It’s easy to fall into the assumption that your business is inclusive and diverse, but many organizations that fall into this mindset will not go out of their way to ensure this is the case and work towards further improvement. If a company truly cares about these factors, it will do more than just acknowledge months like Pride Month or Black History Month. More must be done.
A DEI strategy is essential to every business, regardless of size. When your company provides diversity, equity, and inclusion, your employees and the business will flourish. It is up to you to take the proper steps to get there.
Why Does Your Company Need a DEI Strategy?
Having a DEI strategy implemented into your business isn’t just about filling a quota; if that is the case for your business, there needs to be a change in motivation. A DEI strategy can help foster new perspectives, culture, creativity, and understanding between people of different races, gender, cultures, ages, religions, abilities, and other diverse backgrounds. Not only can this provide your company with new ways of solving problems and approaching processes, but it can also help create a level of comfort and openness between your team members.
Ultimately, DEI can help people feel respected, heard, and included in the team.
Creating Measurable DEI Goals
If you are just starting to create your strategy or updating the one you already have, making measurable goals and assessing where you stand today is essential. To best create goals, establish where your DEI standards are at now. You can do this by examining your hiring process, training programs, anti-discrimination policies, and workplace culture. While this might seem like a hefty task, you don’t need to do it alone. Connect with your team and ask them about their experiences and opinions on the culture and workplace. You can also hire an external Inclusion Analysis team to help assess your current DEI situation.
Once you know where you stand, it is time to create measurable goals to help your organization excel. These can be…
- Updating existing anti-discrimination policies in the next quarter.
- Increasing the number of women in leadership positions by next year.
- Changing the hiring process to be more inclusive in the next quarter.
- Seeking out ways to hire more diverse employees within the field and implement hiring changes in the next six months.
To make measurable goals, they must be specific, time-sensitive, relevant, and attainable.
Develop a DEI Strategy in the Workplace
If you’ve assessed where you currently are and created goals based on that information, you are already a few steps into the development period. Those first steps can lay a solid foundation for building your DEI strategy.
Next, you will want to determine who will oversee and hold accountability for meeting DEI goals. This can be someone on your team, HR, or an outside hire who is well-experienced in this field. When you choose someone, pick them based on their experience, enthusiasm, and skills within DEI, not because they might be included in the goals you have set out. From there, you can see what resources you will need to keep DEI top of mind and prominent in the workplace. This might be hiring more DEI specialists, purchasing DEI materials, or providing funding to DEI initiatives.
As you get your strategy planned and soon implemented, the goals you have set for the business should be worked toward and measured to ensure change is being made in the right direction.
The Benefits of a DEI Strategy
The benefits of proper DEI implementation in the workplace are never ending, but here are a few to keep in mind as you work toward developing a strategy.
- You will reach a more inclusive and extensive talent pool.
- Employee retention and loyalty will rise.
- Decision-making is improved because everyone feels like they can speak up.
- It will foster a sense of belonging and community for employees.
- Diverse workplaces have better innovation.
If your organization does not have a DEI strategy in place or has not updated your current one in some time, it is time to change that. If you have further questions or wish to know more about leading a strong, diverse team, contact the team at Wickham James.
