Article contributed by Meredith Wise
DEI Initiatives are very much in our conversations, however the HR Trends 2023 survey by McLean & Company show that actions on these initiatives have stalled for the second year in a row. This study highlights HR priorities and challenges, comparing current year results to prior years.
In 2021, DEI efforts jumped from 8th place in 2020 to 4th place largely due to national and global conversations and actions around equity and social justice. In 2022, these efforts fell to 5th place and this year they have dropped to 6th on HR’s priority list.
In our work helping companies develop roadmaps for DEI, a handful of key areas are lacking:
- Dedicated time to focus on DEI
- Leadership support
- Training
- Resources
According to the study, governance, leadership buy-in, strategic discussions and data collection are the common roadblocks to moving DEI efforts forward. Actions and planning can refocus your organization’s initiatives.
- Leadership: Senior leaders should model DEI behaviors in all of their interactions and communications. Training alone will not move your goals along. Moving beyond awareness training to competency learning opportunities will help elevate the support from leadership. The data in the study demonstrated that 40% of organizations that leverage competency-based training are more likely to be high performing in DEI compared to those leveraging awareness-based training.
- Communications: DEI-related topics and performance should be woven into regular communication cadences from leaders and human resources functions. Active communication and discussions about initiatives, actions and challenges need to happen.
- Formal DEI Strategy: 63% of respondents indicated they did not have a formal or documented DEI strategy.This percentage has remained stable over the past 3 years. Policies and practices document how DEI programs will operate in the organization. These policies should address how DEI considerations are integrated including the employee experience, performance management, recruiting, retention, advancement, compensation and more.
- Data: Understanding that time is at a premium for HR teams and professionals, initiatives in 2023 may best be focused on data collection and analysis. This data will shape strategy, demonstrate gaps and urgency to the organization and allow for informed decisions on a formal strategy and governance.
There is no one size fits all however, with a combination of leadership support, EANE resources, and a dedicated team, organizations will more likely become high performing vs. those without this focus.
According to the study, recruiting is once again the number one priority on HR professional’s minds for the third year in a row. Although DEI has fallen further down the list, this work does not exist in a silo – maintaining momentum on DEI efforts will support other priorities, including talent attraction and retention.
It’s also good news that embedding DEI into organizational culture and processes does not require a degree in advanced physics. All that’s needed to operationalize DEI is the right commitment, planning, and structure.
EANE Resources:
- Culture of Respect Toolkit to inspire Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- Various newsletter and blog articles found in the Members Only section of our website
- Diversity Conference – Fall 2023