How to Measure DE&I Progress in Your Organization

Diversity, equity, and inclusion have quickly become a core tenet of organizational culture, particularly for businesses that recognize the value of a workforce who can bring their whole selves to the job.  However, simply rolling out DE&I initiatives is not where the work ends for HR and business managers.  Instead, they should work to measure diversity, equity, and inclusion in meaningful ways and learn how to use that information to move the ball forward on DE&I.

It’s important to measure the progress of a DE&I program for a number of reasons.  As DE&I evolves to the forefront of business strategy, it should be treated as any other business imperative, where the return on investment is tracked.  Having that information in hand can help inform and deepen the company’s commitment, and it can also be a vital tool for retention and recruiting.  So, where to start?

How to Measure Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

There are four angles of approach that can shed light on your DE&I performance:

#1. Evaluate diversity from applicants to employees

In order to get the best picture of your workforce, and what’s driving or holding back DE&I, it’s key that leaders use the right metrics to measure DE&I along the entire employee lifecycle and across many dimensions—particularly race, gender, age, and ethnicity.  Some companies think they’re starting at the beginning by measuring the diversity of new hires, but employers should actually expand that view to include demographics of all applicants, following that thread through to those who make the slate of candidates and the top prospects.

#2. Look closely at turnover

Retention is another important topic to focus on for those concerned about how to measure diversity, equity, and inclusion.  If there are issues with inclusivity that are driving certain sectors of the employee population out of the workforce, turnover data can help paint that picture so the organization can take action. Conducting effective exit interviews can also help you understand the possible impact of DE&I on the employee’s decision to leave.

#3. Examine benefits usage rates

There are also many other opportunities during the employee’s tenure where you can identify insights on the company’s progress on DE&I.  For instance, understanding who is—or is not—taking advantage of company benefits can be telling.  Explore healthcare utilization, PTO, and parental leave to see where there is room for improvement.  

#4. Utilize existing engagement tools

Layering demographic analysis into existing engagement surveys is another way to see how employees are responding to DE&I efforts and keep an eye on potential retention issues.

How to Use Your DE&I data

Once you have a handle on how to measure diversity, equity, and inclusion, then shift your focus to how to use it.  The data can inform a range of business activities, including:

·       the development of new DE&I programs

·       engagement efforts targeted toward specific populations

·       leadership training

·       the launch of new development efforts

·       the creation of new hiring policies and processes

While the insights should be used extensively by executive leadership, they also should be shared with the workforce.  Considering incorporating the data into annual reports or highlight elements at town hall meetings.  This data can help employees appreciate the level of commitment the company has toward advancing DE&I.  By making the stats public, the business can also communicate to prospective employees what the organization believes in, which is a sustainable way to attract talent that shares the company’s values.

As the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion continues to become an integral piece of the HR function, it needs to be treated with increasing formality.  Leveraging DE&I statistics can help HR and business leaders inform strategy and take the company’s investment in DE&I to the next level.

Do you need help finding the right candidates in Washington, D.C., or Maryland to build a diverse workforce in your organization? An experienced staffing agency can help you push your Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives forward. The recruiting and staffing experts at Elite Personnel are here to help with everything from writing inclusive job descriptions to appropriately narrowing the candidate pool.