What can we do to encourage equity, diversity, and diversity in the workplace? |

In the wake of employees' increasing social emotional, psychological, as well as environmental requirements have increased, employers have realized they need to do more to help their employees -otherwise, they be at risk of losing the team members. This means more interest as well as investments in diversity equity, as well as inclusion (DEI) programmes within the workplace.

Though this change is promising, it's also been the subject of a lot of confusion. We spoke to DEI experts and thought leaders to help clarify what DEI entails, the foundation for a robust DEI strategy, as well as tips to make it profitable.

The deep dive into DEI The lessons you'll gain

•    What exactly is diversity, equity, and inclusion in the work place?
•    The impact of equity, diversity and inclusion
•    How to build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment
•    Six tips for promoting equality, diversity and diversity in the workplace

What exactly is the difference between equity, diversity and diversity in the workplace?

One of the biggest mistakes I've witnessed companies commit in the 15 years I've worked in DEI is to view the diversity issue as a simple box-checking exercise. Businesses will only focus on figures -- like the percentage of their workforce which is Black, Indigenous, and people of different races (BIPOC) or how much they've donated to a cause -- but they don't consider the granular, organic information that reallyimpact the employees they employ.

Due to the fact that DEI is so much bigger than that.

The truth is that DEI doesn't mean just making sure you've checked boxes when hiring practice. It is always helpful to break equity, diversity, and inclusion into smaller pieces in order to understand what each of the terms means.

Incorporating DEI within your organization requires you to actively advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusivity across all aspect of your business. It's about learning how to look at every action inside every department using the DEI lens -- in everything from the alliances you decide to help to the way you promote your employees outside of your office.

DEI concerns the things we can see and, equally important is the things we aren't able to see: how supported employees feel, whether they feel they are belonging within the workplace and if individuals feel they can talk openly with their supervisors.

The impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion

It's difficult to quantify the impact of equity, diversity and inclusion for both your employees and your organization.

Naturally, it's evident why equity, diversity, and inclusion matters to employees. People want to feel at in their workplaces: they would like to meet people who look like them, feel confident in their ability to fail without anxiety, be able to speak out without fear, and feel that they aren't required to hide aspects of their personality at work.

In the beginning I couldn't imagine a pathway to being an executive because I was an Black single mom of three. Earlier on in my career, I was convinced that I needed to have the perfect response to each question and also ensure my hair was naturally tangled for me to be successful. It wasn't until I chose to join companies that met me exactly where I was when I realized all my beliefs that weren't my power were actually my strengths. It's been a while since I've heard other people have similar stories.

The data supports these stories about how a strong DEI environment affects employees. Based on studies conducted by BetterUp, those who experience a high sense of belonging in the workplace report, in an average

• An increase of 56 percent in work performance
• A 50 % decrease in the risk of employee turnover
• A 75 percent decrease in employee sick days.
• Employer net promotion scores (eNPS) that are 167% more

These are clear benefits for employees. However, they're invaluably beneficial to the companies that prize DEI. On top of the myriad advantages that result from an active workforce, less turnover, stronger job performance, and reduced absenteeism, companies with higher diversity are more likely to achieve an above-average profit, an higher rate of return on investment as well as a greater percent of revenue from innovation.

This is the kind of results that come not just by ticking boxes but from putting in the work to ensure that employees feel psychologically safe. If employees are able to take risks and still feel safe or are able to safely speak with their supervisors with any questions or concerns, the company reaps the benefits.

This is the time for employers to hear their teams' brightest, boldest ideas and that kind of constructive feedback that will truly help the performance of an organisation.

What can you do to create an equitable, diverse, and an inclusive work environment

If you're eager to flesh out a DEI strategy that is more than checking boxes, we'll explain the steps you'll have to start taking note of your priorities and then implementing them.

Be aware of where you are now

The first thing you'll want to get is an understanding of the way DEI is currently like in the company you work for. It can be an intimidating step if you haven't started the DEI journey , as it's hard to determine where the gaps exist. But, it's an important step since if you don't collect basic data, it's difficult to keep track of the improvements you've made as time passes.

An excellent way to get started here is to launch your own engagement surveys and collecting self-identified diversity statistics on your current employees.

Be aware that all the information you gather will tell a story -- not just regarding your DEI initiatives, but also about what's going on more widely. In other words, it's impossible to look at employee engagement from the year 2019 with employee engagement in 2020 without considering the effects of the pandemic. The same principle applies to be aware of the events happening in the world at any given time to help you better understand the factors influencing the lives of employees.

Go on a listening tour

Although a survey may give you an first image of the level of engagement within your company, don't stop there. Surveys are a great source of information. However, when you don't speak to individuals directly, you'll be missing crucial insights and feedback.

I usually suggest approaching the issue by scheduling meetings directly with the CEO. Most of the time, employee opinions do not make it to the top management team, as they are filtered through management chains. It is a chance for the CEO to engage in an open dialogue with an individual group of employees and truly hear their feedback about their concerns and ideas.

I start by asking people to voluntarily join groups based on diversity dimensions (such such as BIPOC and LGBTQIA group). There's no limit on the number of people who can join the group, since we want everyone to be heard. I chat with each group in the beginning and inform them know that during the meeting it will be some time for the CEO pose questions, and then a opportunity to get input and suggestions from the group.

After that, I instruct the CEO on the types of questions they can ask their employees to get valuable feedback. The CEO will always craft his own questions of course, but I also suggest they ask questions like:

• "What are some actions that you believe will benefit this company?"
• "What are some things that you think would help me as a leader?"
• "What do you believe will further our company goals?"
• "Here are the most important objectives I'm working towards. Right now, from your position, consider what you think could hurt or help the goals?"

Prioritize needs

Conducting a listening tour and the launch of an engagement survey will generally reveal a myriad of DEI areas for a company to potentially work on. This is totally normal -- after all in the realm of DEI work, there are many ways that an organization will continue to improve its employee experiences.

But the truth is that the majority of companies have the resources and time to carry out DEI initiatives. According to studies conducted in 2022 by Culture Amp, only 34 percent of Human Resources and DEI practitioners think they have the resources for their DEI initiatives.

Clearly, prioritizing is necessary. However, how do you determine which tasks to tackle first?

You should begin by analyzing all of the data as well as feedback and information that you've gained from the listen-in tour, an engagement survey, as well as the data collection. In general, I find that I can bucket the information into three main categories:

• Initiatives, tasks or projects that we should have already implemented (but aren't)
• The current needs
• Long-term goals

Once you've categorized the insights then go over and evaluate the risk factors for each. What are the current risks that put the business at risk in a legal sense? Any situation that puts the business or its workers at risk should become your highest priority.

Following that, you should examine initiatives that may be small-hanging fruits or may be the most pressing. Be realistic about what can be managed in each quarter. Next, you can sketch the plan of action on a roadmap.

Remember that DEI work is a continuous process. A company's DEI requirements will always be shifting, and that's fine and you should leave some in your plans Don't be scared to have your requirements for the future alter.

Get involved with managers and leaders in DEI Training

Based on James K. Harter, Gallup's chief scientist in workplace management, managers influence at the very least 75 per cent of the factors that cause employees to leave. And yet, only 41 percent of managers have attended courses or classes that are focused on DEI.

It is a good thing that explicit training can help with these problems, assisting managers to apply an DEI lens to everything they perform, from interviewing to onboarding and facilitating effective one-on-one sessions.

Don't stop at management when it comes to training neither. Company leaders may not have as much one-on-one time with teams, but true determination to DEI needs to start from the high levels. Leadership must participate with DEI beyond just making a public statement on a website. Training through video, in-person, or collaborative hybrid sessions could help them make sure that they apply an DEI lens to every choice they make.

You can measure your achievement -- then share it

When you are tackling initiatives that are on your agenda make sure you monitor and evaluate the outcomes of every. For instance, if your goal is to have an increase in the percentage of BIPOC employees who are in leadership positions, keep an eye on your work and the results. Take note of and measure the followingaspects:

• What is the most significant increase you have made in your percentage of BIPOC applicants you have in your pipeline?
• Which ways did you diversify the job boards you advertise on?
• Which BIPOC employees have you promoted into senior roles?

Once you've documented the progress your company is making and shared that information to the entire company through a town hall or video update synchronously. This lets employees see how you're taking action on your feedback during the listening tour as well as highlighting the improvements that you've made.

Six tips for promoting diversity, equity, and diversity at work

There are many methods to drive DEI within the workplace as well as every company's journey will be different. There are however a few tips you can use in order to discover opportunities to improve your DEI.

1. Lean in to difficult moments

A second example of this could be found in the hiring freezes several companies currently experience. The hiring freeze is complicated to negotiate, but it also provides the time and space needed to evaluate what your current recruiting and hiring procedures will look and sound like. Use this opportunity and ask yourself the following questions:

• What can we do to diversify our Careers page as well as our interviewing panels?
• How do we make sure that our candidates from all walks of life can envision themselves at our company ahead of their first day?
• What can we do to ensure that the process of interviewing, whether it's remote or in-person , accommodates people with disabilities?

In every challenging moment, there's an opportunity to improve.

2. Focus on results, not only

While you think about the details of your DEI projects, it may be easy to set targets that only focus on outputs. But don't forget that inputs can also be a powerful driver of changes.

As an example, your output target could be to improve diversity among employees by the amount of X percent. This is an crucial goal that you must establish, but it will be affected by a variety of small actions you make for example:

• You must commit to filling your recruitment pipeline with at least 50% minorities
• Assuring that 75 percent of postings on job boards are geared towards minorities.
• Revisiting your benefits plan in order to ensure transgender women and female employees are properly provided with the right benefits

Utilize this degree of focus as you develop your DEI plan, and you'll find many more positive changes made throughout your company.

3. Make spaces that encourage connection

We've set up Employee Community Groups (ECGs) to help promote a sense of belonging between employees. A large number of employees participate in one of the six ECGs we have, and every group is given an annual plan, mission statement, and an executive sponsor in order to organize workshops and other events.

ECGs and other ECGs and similar groups (whether they take place in Slack as well as in person and on video calls) can create psychologically safe places for employees to meet and de-stress. And as we've seen it's vital to the mental health, happiness, and belonging to your teams.

4. Take action to address social justice issues

Companies today are increasingly international, and this means that -- at any time there are workers affected by global issues. Whether that's the war in Ukraine, the loss of abortion rights, or an earthquake in Haiti leaders must be responsive to the events that matter for employees.

Not every social justice moment is going to require a formal announcement from your CEO, of course. These can be extremely powerful, but when we think of how we can respond to such events, that mainly means taking care of your employees. You can ask yourself:

• How do you respond to an employee who has suffered a death in the family?
• How do you support employees who are denied access to certain rights?
• What can you do to create spaces and help for employees undergoing a traumatic event in their city?
• How are you acknowledging the experiences of your employees?

When you respond to situations of social justice by showing support and compassion, your employees will are aware that you care about them and are there for them. If that moment goes unnoticed? Employees leave.

5. Don't ignore smaller opportunities for change

In the course of implementing the DEI strategy, it can be very easy to fixate only on the goals. However, really embracing DEI means seeing all actions through a DEI lens. Once you've done that, you can suddenly start to see smaller, cost-free methods to increase DEI in your business.

At a particular point , we've started to take more seriously our partnerships. We don't have to pay anything to join with an organization for the purpose of making an impact. So how do we grow that program? How can we better use it to help more black-owned businesses or folks improving their conditions in prison system?

The majority of companies are so busy checking the North Star that they miss opportunities like these. Slow down and notice the small possibilities.

6. Make sure you remember to purchase your product

When you're done with your day, your employees are hard at working to deliver a item or service to consumers -- so make sure that you include DEI within that. Is your marketing inclusive? Are you supporting diverse needs? Are your options taking everyone's needs into account, or are they accidentally exclusionary?

These are major elements that are critical to the success of your company, so make sure that they're an integral part of your plan.

Take the first step in your DEI journey