08/05/2022 | News release | Archived content
By Alfredo Mendez, Vice President of Experience and Inclusion, Robert Half
When considering the impacts of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, as in any area of business, metrics matter. By tracking, analyzing and reporting the successes and failures of your DEI programs, you can help drive improvements and dedicate resources where they're most needed.
So, where do you start? Here are some tips to help you determine what aspects of your DEI strategy you should be measuring and how to use the data you obtain to good effect.
Distinguish goals from metrics
Your DEI efforts must begin with the end in mind. First, decide on your goals. Then, use metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge progress toward those objectives.
Metrics are relative and flexible. Two organizations with similar goals might employ different metrics or interpret the same metrics in contrasting ways. Metrics, like KPIs, should help leaders make informed decisions and provide insight into how well the company is or isn't achieving its DEI goals. Goals tend to be fixed and absolute, as these represent the desired outcomes and objectives you are trying to achieve.
Let's say one of your goals is to achieve equal gender representation in leadership roles by 2027. For that single goal, you might use multiple metrics. For example, you could measure the number of candidates shortlisted for senior positions who are women and break down promotions by gender.
Don't confuse a strong performance on a single metric with achieving your goals. Equally, note that doing poorly on a metric can actually help you reach your DEI goals, provided you use the insights gained to fix whatever is causing you to fall short of your objectives.
Work out where your baselines are
To assess how well you're doing on the journey toward achieving your DEI goals, you need to know where you started from. Therefore, one of your first tasks is to establish some baseline KPIs that measure your company's current performance in areas like recruitment, retention and representation.
How diverse are the applicants for your open positions? Do people with certain backgrounds, experiences or abilities tend to stay longer with your organization than others? Is your leadership team more or less diverse than the company as a whole? These are all frames of reference against which you can measure your progress.
See this post for more insight on the value of building an inclusive workforce and tips for motivating your employees to embrace DEI at work.
Choose the right KPIs for your DEI goals
Once you've set the goals or intended outcomes of your DEI program, you can start attaching metrics to each one, establishing baselines as detailed above. For some KPIs, such as diversity of job applicants, you'll analyze numerical data your human resources department likely already collects.
Use ranked or multiple-choice surveys for non-numerical items like employee perspectives and feelings. For example, you can ask workers to rank the statement "I feel comfortable speaking up in team meetings" on a scale from one to four, where one is "not at all," and four is "extremely comfortable."
To help you get started, here are five tried-and-trusted KPIs for measuring a DEI strategy:
If your recent DEI initiatives have included Pride Month or Juneteenth celebrations, tracking KPIs may seem dull by comparison. But events and initiatives, however inspiring, are temporary. If you want to embed DEI principles into your business strategy permanently, few things are more important than measuring your progress and performance over time.
Follow Alfredo Mendez on LinkedIn.