workers from the “gig economy.” This broadens the talent pool and offers more affordable options.

There are also specialized diversity recruiting programs available. These tools function to find candidates from target demographics. They connect organizations with overlooked candidates, improving workforce quality and DEI goals.

These dedicated tools are also effective at finding the places in the hiring process where specific demographics drop out. This data can help improve hiring processes.

Tips to maximize inclusivity in your organization

1. Use pronouns and names. This helps avoid issues around misidentifying people. It also promotes a more accepting, inclusive workspace.
2. Support diverse learning styles. Give multiple information in multiple formats. For example, during a meeting, provide a transcript beforehand, a recording afterwards.
3. Stay accessible. When using tools for meetings, ensure that they are customizable to the individual's needs. This could be anything from font sizes to different themes.
4. Promote inclusive meeting etiquette. Examples of this are sharing meeting notes and pausing so that people can ask questions.