For most organizations, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals are aspirational. Businesses, and the leaders within them, want to be as inclusive as possible. However, they often languish at the stage of simply getting a diverse group of employees into the room.
In Ceridian’s 2022 Pulse of Talent survey of more than 6,800 workers from around the globe, we see some positive news about the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace today. Fifty-four percent of respondents described their organizations as very or extremely diverse, and only 2% said their organizations aren’t diverse at all. Sixty-eight percent rated their employers as being good or excellent at fostering a culture of belonging.
However, there is still room for improvement. Just over half (53%) of this year’s Pulse of Talent respondents said their organizations are committed to addressing inequities in the workplace, and only 49% reported knowing that their employer has a DEI strategy.
Of those respondents who said their organizations have a DEI strategy, less than one-third (32%) felt they are making progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Only 14% said their employers are leaders in DEI.
This data may indicate that efforts to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace are occurring behind the scenes but aren’t impacting the employee experience.
Also of note in the latest Pulse of Talent survey findings is that an overall lack of alignment between employer and employee values – which may include DEI – is driving some turnover. Twenty percent of respondents who are seeking a new job cite it as the reason they’re leaving.
So, how can employers move beyond just paying lip service to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and ensure their DEI initiatives have a meaningful impact on their workforce and culture? Here are five tips.
Set appropriate DEI metrics
Unfortunately, some efforts aimed at achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace are undertaken for optics, with little intention to change an organization’s culture. But DEI programs are only as valuable as the degree to which they sufficiently motivate a diverse group of employees to join and stay with your company, which means accurate progress tracking is essential.
Many organizations already have representation metrics, meaning they measure whether the number of diverse employees in a department or job level is suitable given overall demographics. However, your DEI initiatives should also move the needle on metrics such as a diverse group of employees interviewed, a diverse group of employees promoted, a diverse group of employees retained within the company, and a diverse group of employees in senior leadership positions.
Perform a DEI analysis
Here’s where employee listening, or the process by which you capture and understand the employee experience, can get you started on taking your DEI initiatives to the next level.
Just because you’ve taken actions to focus on DEI or set up employee resource groups (ERGs) or committees already doesn’t mean you shouldn’t regularly revisit your strategy. You can engage a third-party expert to perform a DEI analysis to understand how various programs, messaging, and measurement techniques fit together and where you stand compared to your competitors.
People analytics platforms can also help you understand what marginalized groups experience throughout your employee lifecycle and identify any issues, how these came about, and what to do about them.
Your best source of information, however, may come from asking people directly. By surveying or interviewing diverse employees about what they think of workplace DEI efforts to date and what else they feel needs to be done, you will gain a more accurate picture of the true impact of your efforts.
For the rest of the piece, head over to the Ceridian blog.
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