Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is getting more attention than ever and dedicated employees at all levels are initiating efforts at their companies to be more DEI focused. With the momentum swirling around this issue, HR Advisors Group hosted a webinar featuring three panelists who are highly involved and play key roles in the DEI efforts at their organizations

The panelists included:

  • Rachel Gilbert, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager/Principal, Woodard & Curran
  • Brad Strader, Principal, MKSK
  • Amber Wendland, Senior Associate, Ayers Saint Gross

Although they are DEI leaders in their organizations, our panelists’ full time roles are in other professional disciplines. Rachel was an engineer for over 20 years before being tapped to be the first DEI Manager at Woodard & Curran. None of them are seasoned experts in DEI, but they are passionate and committed to this initiative, and play a key role in their organizations’ DEI success.

In addition to their own personal motivation behind creating and growing DEI programs at each of their firms, Brad, Amber, and Rachel all agree that there are many other factors behind why their firms have focused on DEI.

Ayers Saint Gross recognizes Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) as a critical component to holistic wellness within their strategic plan. The tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor last year only reinforced the firm’s commitment to DEI.

For Brad at MKSK, the Black Lives Matter movement awakened the idea of mindfully investing in and the importance of DEI at the firm. From a practical business standpoint, he also noticed that Requests for Proposals were starting to ask what his firm was doing to promote DEI and help the community.

At Woodard & Curran, senior leaders began to develop an awareness around DEI in 2014. Over time, solid DEI strategies were built and these plans were gradually put into action. Rachel worked closely with the CEO on the effort, and it was clear that as the program grew, it was taking more and more time. Rachel was asked if she would give up her engineering career and focus 100% of her time on DEI, and she enthusiastically accepted the challenge.

Each panelist discussed their challenges and successes to put an effective DEI program into place and provided helpful guidance and direction for those who may want to enhance the DEI efforts in their own firms. The panelists’ perspectives reflect our experience with clients and what we are hearing regarding best practices.

Getting started

If your organization is new to the DEI concept, building awareness in leadership is the first step:

  • Read the McKinsey report on diversity, whose data-driven evidence underscores how diverse organizations consistently outperform non-diverse ones
  • Distill the ideas from several books on diversity in the workplace into two page talking points
  • Put fifteen minutes on your CEO’s calendar and highlight the positive business impacts from implementing DEI as a way to get the conversation started
  • Hire an external consultant who specializes in DEI to develop a strategy to work with leadership and the organization

Build awareness and ask employees for their opinions, concerns or interest in DEI:

  • Administer employee surveys to find out employees’ perceptions, priorities, and interest in becoming a part of the DEI efforts
  • Conduct an implicit bias survey
  • Facilitate small focus group discussions in a “safe space” covering topics such as religion, race, immigration, gender identity, and current events

Develop a strategic plan around DEI with manageable action plans. There is so much to do in this area, that it can feel overwhelming. Putting a progressive plan in place allows you to prioritize and reach achievable goals.

Leading the effort

You don’t need to be an industry expert to spearhead DEI efforts. However, it does take passion, perseverance, and significant manpower to get these programs off the ground.

  • Identify a “champion” within the organization who is committed to spearheading, organizing, and guiding the DEI effort
  • Form a diversity task force
  • Reach out to employees to gauge interest in forming and leading Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), whether its gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation, lifestyle or interest
  • Create an advisory committee made up of representatives at all levels
  • Include DEI as a component of your employee engagement efforts and build a culture that makes all employees feel good about where they work
  • Engage consultants to develop surveys, mobilize employees and guide internal discussions
  • Initiate partnerships in the community through elementary and secondary schools or other organizations in underserved areas

Please note – one person cannot make it happen alone – there needs to be support throughout the organization.

Leadership support and resources

To be able to begin to do the work, employees need support from leadership to provide them the resources to be able to launch these initiatives. Frame the development of DEI as a business investment that shows the organization’s commitment to the process. In our experience, if leadership isn’t supporting this effort, it will be an uphill battle.

  • Provide an executive sponsor and budget for each ERG and the support needed to develop their own mission, vision, and goals
  • Train the ambassadors for the ERG on the structure, goals and objectives to ensure consistency across the ERG groups and organization
  • Engage outside speakers for continued support
  • Offers employees paid time to do any personal volunteer work for the organization of their choice
  • Hold an organization-wide day of service when employees work on designated projects in the community

Often, the scale of an organization dictates the scope of its resources. It’s important to prioritize what makes sense and maximize what you have.

Creating a pipeline

A critical piece of DEI is creating a pipeline for diverse employees into the organization.

  • Establish concrete metrics which include tracking the percentage of diverse candidates your organization is interviewing and hiring
  • Complete a very detailed, robust survey of hiring practices to assess your recruiting function and see where your organization falls on the benchmark
  • Determine how to better track candidates and what your organization needs to do to improve your practices
  • Expose students at local schools in underserved areas to careers in your field and plant a seed in students who may not have historically explored these careers
  • Develop relationships with local Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and provide liaisons to contacts in both the curriculum and the career centers

Putting DEI into Practice

There are many ways to put DEI into practice.

  • Develop a program to provide mentors for women and minorities and help to propel them into leadership roles
  • Seek out strategic alliances with minority-owned or women-owned firms to help them grow their businesses
  • Conduct a pay equity study to dive into your pay practices and use the data to remedy any inequities found
  • Create tool kits for project managers to look outside the box when choosing employees to staff their teams
  • Show your commitment to DEI by being flexible with floating holidays, recognizing your diverse workforce
  • Focus efforts outwardly by doing pro bono work or giving back a portion of your revenue to underserved populations

What works for one organization may not work for another. Each firm has its own culture, resources, and champions, and it’s essential to do the research to find out what will work for yours. Organizations may have different approaches to implementing DEI, but their efforts are paying off and their organizations are thriving!

Resources

Recent articles:

Books to help guide actions that you might consider:

  • Deep Diversity, Overcoming Us Vs. Them, Shakil Choudhury
  • How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, Emmanuel Acho

Background books to understand the roots of the problem:

  • Reinventing Diversity by Howard Ross
  • The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein (great background on how federal laws supported racist policies and projects)
  • Supreme Inequality, The Supreme Court’s Fifty Year Battle for a More Unjust America, Adam Cohen
  • Caste, The Origins of Our Discontent, Isabel Wilkerson