If your organization has a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategy or you are working on creating one, analytics matter. Diversity and inclusion insights and numbers are a roadmap that helps you understand how you’re doing and where you’re heading. They can shape your entire strategy.
The trouble is that analytics can feel like an iceberg. When you look around, you may be able to see some facts, such as how many people in a workplace are women and how many workers are at an organization overall. Just below the surface, though, is the part of the iceberg you can’t see. Here is where the numbers become analysis. Here is where you see hidden layers, such as religious beliefs, country of origin, and sexual orientation of workers.
Even further below the surface is where the metrics are used to actually take action and bring about change. Here, we’ll take a look at how to dive deep so you can clearly see the whole picture and not just the tip of the iceberg.
Diversity & Inclusion Insights
In recent years, there have been many studies about DEI in workplaces. A closer look at this research lets us see a big-picture view of DEI at work:
- There is a growing interest in DEI In 2020, the number of HR leaders classifying DEI as a top priority was 1.8 times higher than it was in 2019.
- For many organizations, data is a key driver. 78% of large organizations find people analytics crucial for their success.
- Companies increasingly feel the need to share DEI data to stay competitive. In 2019, only 45% of the largest companies were disclosing DEI data to investors. By 2021, 80% of companies were sharing such information.
- Talent is looking for data, too. About 61% of candidates identifying as women look at diversity in a company’s leadership when deciding whether to take a job offer. The right data can help companies attract the right talent.
- With racially & ethnically diverse companies reporting 43% higher profits when compared with their less-diverse peers, there is an interest in creating strong DEI policies & programs. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s a wise business move.
Gathering data may be a strong first step to helping companies evaluate what is and isn’t working so they can build DEI efforts that attract talent, drive innovation, and keep them competitive.
Company-Specific Diversity & Inclusion Analytics
While it’s inspiring to look at the research numbers indicating what’s possible with a strong DEI strategy, organizations run on metrics. Collecting diversity and inclusion analytics helps leaders understand what is happening in their organization. This sort of metrics collection can help organizations understand:
- How diversity appears at different levels of a company, including leadership, management, & more.
- Whether there are hidden pain points.
- Whether employees feel supported at work.
- Whether there are workers who don’t feel included or supported in the workplace.
- What DEI changes employees want to see in their workplace.
- DEI challenges workers see in the workplace.
- How a company’s DEI efforts compare to their industry.
Of course, there are challenges in getting these insights from any organization. One of the challenges is that workers may not feel comfortable disclosing a disability, their sexual orientation, their socioeconomic status, or other personal information. This can be the case across various groups. For example, 46% of LGBTQ+ workers are not out at work & only 39% of employees disclose a disability to their manager. People may hesitate to share this kind of information for fear of any potential criticism.
To get insights, organizations need to formulate questions so they’re clear and unintimidating. Any surveys sent out to workers need to be short and to the point. In addition, workers need to know their data is anonymous and secure, so they can feel fully comfortable in being transparent.
A related challenge is how to present information. For data to be actionable, it needs to be clear and relevant. Otherwise, teams are just looking at the tip of the iceberg rather than at deeper information they can use. It can be useful to present DEI data as a scorecard, which can help organizations and teams set targets. It can also be more actionable to gather data about inclusion and not just diversity. By knowing which employees feel excluded, companies can work on programs to support specific employees and teams.
Another big challenge is how to leverage diversity and inclusion insights into measurable change. Let’s discuss this part of the iceberg next.
Turning Diversity & Inclusion Insights Into Action
Ultimately, companies aren’t just curious about diversity and inclusion metrics. They want measurable results, so data is often a jumping-off point. Once companies have data, they can take action in a few ways:
- Track data over time to see improvements made with DEI efforts.
- Use the data & benchmarking to set targets for hiring & recruitment.
- Use the data to address pain points. For example, if some workers feel excluded in the workplace, leaders can offer DEI training or can work to make an organization more accessible & inclusive.
- Companies can use data to create employee resource groups to bring together people who share an ethnic or national background, a sexual orientation, or a specific identity or characteristic.
How Can Diversio Help?
Our DEI analytics platform helps organizations create measurable change. Many organizations partner with us because we have done the intensive work required to properly gather, analyze, and benchmark DEI data. We make information actionable by presenting data clearly.
We work with companies to create surveys with high engagement rates and we protect employee data. With Diversio, workers feel comfortable being honest because Diversio ensures employers cannot connect specific replies with any employee.
With the Diversio Platform, you can see analytics visually, so you understand your data better. Heat Maps, for example, show you the highest and lowest-performing departments, groups, and locations.
Diversio also naturally guides companies to field-tested programs and DEI strategies they can use. Once an organization has data, Diversio naturally guides them to relevant solutions so leaders and managers can choose initiatives, set goals, and even put timelines on their efforts. In this way, Diversio moves companies from analytics to action.
If you’d like to see for yourself how Diversio works, schedule a demo today.
