Using data to improve the impact of your DEI programs

As diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives become more common across companies and industries, one big question remains: How do we know if these programs are working?

Companies including Merck, Target and Bank of America have shared data regarding the race and ethnicity of their workplace, as well as gender breakdowns by job category. A mandate by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has pushed many other S&P 100 companies to publicly share this data, yet deeper insights into how companies can actually hire and retain a diverse population are harder to find.

“Although many companies are making sincere efforts to increase diversity among their workforce, many efforts are unsuccessful because recruiters and HR leaders lack effective tools and data,” says Gal Almog, CEO at diverse talent sourcing solution Talenya.

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Almog says many companies do not have data on the amount of diverse and qualified talent at their disposal, and in its absence, hiring initiatives are easily compromised and companies may fail to reach their equity-focused goals. “The first step is to get access to such data and formulate a strategy around it,” Almog says.

Recent advances in technology, particularly through artificial intelligence, have made it easier to source and mine this data for applicable information, Almog says. Organizations can tailor their job postings to search for candidates in diverse pools.

“AI tools find more potential talent for open roles more efficiently than manual recruiter searches,” Almog says. “Recruiters can use AI to build rich and up-to-date profiles, even within their own employee database, and identify potential candidates by diversity.”

Employers should not only look at their own company makeup, but compare it to their competitors, Almog says. However, diversity metrics are often difficult to measure because many companies are simply not releasing the data. Employers should look for outside information to build the talent pool they need.

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“Talent data is available online from public sources, like LinkedIn and GitHub, and is updated continuously,” Almog says. “While it’s integral for HR leaders to track their own DEI numbers, measuring this data alongside industry competitors is the first step in determining areas for improvement.”