Establishing DEI metrics are essential to measuring the effectiveness of company initiatives, identifying disparities and setting measurable goals. They also support transparency, compliance with regulatory requirements and creating an inclusive work environment.
Start by monitoring employee retention rates and comparing the learning and development opportunities available across each group. Next, conduct surveys to unearth any hidden issues such as microaggressions or inadequate manager support.
1. Representation
Companies that prioritize Diversity and Inclusion (DEI) recognize that their employees come from various backgrounds. Prioritizing representation ensures that employees from diverse ethnicities, social backgrounds, ages and abilities have an opportunity to grow with the business. Representation also allows organizations to take advantage of an expanded knowledge base that helps them better meet customer demands across a range of customer bases.
Camille notes that many employees perceive diversity and inclusion (DEI) to be positive attributes, yet many organizations struggle to measure its progress. To assess a company’s DEI accurately, transparent feedback systems that are easily accessible should be built into employee surveys or even dedicated DEI survey platforms – this gives teams enough data points for changes that will truly have an effect on employees.
2. Engagement
Engaged employees tend to be more productive, resilient, and innovative at work. Furthermore, they’re likely to act as brand advocates for their company by spreading word of its culture and values among current employees and prospective hires.
Research on engagement explores the psychological, emotional and behavioral components of employees’ relationship to their job. It distinguishes between job and organisational engagement while highlighting its various dimensions such as intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, belongingness or optimism.
Engage employees by conducting engagement surveys to gain an in-depth view of your strengths and opportunities, but do not rely solely on these to assess employee engagement in your workplace. Rather, supplement engagement surveys with employee focus groups, one-on-ones with managers, email tracking software or any other engagement tools to get a comprehensive picture of what makes an engaging workplace environment.
3. Retention
Tracking retention rates is an integral component of measuring progress toward DEI goals. If an alarming rate of employees are leaving abruptly, this could indicate that their roles within the organization do not provide them with equitable career development or opportunities for advancement.
Analysis of retention rates by management, department, age groups and other categories is vital to pinpointing the source of retention issues and initiating change to any discriminatory policies or regulations that may have caused these retention issues.
As part of your efforts to retain talent, it’s also wise to monitor attrition among your high potentials and key talent. With this data in hand, strategic changes may be implemented or employee development opportunities invested in that can increase engagement – ultimately helping the company retain top performers while creating a more inclusive culture.
4. Equity
Since 2015, diversity and inclusion has become a hot topic. Many companies are adopting diversity-and-inclusion (D&I) strategies with good intentions; however, in order to be truly diverse and inclusive it’s imperative that companies adopt an equity-first strategy.
Equity refers to fair treatment, access and opportunities. It includes factors like pay, promotion and working environment. Equity also takes into account intersectionality – how various parts of our identities interact and overlap; for instance a Black woman who is queer or disabled may experience additional obstacles that affect her employment experience.
An equitable workplace offers employees a sense of stability and belonging while helping businesses flourish, as well as creating an engaging work environment. McKinsey found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity achieved above-industry median financial returns.
5. Inclusion
Establishing an inclusive workplace can not only benefit employees, but it can also benefit business. When people feel that they belong in their work environment, morale increases and performance improves; furthermore, customer retention and brand loyalty also increase as a result of inclusive practices in the workplace.
At its core, inclusion can be difficult to measure. Instead, measuring it requires looking at people’s feelings and any barriers that exist – all which makes its measurement problematic. Luckily, organizations can use certain key metrics as tools for tracking inclusion within their workplaces.
Stay interviews, employee surveys and other culture pulse checks can help companies identify areas for improvement. These might include areas such as salary, career advancement or an absence of a sense of belonging among employees. Utilizing metrics can assist organizations in prioritizing initiatives, assigning accountability and tracking the success of their efforts.
