Best practices for committing to a successful DEI initiative

The pandemic amplified long-standing systemic inequities deeply rooted in our society and highlighted how these factors disproportionately affect low-income and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. For example, data shows that many racial and ethnic minority groups have a higher risk of being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, despite being a smaller percentage of the overall U.S. population. Contributing factors, such as the lack of access to quality healthcare, shed light on the importance of social determinants or the environments where we work, live, and socialize. 

Similar inequalities have surfaced in the workplace during the pandemic. Millions of women left their careers to provide childcare when schools and daycares across the country closed. This has been particularly detrimental for Black women, whose unemployment rate rose to 5.8%, more than women of any other race in the U.S.  

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The need to commit to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives has never been greater. Diversity in the workplace means more innovation, creativity, points of view, problem-solving, and much more. Companies with more racial and ethnic diversity are also 35% more likely to have higher financial returns than average and position themselves for long-term success in the new post-pandemic era. 

Here are some ways you can make a meaningful commitment to DEI in your organization:

Promote commitment from the top 
To start, create an actionable framework to support DEI and ensure it is reinforced at the top of your organization. An organization's DEI initiatives should have a clear vision and strategy at the onset to ensure alignment throughout the company. Communicating those objectives to the team and identifying the natural "champions'' to spearhead and support these efforts will help to enable success. 

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Showing the business case for diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical for senior leader support. Many leaders now understand the need and positive impact of a more robust DEI focus within their organizations, but some may find it challenging to alter their behaviors and change their practices to be more inclusive. Sharing regular updates on a variety of diversity dimensions (gender, ethnicity, disability, veteran, generational, etc.) gives leaders the opportunity for continual discussion around the topic where they may begin to weave a DEI lens into their work more regularly and have the opportunity for more dialogue around incremental changes where they may be able to see the impact of their actions on their employee population.

Integrate DEI into the employee experience journey 
From recruitment to retirement, your organization's DEI initiatives should be incorporated into every aspect of the employee experience. The onboarding process is a new employee's first introduction to your company and a natural touchpoint to align on expectations and become educated about your mission and values. If your organization has internal employee resource groups focused on the diversity of race, gender, or culture, this would be an excellent opportunity to promote those, in case the individual is interested in becoming involved. 

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However, an employer's DEI efforts don't stop after the initial onboarding process. DEI should be woven into every aspect of the employee's journey, from training and development to compensation, succession planning, and beyond. Seamless integration and reinforcement of DEI values throughout the employee journey are essential components to maintaining consistency and continued growth. 

Develop clear and measurable goals 
Metrics and measurable goals are important to hold your organization accountable. For the greatest success, DEI initiatives should be tied to business strategy in a meaningful way. For example, creating a multi-year strategy to approaching DEI. With each pillar of the strategy, there should be clearly identified initiatives with action items and measurable goals. It's key to balance goal-setting with behavioral changes so that your team avoids the common pitfall of working to reach a number. Rather, you want to embed the best practices in how work is done, and goals that are set are the outcome of such work. With that, incremental changes should be celebrated, as DEI takes time to make long-lasting change.

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Furthermore, efforts should be tied to recruitment and talent management strategies and developing effective measurement tools to ensure success. For example, deploying initiatives to identify and recruit talent who are typically overlooked by traditional recruitment methods, such as mothers who have left the workforce, and tracking this impact on hiring efforts, are great ways to fuel more diversity in recruitment. Examining your employee population (looking at factors like race, gender, age, and generational diversity, among others) and having baseline goals to track and measure over time can also put your organization on the track to success. 

Diversity in the workplace extends beyond race, ethnicity, and gender to encompass culture, age, socioeconomic status, religion, ideology, and other areas of identity. Taking actionable steps and a genuine approach to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all individuals will be essential to companies' long-term prosperity.