5 Tips to Help Companies Get Moving on a DEI-B Strategy
Originally posted on ProgressiveDiscoveries.com
At Progressive Discoveries, we observe how various companies address their business functions relative to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Some companies are taking an authentic cultural and operational DEI-B deep dive by assessing their current state and creating actionable strategies for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive future where employees securely belong. Not every company is so evolved, and our work in the space shows that some companies are concerned about DEI-B and aren’t sure how to address it, while others are facing low employee productivity or engagement, high turnover, customer dissatisfaction or declining profitability without having identified the factors that contribute to these unfavorable business outcomes.
These challenges, coupled with the uncertain nature of future work environments, (are we working from home, from the office, or are we a “hybrid”?) underscore the need for organizations who haven’t already created actionable DEI-B strategies to get moving. If any of this resonates for you and what’s happening at your company, keep reading. This article offers five great tips to help you get moving on your DEI-B Strategy.
- Recognize That This Is Most Definitely “A Thing”
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” -James Baldwin
We encounter many business leaders who are missing the full measure of what their employees are experiencing as it relates to their business culture, work environments and DEI-B. How this happens is understandable, as most organizations are laser focused on meeting the day-to-day demands of the business, despite difficulties posed by a global pandemic and the resulting business conditions. It is easier to concentrate on systems and processes that directly correlate to growing the top line and maximizing the bottom. However, there are other, less obvious factors that drive financial and cultural success.
Companies (and people) show up on a wide spectrum, from “completely unaware” to “well-informed” when it comes to recognizing the importance of DEI-B as a significant factor in employee experience, performance and satisfaction. Here’s the thing, though. The Great Resignation is in full swing, considering that between April and June of 2021, “a total of 11.5 million workers quit their jobs.” And counting. According to recent research, many factors contribute to this mass exodus, but solidly amongst them are issues concerning “fear for personal safety, a lack of fair treatment, having to deal with a horrible boss, or an inequitable work-life balance,” all factors that fall under the DEI-B umbrella and touch issues pertaining to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
2. Take A Pulse Check
Employees want to share their voices. Providing that opportunity may open the door to facing and making changes that improve the work environment and encourage those who might be considering other options to stick around.
Your pulse check starts with listening to as many people and using as many methods as possible. For your organization, this may include 1:1 interviews, team meetings, focus groups, town halls or, as in the case with one of our current clients, all of the above. These simple actions yield invaluable qualitative data, allowing your organization to analyze and identify the true concerns of multiple functional populations across disciplines and hierarchies. The results illuminate both challenges and triumphs, and when presented through a DEI-B lens, often point to specific conditions and concerns that might otherwise have been missed.
3. Allow “Process” Time & Space
Pulse check activities are not a panacea, but instead, should initiate your DEI-B strategy process. An effective pulse check process yields scads of feedback to be reviewed, analyzed and acted upon. It can be simultaneously overwhelming and exhilarating to learn how your employees are experiencing your work culture.
The overwhelm is real, and we experience this “feedback side effect” with many of our clients. If you take this route, we recommend making the data digestible for your audience. Rather than taking the “data dump” approach, which may result in hopelessness or upset, it is helpful to categorize, disaggregate and prioritize qualitative data in ways that are meaningful and useful. Smaller feedback bytes make way for strategic actions that allow the organization to address the most highly felt and powerful needs of respondents.
We understand our client organizations as places where people must be considered first, with regard to the fact that most humans struggle with candid or tough feedback, especially when the executive leadership has a perception of “the current condition” that mismatches the pulse check feedback. People often need a little time to process information in order to take productive action on it, as the feedback is crucial, but can be tough to hear at the same time.
4. Mobilize and Include People Across Functions & Hierarchies
You’ve done your pulse check, shared the feedback and given folks a little time to take it all in. Now what? You have a few options: a) ignore the feedback and continue with business as usual, b) make a plan to address the feedback at a later date, or c) implement a process and team to address the feedback. The choice is yours, but the more actively you address the feedback, the better your potential outcomes, including the respect gained from the employee populations who provided the feedback.
Formulating a task force should not be a performative exercise, but instead, a structured process to select a multi-disciplined group of individuals from all areas of the organization who come together to create a strategy, then discuss and tackle tough problems. Taskforce activities should result in more inclusive and equitable work processes and systemic changes that benefit the entire organization.
Your opportunity to demonstrate inclusion and listening happens now, and it is beneficial to hand the feedback over to a task force or committee to address. If your business is like most, the feedback reveals multiple issues of concern. You may lack the time, resources or desire to address them all at once and the task force will help to prioritize activities. This exercise requires guidance and leadership, and when thoughtfully done, sends a very clear message to the organization about your commitment to responding to and taking action on the feedback they shared.
Creating a task force sounds easy, right? It is, but there are caveats. A truly inclusive task force is one that gives an equal “share of voice” to all members. In organizations where the most senior leaders have the “floor” while the team acquiesces, changing the culture to make it safe to speak up and invite perspectives from every task force member will be challenging, no matter their title or rank. Expect that people will not initially trust this newly inclusive process, especially if top-down leadership has been the practice. Selecting the right mix of members is the most daunting of your tasks. Design the task force to be inclusive and to employ decision-making and brainstorming processes that force feedback and participation from all members. Allow a lower-ranking member of the task force to lead the meetings and be certain to include members from all levels of the organization. As part of the group participation process, encourage the most senior members to speak last to avoid the natural deference to the senior leader’s position by the other team members.
5. Focus on Purpose & Progress
Creating a working task force to address employee feedback is an exciting and invigorating endeavor. It sends the message that employee experience and the elements of DEI-B are paramount to the business and its purpose. If designed with everyone’s real “why’s” in mind, the task force has the potential to lead a cultural and operational shift for your company.
A strong team and a well-defined and time-lined process will help keep the group on track and ensure that more than just “bonding” happens during the meetings. The group’s process should include SMART goals and milestones so that everyone can see that progress is being made. A process for quality checks and review should also be in place.
When the group stays mindful of its purpose, the motivation to make progress is powerful.
This work is a transformative journey for organizations. For most, there is a beginning and a middle, but hopefully, NO END. The task force members may come and go, but a cross-functional group that addresses business processes, culture and DEI-B should be in effect into perpetuity.
If you like the “good stuff” in this article, fantastic! Here at Progressive Discoveries, we’re a small band of learning-obsessed nerds who know that learning never ends.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI-B) are paving the way to the future of business. Where are you on the road?
Let’s talk about it. We’ll keep this conversation going and will share what we’re learning, each and every day, from listening and taking action. What are you learning and doing? Please like and share!
Good luck on your journey! To learn more about how Progressive Discoveries can help you design your company’s DEI-B strategy, contact us!
