When it comes to measuring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) success, a core component that’s important for organization leaders, HR, and DEI professionals to have a discussion about is, “What is the definition of good?”
Establishing Core Organizational Standards
Defining what good looks like, and aligning on that definition with all key stakeholders will support minimizing bias talent and hiring decisions. How does your organization describe a successful leader or employee? What does achievement of diverse representation look like? What constitutes appropriate professional or business attire? How will we know that we are an inclusive organization? These are just some of the questions that should be addressed to ensure a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace.
So if you’ve never really had a dialogue regarding the definition of ‘good’ with your internal key stakeholders, here are few key areas to start off the conversation:
Company Values
Leadership Behaviors
High Performers
Candidate Assessment
Workplace Attire
Facilitating a discussion around ideal characteristics, traits, competencies and behaviors will enable transparency, and clarity around how people should be assessed and rewarded for successfully demonstrating these core commitments. Participating in this type of dialogue can give way for creating a sound accountability structure that results in a more diverse and inclusive environment.
When these items are not discussed and clarified organizational biases are hard to minimize or manage. When core values and/or competencies exist and are spelled out, it provides a clear anchor on the expectations of an ideal culture, a successful leader, a valued team member, or a fair and inclusive process. Having these things in place also gives confidence when individuals may need to check one another or hold each other accountable to the organizational norms.
Integrating Core Standards into Organizational Practices
After defining what 'good' looks like in terms of DEI, the next crucial step is to integrate these standards into every facet of the organization. Here are practical steps to achieve this:
Recruitment and Onboarding: Incorporate the agreed-upon values and competencies into job descriptions, interview questions, and onboarding materials. This ensures that from the very first interaction, potential employees understand the DEI expectations of your organization.
Performance Management: Align performance reviews and career progression criteria with your DEI standards. This not only reinforces the importance of these values but also ensures that they are reflected in day-to-day activities and key milestones within the employee/talent lifecycle.
Training and Development: Develop training programs that focus on the identified leadership behaviors, high-performance markers, and inclusive practices. Ensure these training modules are mandatory for leaders and strongly encouraged for all employees. Offering specialized sessions for management and executive levels sends a clear message that there are higher expectations for leadership.
Feedback Mechanisms: Implement regular feedback loops and surveys to monitor how well these values are being embraced and practiced within the organization. This can help identify areas for improvement and reinforce the organization’s commitment to DEI.
Highlighting the Benefits
The best research shows that the key to creating success in DEI is no different from the steps necessary to achieve other business goals. In order to change behavior we must develop appropriate goals and metrics, share them with stakeholders, and embrace accountability for outcomes. In the case of DEI measures, this means first collecting diversity data and analyzing that data over time, as well as comparing this data to similar organizations.
As an example, one of Onyx Rising’s clients began to further clarify their definition of a successful leader and they also had a desire to increase diverse representation at the manger/people leader level. This client hired us to assess their talent life cycle for strengths and areas for improvement from a DEI lens. As we reviewed their people data one department in particular stood out. We discovered that they were requiring a higher expectation when hiring leaders from outside of the organization than they were for internal promotions.
After discussing the discrepancy with HR, DEI and leadership from that department, they were able to clarify and refine their leadership framework organizationally. As part of our recommendations, they also adjusted their role requirements aligning both their internal and external hiring. This led to an increase in diverse leader representation and a more diverse talent pool coming from internal and external candidates.
Bias for Action
Whether you are a business leader, DEI Practitioner or HR professionals, take a moment to reflect on your definition of ’good’ and if you have clarity and transparency in your culture around it. Then ask yourself if you have the frameworks integrated into your systems and processes. If not, it is time to initiate these discussions across the organization to clearly define or redefine what 'good' looks like in your organization's desired cultural context.
In summary, it is important to engage various key stakeholders in defining and clarifying what ‘good’ looks like when it comes to DEI in your organization. Then we must gain alignment around our core organizational values, competencies, behaviors and expectations. These agreed upon standards should be embedded throughout the organization’s systems and people should be held accountable to them. This clarification and integration will create transparency, fair and equitable processes, an inclusive culture, and ultimately a more diverse and empowered workforce.
By taking these steps, organizations can ensure that their DEI efforts are not only about compliance but are truly transformative, leading to a genuinely inclusive and empowering workplace.
What's Next
Once you define your company’s view of Leadership behaviors for instance, this should be linked to a standard framing, and be quantified (rate) to assess how the company view measures up to the standard. We will talk more about a DEI global standard of measurement in our upcoming complimentary webinar on How to Measure DEI Success being held April 24, 2023 at 12pm EST. Click here to register:
This session is hosted by Onyx Rising, Your Change Navigator!
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