10 Steps for developing an effective DEI Strategy for 2022

According to Gartner, one of the top five HR priorities for 2022 is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). A lot of companies had a DEI strategy and were already committing to expanding and improving their DEI initiatives as of last year – it was added to most organizations’ priorities for 2021. And in terms of the numbers, it isn’t slowing down anytime soon. That’s reflected in a recent report by Traliant and World Business Research which found that 79% of companies will allocate more budget and/or resources to DEI in 2022.

Setting DEI goals and strategies with executive leadership and frequently communicating progress with employees are important steps in an organization’s DEI evolution.

In this article, we will break down 10 simple steps that will help you in creating an effective DEI strategy. Know that your DEI strategy needs to resonate with and reflect your brand and people – it needs to honestly acknowledge and provide a way to elevate your corporate culture, in other words, just running a one-day bias training course that feels forced and out of place within an existing culture could cause more harm than good.

To begin with, first, assess where you are.

Step 1: Assess Where You Are

The first thing a company needs to do to build an effective DEI strategy is to get a baseline of where it is on the DEI journey. It should survey its workforce to learn whether employees feel a sense of belonging, inclusion, and psychological safety at work, and if not, what’s driving this culture. If you are experiencing employee turnover due to a perceived lack of DEI, be sure your executive team is aware of the cost of losing talented people and being less able to compete in a marketplace because of a lack of diverse perspectives.

Step 2: Define the Business Case 

It is imperative to get leaders on board. This requires the ability to translate the benefits of DEI into program leaders want to fund. This is where developing your organization’s business case for diversity is vital. The business case includes highlighting the business value, humanity, and equality-based benefits to transformative change.

For instance, Karthik Reddy, Co-founder, and Managing Partner of Blume Ventures told The Economics Times that gender equality is not about social change rather a business imperative for organizations. “Diversity is required to build a much better product. And in today’s time when designing a product for the Indian customer, one needs to realize that 50 percent of customers are women”.

So after you have assessed where you are on DEI initiatives, define a business case and be sure to include how a DEI initiative will foster innovation, increase financial performance and growth, and increase employee performance, engagement, and productivity.

Step 3: Identify your “Why” & Goals

Ask, “Why do we need diversity within our organization now?” before and throughout the planning process to keep your efforts grounded and focused. And, be sure to tie the “why” to your core mission, values, and priorities; making it part of your organization’s DNA.

Step 4: Implement Best Practices for Hiring a Diverse Workforce

Before you begin with this step, think about – Is our hiring and selection interview process accessible? Are we actively posting open roles in places where individuals with disabilities would see?

Develop a hiring guide for managers outlining best practices for diversity in hiring that covers the continuum of employment practices, from the creation of a job description and establishing a hiring committee, through the interview and offer process. Then, establish a process for tracking additional information not currently captured in workforce data, including disability and LGBTQIA+ status. Also, implement applicant flow analysis to evaluate the efficacy of DEI recruitment efforts and demographics of applicants at various stages of the search.

Step 5: Garner Broader Feedback 

Get input from people in various organizational levels who are going to be the most impacted. This is a good start to inclusiveness and also ensures all voices are heard and valued. Their feedback will be eye-opening and help to inform goals or clarify what you should prioritize.

Step 6: Outline Your Action Items 

Include the following elements for each action item:
» Timing (start and end dates)
» Resources/Budget
» Responsible Party
» Priority (high, medium, or low)
» Metrics

Step 7: Putting It All Together 

Your organization’s full DEI plan should include the following components and should be accessible to each and every employee of your organization.

» Create an Executive Summary: Write this last to capture key insights from the entire process.
» Background/Introduction: Include your research highlights, why you are embarking on a DEI initiative, a description of your planning process, and the key stakeholders involved here.
» DEI Vision and Mission
» Goals
» Strategies
» Action Items
» Appendices: Add any research, a glossary of terms, and other pertinent information here for those not involved in the process to review.

Step 8: Determine Your Tracking Cadence 

There are several accountability measures that companies could utilize including allowing employees to rate leadership on a DEI scorecard, implementing anonymous reporting systems to expose bad behavior, and having a clear and objective system for how exclusionary and problematic behavior is dealt with. Before implementing the plan, determine when you will track and report on your progress.

Continuous monitoring is key to any successful strategic plan as there will be setbacks and pivots throughout the implementation. Identify who will be responsible for tracking and set a schedule for when you will report results regularly to leadership, internally, and to stakeholders.

Step 9: Find Your Tracking Tool 

» Determine how you will track your metrics -As your strategies and action items get more complex using a spreadsheet alone can become overwhelming.
» Invest in a strategic plan tracking system to help keep you on track without spending too much time entering data or interpreting results for that outside of your workgroup.

Step 10: Find an external expert

Lastly and most important, rather than burning out the in-house DEI help that is available, companies should lean on the knowledge, skills, and expertise of external consultants. Creating change from inside an organization is challenging; some might say impossible.

In 2022, employees are no longer willing to stand for inequities. They rather find it easier to find a company that cares more about employee wellbeing. Hence, it is imperative to have a solid DEI strategy that can spark the catalyst that is needed to shift the culture.

About the author: Vanita is a lawyer and Lead – Research & Communications at Ungender.  She writes extensively on building inclusive workplaces, gender issues, social inequalities, and public policy. 

Ungender Insights is the product of our learning from advisory work at Ungender. In our initiative to build inclusive workplaces for all individuals, we continue to educate and advise leaders on the same. Write to us at contact@ungender.in to know more about our advisory services.